# Léo Major
**Léo Major** (January 23, 1921 – October 12, 2008) was a French-Canadian soldier of the Régiment de la Chaudière who, in the night of 13 to 14 April 1945, drove the German garrison out of the Dutch city of [Zwolle](https://www.edgepedia.org/zwolle) largely single-handedly, sparing the city a planned artillery bombardment, and who later received a second [Distinguished Conduct Medal](https://www.edgepedia.org/distinguished-conduct-medal) for his actions in the [Korean War](https://www.edgepedia.org/korean-war).[1](https://www.veterans.gc.ca/en/remembrance/people-and-stories/leo-major?wbdisable=false) • [2](https://www.stationzwolle.nl/faq/hoe-werd-zwolle-bevrijd-tijdens-de-tweede-wereldoorlog/)
| Key fact | Detail |
|---|---|
| Born / died | January 23, 1921, New Bedford, Massachusetts; October 12, 2008, aged 87, in Quebec[1](https://www.veterans.gc.ca/en/remembrance/people-and-stories/leo-major?wbdisable=false) • [3](https://nb.legion.ca/wp-content/uploads/2021/10/NBCL21_Vol.18.pdf) |
| Service | Joined the Canadian army in 1940 at age 19; served with Le Régiment de la Chaudière in the Second World War and with the Royal 22e Régiment in the Korean War[1](https://www.veterans.gc.ca/en/remembrance/people-and-stories/leo-major?wbdisable=false) • [4](https://publications.gc.ca/collections/collection_2009/forces/D12-11-11-3E.pdf) |
| Zwolle action | Night of 13–14 April 1945: after his friend Willy Arsenault was killed, Major entered the occupied city alone, took prisoners, set the Gestapo headquarters on fire, and reported the Germans gone by morning[1](https://www.veterans.gc.ca/en/remembrance/people-and-stories/leo-major?wbdisable=false) • [2](https://www.stationzwolle.nl/faq/hoe-werd-zwolle-bevrijd-tijdens-de-tweede-wereldoorlog/) |
| Result | The planned artillery shelling of Zwolle was canceled; the city of about 50,000 inhabitants was liberated on 14 April 1945 largely intact[2](https://www.stationzwolle.nl/faq/hoe-werd-zwolle-bevrijd-tijdens-de-tweede-wereldoorlog/) • [1](https://www.veterans.gc.ca/en/remembrance/people-and-stories/leo-major?wbdisable=false) |
| Decorations | Distinguished Conduct Medal (DCM) for Zwolle and a Bar for the capture of Hill 355 in Korea in November 1951; the only Canadian to receive the DCM in two wars[5](https://www.veterans.gc.ca/fr/commemoration/personnes-et-histoires/leo-major) |
| Recognition | Honorary citizen of Zwolle (2005); a street named Léo Majorlaan; annual commemoration each 14 April; Parc Léo-Major in Longueuil (renamed 2018); a Canada Post stamp issued 29 April 2020[2](https://www.stationzwolle.nl/faq/hoe-werd-zwolle-bevrijd-tijdens-de-tweede-wereldoorlog/) • [6](https://www.veterans.gc.ca/fr/commemoration/monuments-commemoratifs/canada/leo-major-park) |
## Early life and enlistment
Major was born in [New Bedford, Massachusetts](https://www.edgepedia.org/new-bedford-massachusetts), to French Canadian parents, and the family moved to Montreal shortly afterward[1](https://www.veterans.gc.ca/en/remembrance/people-and-stories/leo-major?wbdisable=false). He grew up in a working-class district of Montreal during the depression years[4](https://publications.gc.ca/collections/collection_2009/forces/D12-11-11-3E.pdf). He initially trained as a plumber, then joined the Canadian army in 1940 at the age of 19[1](https://www.veterans.gc.ca/en/remembrance/people-and-stories/leo-major?wbdisable=false). After training in [New Brunswick](https://www.edgepedia.org/new-brunswick) and England, he landed in France on D-Day, 6 June 1944[1](https://www.veterans.gc.ca/en/remembrance/people-and-stories/leo-major?wbdisable=false).
Days after the landing he encountered an SS patrol in Normandy and helped defeat it, but one soldier threw a phosphorus grenade that cost him his left eye[1](https://www.veterans.gc.ca/en/remembrance/people-and-stories/leo-major?wbdisable=false). Senior military leaders tried to send him home after the injury; he refused, telling his son years later, "I'm a sniper. I only need one eye."[5](https://www.veterans.gc.ca/fr/commemoration/personnes-et-histoires/leo-major)
**Battle of the Scheldt.** During the night of 30 to 31 October 1944, at the [Battle of the Scheldt](https://www.edgepedia.org/battle-of-the-scheldt), Major captured 93 German soldiers single-handedly and survived a landmine explosion that left him with a severe back injury[6](https://www.veterans.gc.ca/fr/commemoration/monuments-commemoratifs/canada/leo-major-park) • [1](https://www.veterans.gc.ca/en/remembrance/people-and-stories/leo-major?wbdisable=false).
## The liberation of Zwolle
In the first weeks of April 1945 Canadian units advanced through the eastern Netherlands. The French-Canadian Régiment de la Chaudière was ordered to take Zwolle, a rail and waterway junction with several important Nazi headquarters[2](https://www.stationzwolle.nl/faq/hoe-werd-zwolle-bevrijd-tijdens-de-tweede-wereldoorlog/) • [7](https://nos.nl/bevrijdingsjaar/bericht/2330312). Because the Germans had fought hard at Zutphen, commanders expected similar resistance and prepared artillery fire, but hesitated to shell the historic city center[2](https://www.stationzwolle.nl/faq/hoe-werd-zwolle-bevrijd-tijdens-de-tweede-wereldoorlog/). Two snipers, Major and his friend Corporal Wilfred (Welly) Arsenault, volunteered to scout the German garrison's strength and contact the Dutch resistance[1](https://www.veterans.gc.ca/en/remembrance/people-and-stories/leo-major?wbdisable=false).
Arsenault was killed by enemy fire just outside the town[1](https://www.veterans.gc.ca/en/remembrance/people-and-stories/leo-major?wbdisable=false). Major carried his friend a short distance, then continued alone[2](https://www.stationzwolle.nl/faq/hoe-werd-zwolle-bevrijd-tijdens-de-tweede-wereldoorlog/).
For the rest of the night he ran through Zwolle firing a machine gun and throwing grenades, creating the impression that a full force was attacking. In one encounter he took ten prisoners, saying afterward, "I made noise for a whole regiment. They must not know I was alone."[7](https://nos.nl/bevrijdingsjaar/bericht/2330312) With help from underground resistance fighters he met, he took dozens of prisoners, set the Gestapo headquarters on fire, and drove soldiers out of the city; at times he rested inside civilians' homes[1](https://www.veterans.gc.ca/en/remembrance/people-and-stories/leo-major?wbdisable=false) • [8](https://www.rtvfocuszwolle.nl/leo-major-de-man-die-zwolle-bevrijdde-met-een-eenmansactie/).
Near dawn he met the police officer Frits Kuiper with two resistance men, gave them weapons, and asked them to tell residents the city was free[8](https://www.rtvfocuszwolle.nl/leo-major-de-man-die-zwolle-bevrijdde-met-een-eenmansactie/). At 9:00 on the morning of 14 April 1945 he reported to his regiment's commander that the Germans had left; Canadian troops entered the city, the official liberation announcement came at 11:00, and church bells rang at 13:00[8](https://www.rtvfocuszwolle.nl/leo-major-de-man-die-zwolle-bevrijdde-met-een-eenmansactie/). Because the city was taken without the shelling, the station area, the center, and surrounding neighborhoods survived largely intact[2](https://www.stationzwolle.nl/faq/hoe-werd-zwolle-bevrijd-tijdens-de-tweede-wereldoorlog/).
## The Distinguished Conduct Medal and Korea
Major received the Distinguished Conduct Medal, a British gallantry award then second only to the [Victoria Cross](https://www.edgepedia.org/victoria-cross), for the liberation of Zwolle[4](https://publications.gc.ca/collections/collection_2009/forces/D12-11-11-3E.pdf) • [5](https://www.veterans.gc.ca/fr/commemoration/personnes-et-histoires/leo-major). Six years later, in November 1951 during the Korean War, he led an 18-man scout squad that held a besieged position for three days and retook Hill 355 from Chinese forces, earning a Bar to the DCM[6](https://www.veterans.gc.ca/fr/commemoration/monuments-commemoratifs/canada/leo-major-park). He is the only Canadian to have received the DCM in two wars[5](https://www.veterans.gc.ca/fr/commemoration/personnes-et-histoires/leo-major). In the Korean War overall, only eight DCMs were awarded to Canadian soldiers out of 205 honors and awards[4](https://publications.gc.ca/collections/collection_2009/forces/D12-11-11-3E.pdf).
## Commemoration
Major died on 12 October 2008, aged 87, and was buried at the Last Post Fund National Field of Honour in Pointe-Claire, Quebec[6](https://www.veterans.gc.ca/fr/commemoration/monuments-commemoratifs/canada/leo-major-park). Dutch dignitaries, including the Mayor of Zwolle, attended his funeral[5](https://www.veterans.gc.ca/fr/commemoration/personnes-et-histoires/leo-major).
In Zwolle he was made an honorary citizen in 2005, and the city named a street after him, the Léo Majorlaan[2](https://www.stationzwolle.nl/faq/hoe-werd-zwolle-bevrijd-tijdens-de-tweede-wereldoorlog/). An annual ceremony is held each 14 April, with his story at its center, alongside educational programs, exhibitions at ANNO Stadsmuseum Zwolle, and stages on the Liberation Route Europe[2](https://www.stationzwolle.nl/faq/hoe-werd-zwolle-bevrijd-tijdens-de-tweede-wereldoorlog/). A bronze bust of Major, rifle in hand, looks toward the city from a stone pedestal beneath a Canadian flag[1](https://www.veterans.gc.ca/en/remembrance/people-and-stories/leo-major?wbdisable=false).
In Quebec, the former Parc du Souvenir in [Longueuil](https://www.edgepedia.org/longueuil) has been called Parc Léo-Major since 2018, with an educational plaque presenting his biography[6](https://www.veterans.gc.ca/fr/commemoration/monuments-commemoratifs/canada/leo-major-park). On 29 April 2020, for the 75th anniversary of the victory in Europe, Canada Post issued a stamp in his honor[6](https://www.veterans.gc.ca/fr/commemoration/monuments-commemoratifs/canada/leo-major-park). In 2020 the local Zwolle soccer club put his name on its match jerseys for the 75th anniversary of the Netherlands' liberation[5](https://www.veterans.gc.ca/fr/commemoration/personnes-et-histoires/leo-major).
## Legend and historical assessment
The liberation story has taken on mythic proportions over the years. A popular nickname, "the Rambo of Quebec", captures the embellished image of one man sweeping through the city[1](https://www.veterans.gc.ca/en/remembrance/people-and-stories/leo-major?wbdisable=false) • [9](https://isgeschiedenis.nl/nieuws/leo-major-de-heldhaftige-bevrijder-van-zwolle). Dutch historians note that some versions of the story involve considerable myth-making, and that Major's own children knew nothing of what he had done until a Dutch official visited their home about 30 years after the war[9](https://isgeschiedenis.nl/nieuws/leo-major-de-heldhaftige-bevrijder-van-zwolle) • [5](https://www.veterans.gc.ca/fr/commemoration/personnes-et-histoires/leo-major). What the documented record supports is a reconnaissance mission that became a night of aggressive deception and prisoner-taking, carried out with resistance fighters, on the eve of an assault that the city's survival made unnecessary[1](https://www.veterans.gc.ca/en/remembrance/people-and-stories/leo-major?wbdisable=false) • [7](https://nos.nl/bevrijdingsjaar/bericht/2330312).
## References
1. [Léo Major, Veterans Affairs Canada](https://www.veterans.gc.ca/en/remembrance/people-and-stories/leo-major?wbdisable=false)
2. [Bevrijding Zwolle in 1945: het verhaal van Léo Major, Station Zwolle](https://www.stationzwolle.nl/faq/hoe-werd-zwolle-bevrijd-tijdens-de-tweede-wereldoorlog/)
3. [New Brunswick Legion magazine, Vol. 18](https://nb.legion.ca/wp-content/uploads/2021/10/NBCL21_Vol.18.pdf)
4. [Private Leo Major, DCM and Bar, by T. Robert Fowler, Canadian Army Journal 11.3](https://publications.gc.ca/collections/collection_2009/forces/D12-11-11-3E.pdf)
5. [Léo Major, Anciens Combattants Canada (French)](https://www.veterans.gc.ca/fr/commemoration/personnes-et-histoires/leo-major)
6. [Parc Léo-Major, Anciens Combattants Canada](https://www.veterans.gc.ca/fr/commemoration/monuments-commemoratifs/canada/leo-major-park)
7. [Canadees probeert eigenhandig Zwolle te bevrijden, NOS Bevrijdingsjaar](https://nos.nl/bevrijdingsjaar/bericht/2330312)
8. [Leo Major; de man die Zwolle bevrijdde met een eenmansactie, RTV Focus](https://www.rtvfocuszwolle.nl/leo-major-de-man-die-zwolle-bevrijdde-met-een-eenmansactie/)
9. [Léo Major, de heldhaftige bevrijder van Zwolle, IsGeschiedenis](https://isgeschiedenis.nl/nieuws/leo-major-de-heldhaftige-bevrijder-van-zwolle)
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*Topic: Encyclopedia › Society and history › Conflict and security › Military and security biographies › Soldiers, guerrillas, partisans, and irregular fighters › Regular soldiers and veterans › World War I and World War II soldiers*
*Initially written Sep 17, 2026 · Reviewed: Sep 30, 2026; Oct 25, 2026 · Edited: Sep 30, 2026; Oct 15, 2026; Oct 25, 2026 · Last review: Oct 25, 2026*
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