Galloping Geezer
Jack Downey Comments on Canadian Issues to Inform and Amuse.
Photo Credit to Julie Ann Biggs out on the Mekong River, Cambodia Vietnam Border.".
War and Peace - Our National Sport
The Story of W.J. (Danny) McLeod
Danny McLeod was born in Medicine Hat Alberta as W.J. McLeod. As he grew up on the prairies he developed a keen interest in sports
(not much else to do in Medicine Hat in the Dirty 30s). The nickname Danny was hung on him at school
and stuck throughout his life. If you go into the Cadillac dealer in Kingston Ontario today, do not
ask for William or Bill McLeod as no one will know who he is. Ask for Danny McLeod and you just bought a Cadillac with all the bells and referee whistles. Danny is the first to admit that he got through a many faceted successful life by the assistance of his family and many extended family members. From his earliest days, he was taught to be open, honest, and competitive. His Alma Mater was the University of Hockey, Boxing, and Rodeo. Danny's educators taught him 'to reason and think and to do well at sports by hard work and to attack with vigor. Speed and perseverance are key, but do not try to be a Prima Donna. Teamwork and Esprit de Corp are the main elements to success on and off the ice."
The arrival of WW 2 opened a New World to the kid from Medicine Hat and, like a great number of Canadian lads, W.J. (Danny) McLeod enlisted in the Canadian Army. Danny's considerable skills served him well in the army and rapid promotion and honours reflected his natural leadership ability. From Lance Corporal to Corporal to Sargeant to Acting Sargeant Major, he was groomed for selection to attend Sandhurst, the UK military college. Sandhurst was full of talented English military "Blue Bloods" when this Canadian farm boy won the Sword and Belt of Honor, which was presented by Viscount (Gen.) Montgomery. Those Blue Bloods got a lesson in soldiering from a Canadian from "the Colonies."
Danny's regiment, The South Alberta Regiment, was home to a large number of very brave men
(including Major D.V. Currie the only Victoria Cross ( highest award for bravery in the Commonwealth) in the Canadian Armored Corp in WW2). Those who survived, went on post war to become valuable, productive Canadian citizens in many fields of endeavor (see http://www.rcaca.org/r-SAR.htm).
The above link gives only an overview of Danny's SAR regiment. They participated in every major campaign from Normandy, through Belgium, Holland and Germany. Danny was awarded the Military Cross (MC) when his four Tank troop engaged and destroyed a German four Tank Troop, one of them a deadly Tiger tank that out gunned Danny's Shermans. After VE day, he was posted to Vernon and Naniamo, BC to organize the Armored element for the Canadian Forces about to join the USA military force for the invasion of Japan. The Atomic bomb ended that war, as we well know.
Soon after the end of WW2, Danny became part of the Regular Army as a Captain, then a Major. Almost all of the many positions Danny held during his career have been involved in leadership training. Danny was selected to serve with the USA 82nd Airborne and the 1st US Armored Division as an exchange Officer. He was OC of Tactics Squadron at the Royal Canadian Armored Corp School for Officer and NCO training for Korea. Danny was CO of a RECCE Squadron in NATO during the Cold War and later served as a Canadian UN Observer in Vietnam, where he was a POW for a short time. Danny McLeod was awarded South Vietnam's highest medal, The Order of a Million Elephants. Danny's final military posting was to Kingston Ontario. At the Royal Military College (RMC program, Canada's West Point) he was tasked with developing their Physical Training and Athletic program and did it in such a way that leadership skills blossomed in the young participants. Danny's success was noted at RMC, and he became one of the founding fathers of the Canadian Athletic Union (Canadian University sports programs). Next he was in on the development of The Federation of International University Sports. This led him to help to organize the World University Games, etc.
Danny retired from the CFs on a Friday and, by the next Thursday, Mr. Clarence Campbell had hired him as his personal emissary to the NHL. Danny jumped in feet first and, as the eyes and ears of the NHL, reported the good, the bad and the ugly (wayward Players and Officials). He also worked the Russia-Canada series, which had more angles than a Geometry book.
In the International War of Hockey, Danny's hockey playing and coaching brought him to the attention of the World Ice Hockey Federation. Danny, as usual, was up to his gaiters in the blood and politics of his combat zone, specifically, Canada vs. USSR games. These battles raged back and forth and the Russians were, often underestimated, tough and proud adversaries. When Russia first beat Canada, the shocked response of Canadian Fans was, " how could those godless communists beat Team Canada at Canada's national sport?" Canadians came up with every excuse for our losses except that Team USSR was a better-trained team that had represented Mother Russia with great élan. Canada and Danny shook their heads and got up off their collective hockey shorts, sharpened Team Canada skills and, with a roar of rage, went for the Russians throats. Anyone not aware of the Hockey battle of 1972 died in 1971. This eight game Summit series was a 'barn burner' that seesawed back and forth until the last minute of the final game, when Paul Henderson banged in the winning goal and Canada finally won the Bragging Rights for world hockey! 1972 USSR vs. Canada will never be forgotten.
click here. Hockey fans in the free world went bananas. Stalin and Lenin thrashed in their tombs and went totally berserk. Even Canada's very conservative (pun intended) Prime Minister John Diefenbaker and his lady wife Olive cheered and embraced with glee. Olive was heard to say afterwards "John hasn't embraced me with that much passion since our wedding night." Paul Henderson is still dining out on that goal.
Danny is retired now and has slowed down a little by command of his lady wife Sheila. This means that, at 81, he only works six days a week, flogging Cadillacs to the Kingston gentry. He does 120 push-ups every morning before a banana and cereal breakfast and is still sought after as a hockey advisor. Danny knows there has to be a reason to get up in the morning. Old Depression farm habits die hard.
Danny has long had a serious concern that I paraphrase as follows: "The loss of so many fine young men and women in the defense of Canada's freedom is seldom taught in any depth in our schools. Canada is a proud young nation of many ethnic groups. Why are teachers not teaching our history?" If something needs fixing, Danny can always be counted on to take action. He has been very active for the installation of memorial plaques for the SAR WW2 places of battle, honouring the SAR young men who lie in war graves in Europe. The Department of Veteran Affairs poor mouth their budget and have sniveled out of their responsibility for honouring the fallen with decent memorials. Wal-Mart (Canada) is helping to gather finances for a Canadian memorial Museum to commemorate the D-Day landing at Courselles sur Mer, in Normandy. Says Danny, "Yes, Veterans do not agree with war, but in every case of involvement, including Peace-Keeping deployments, we or our neighbors were attacked by bullies and thugs. Children have to know that bullies and thugs must be stood up too or our freedoms are lost."
Note #1: Of the many, many stories of Danny's exploits, this is one he probably prefers to forget!
Danny was being driven in a jeep, past a very large High School during a thaw, which made the snow perfect for rock hard snowballs to throw at passing buses and cars. As the jeep drove by, several ice balls were thrown. One broke the windshield. Another hit the driver in the eye. Luckily, he was not permanently blinded, but, bleeding profusely managed to stop the jeep. Danny hopped out and was performing First Aid on the driver, when who should swagger over, but the hulking campus bully accompanied by two of his sycophants. They approached the jeep and the bullyboy said, "why don't you "freaking" soldiers go back to Korea?" Danny spun around, looked way up from his First Aid activity, and warned the clown off. Getting no result, he decked the bully and the sycophants fled. Danny got a dressing on the driver's eye and got him into the hospital for medical treatment. Later, when Danny was charged with assault, the Judge threw the case out with the statement, "Not guilty. The accused did what any red blooded Canadian would do."
The bullyboy was the leader of the 10th Street gang. They had beaten up a teacher and an off duty policeman who was acting as a chaperone at a school dance. They were suspects in the beating death of a Black student going with a White girl. After Danny's decking, the school Principal sent a 40 oz jug of Rye to the Officers mess. Danny does not smoke or drink, but his comrades did the honours. Later that year, at a social function, Calgary's Chief of Police told Danny that 'there had been no more trouble from the 10 th Street gang since the punch up'. As an aside, the bullyboy eventually went to prison on some other charges. I went to that school and not one student ever thought that Danny had not responded correctly to the ugly situation brought on by the hulking school bully.
Note #2: During the early days of the Hockey War with the USSR, Canadians were inclined to strut about and declare that the lads from the steppes were not tough enough even to be in the same league with our lads. In a Canada vs. USSR game in Sweden, a Canadian player punched a Russian full in the squash. The Russian didn't drop his stick. The Canadian punched him again and then was grabbed by the linesman and awarded five minutes for fighting (in those days you did the full penalty regardless of a goal being scored.) Play was restarted and the Russians skated rings around the short-sided Canadians. To add insult to injury, the "punched" Russian banged in two goals, clinching the game. The dejected, penalized Canadian, still in the 'sin bin', looked up to see the Russian he'd punched skate by and symbolically tip his hat! Not many men can take, not one, but two punches, and not drop their stick and get a penalty. To me, that's tough!
I have often wondered if that Russian chap wasn't made 'A Hero of the Soviet Union' when he got home because those Canada vs. USSR games certainly were a bloody combat zone.
What we learned from the Russians' study of the NHL:
- The game of hockey flows Right to Left.
- Right Wing players average the highest number of goals
- Right Wing must play full bore 65% of the time
- Center must play full bore 100% of the time.
- Left Wing must play full bore 45% of the time.
- Players like Gordie Howe and Wayne Gretzky play 40 seconds a shift at full bore, if not changed off they can not be effective over the full game and the game will be lost. This formal study helped develop Team USSR.
What Danny taught the Russians.
Russian and other International officials, including Canada's, were gathered under Danny by Referee and Chief Scotty Morrison. Danny was tasked with Standardizing the officiating and Teaching the methods of controlling international hockey games.
On day one, all dressed in Linesmen and Referee jerseys, they came onto the ice smiling and thinking that this would be a lark. Danny blew his whistle and they lined up in rows of four and, with Danny out front, started their warm up circuits. After each round Danny, sped up the pace. After ten rounds, it looked like the Whirling Dervishes were on the ice. Danny brought out the Canadian Officials blood lust and they all stuck to Danny's striped shirt. By now the rows of four had become a line strung out behind the Canucks.
With every round, more and more off shore Officials fell out, until only the USSR and the Canucks were circling the ice, while the others recovered in the stands and watched in awe. This went on and on until one Russian gave up and then two more turned blue and folded their tents. One dogged Russian continued to fight, but eventually gave up and collapsed into the stands. Things continued to speed up, with Danny setting the grueling pace and only the Canadians left on the ice. For three further rounds they flew by the stands and then walked off the ice as all the drop-outs stood up and cheered. Some lark, eh! Danny believes in leadership by example. This story was never shown on TV or recorded in hockey history books, but it was told to me by my comrade Danny and I'm proud to share it with you.
In conclusion: Danny credits his God, his Family, his Teachers and his many comrades for his successes in his Military and Hockey careers. He does not believe there is such a thing as the Most Valuable Player (MVP) on any team as every player who plays his best is valuable.
To quote Gen. Moose Macdonald, at a fair well military mess dinner for Ian Mc. D Grant DSO, "Medals and honors are like social diseases, most of us should get them, but few of us do."
This not only applies to military Honors and Awards, but also to Sports Gold Medals, and Trophy cups as well.
W.J.(Danny) McLeod MC CD you do Canada proud!
(a warriors song for those who fell)
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Falaise, Falaise Road, The Laison, St. Lambert-sur-Dives, Moerbrugge, The Scheldt, Moerbrugge, The Lower Maas, Kapelsche Veer, The Rhineland, The Hochwald, Veen, Twente Canal, Bad Zwischenahn, North-West Europe, 1944-1945
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Post WW2 LdSH(RC)
Danny's Regiment
Royal Military College Kingston ON. click here
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Military Cross awarded to W.J. McLeod 1945 NWE
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