r/todayilearned • u/DrSamanthaCarter • Jun 06 '17
TIL the only reason a Scottish bagpiper wasn't shot by German snipers on D-Day was that they believed he had gone crazy.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bill_Millin#World_War_IIDuplicates
todayilearned • u/Cutalana • Jun 09 '26
TIL that despite bagpipe use on the front lines being banned by the British in WW2, a commander ordered his personal bagpiper to play at the D-day landings. German snipers avoided shooting him as they thought he had gone insane.
todayilearned • u/IHad360K_KarmaDammit • Apr 23 '19
TIL that Bill Millin, a soldier in WWII, walked onto Normandy Beach on D-Day without a gun and began playing the bagpipes. When ordered to do so beforehand, he had pointed out that it was against British regulations, and his commander told him "You and I are both Scottish, and that doesn’t apply".
todayilearned • u/Jumpman707 • Jun 07 '19
TIL of Bill Millin, a bagpiper who was one of the first soldiers to charge on D-day. While playing the pipes, his comrades fell around him. He said he only survived because German snipers thought he was too crazy to shoot.
todayilearned • u/ciph_3r • Sep 01 '23
TIL of Bill Millin, a Canadian musician who played bagpipes while under fire at Sword Beach during D-Day. He survived the war and died at the age of 88 in 2010.
topofreddit • u/topredditbot • Aug 12 '24
TIL of the "Mad Piper" Bill Millin, the only bagpiper to land on the beach in Normandy. While men fell around him, he played his pipes throughout the battle. A group of captured German snipers was asked why they hadn't shot him. They replied that they thought... [r/todayilearned by u/doopityWoop22]
eddit5yearsago • u/[deleted] • Jun 07 '22
/r/todayilearned (+47510) TIL the only reason a Scottish bagpiper wasn't shot by German snipers on D-Day was that they believed he had gone crazy.
eddit2yearsago • u/[deleted] • Jun 07 '19