He went for training in England in 1940. His first combat was at Juno beach on D-Day during the invasion of Normandy. He shot two snipers, and led his men to higher ground through a field of anti-tank mines, where they took defensive positions for the night.
At 11:30 that night, Doohan was hit by six rounds fired from a Bren gun by a nervous Canadian sentry while he was crossing between command posts. The friendly fire almost killed him, with four bullets hitting his leg, one got him in the chest, and one went through his right middle finger. A silver cigarette case saved his life by stopping the bullet to his chest from penetrating him! His right middle finger had to be amputated.
Doohan also trained as a pilot (graduating from Air Observation Pilot Course 40) and flew Taylorcraft Auster Mark V aircraft for 666 (AOP) Squadron, RCAF. He was labelled the "craziest pilot in the Canadian Air Force".
