Leo Major
Corporal Léo Major (1921 – 12 October 2008) was a French Canadian soldier in the Régiment de la Chaudière in World War II. He was one of only three Canadian soldiers in the British Commonwealth to be awarded the Distinguished Conduct Medal (DCM), the only Canadian to have been awarded the honour twice (bar to the DCM), and the only Allied soldier to be awarded two DCMs in two different wars (World War II and Korea).
On the night of 13 April 1945, Major single-handedly liberated the city of Zwolle in the Netherlands from German army occupation. This action earned him his first Distinguished Conduct Medal. He received his second DCM during the Korean War for leading the capture of a key hill.
He died in Montreal on 12 October 2008, survived by: Pauline De Croiselle, his wife of 57 years; four children; and five grandchildren.
Léo Major is buried at the Last Post Fund National Field of Honour in Pointe-Claire, Quebec.
Read more about Leo Major: The Allied Landings in France, The Korean War and His Second Distinguished Conduct Medal
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