He brought a fun character to life
I was saddened by the news as well.
From a longer version of the AP story (By Bob Thomas):
The Canadians [on D-Day] crossed a minefield laid for tanks; the soldiers weren't heavy enough to detonate the bombs. At 11:30 that night, he was machine-gunned, taking six hits: one that took off his middle right finger (he managed to hide the missing finger on the screen), four in his leg and one in the chest. Fortunately the chest bullet was stopped by his silver cigarette case.
One tough bird. All shot up and a smoker!! And he still made it to 85. Way to go, Scotty.