Ronald "Red" Daniels

Corporal Ronald "Red" Daniels (born February 5, 1925) is an American blonde haired and blue eyed WW2 veteran, who serves as the main protagonist, and main playable character in the 2017 video game Call of Duty: WWII. Daniels also appears as a character in the 2014 strategy game Call of Duty: Heroes, being playable in the heroes unit.
He is also from Longview, Texas, and is married to a brunette named Hazel Daniels. He accidentally let his brother, Paul, down when he didn't kill a wolf in time. Paul died of his wounds, devastating Red, who would often speak of him during the campaign.
As he's in the military, he vows to not let down his "frenemy" sergeant named William Pierson. Robert Zussman is his best friend in the U.S. Army and he also befriends Drew Stiles and Frank Aiello, two other soldiers in the same unit. A lieutenant named Joseph Turner was strict, but heroic and fair to Daniels. He was killed by the Nazis during the battle on Hill 493. Daniels and his wife, Hazel, named their newborn son Joseph Turner Daniels, in Turner's honor.
He is voiced and portrayed by Brett Zimmermann, and Steele Stebbins younger.
==Biography==
===Early life===
Ronald Daniels was born on February 5, 1925, in Longview, Texas to Emmet Daniels, and is the younger brother to Paul. When he was young, Red and his brother Paul went into the woods to hunt down wolves, who were killing their cattle. The two were attacked by a wolf, and Red attempted to load his rifle to kill it, but Paul was able to do so without him. Paul gave a lecture to Red on being scared, and succumbed to his wounds, leaving Red devastated.
Red would meet and fall in love with Hazel, and later marry before joining the United States Army. He presumably enlisted into the military after the Japanese attacked Pearl Harbor, and was sent to basic training with other recruits.
At boot camp, he was assigned to the 1st Infantry Division and the 16th Infantry Regiment. At camp, he met Robert Zussman, admitting he hated during their first week, but they soon became best friends. In addition, Daniels also met Frank Aiello, Drew Stiles, and the embittered William Pierson.
==World War II==
===Normandy===
Daniels and his squad landed on the beaches of Normandy, and are attacked by Nazi forces, who decimate American soldiers. Lieutenant Joseph Turner orders Daniels to blow the seawall, and the team are later ordered to clear five bunkers to make the Nazis retreat. In the fifth bunker, Daniels was attacked by a German soldier, and Zussman is stabbed before Red knocked the soldier with his helmet.
After dragging Zussman through the mud and having to fight soldiers along the way, Daniels got Robert to a field hospital. Turner came to Daniels, and told him to help them destroy a GPF cannon which was firing at landing soldiers. Afterward, Daniels was praised by Turner, mocked by Pierson, and told Zussman they would make it to the end.
===France===
Turner's squad meets with tank commander Augustine Perez, and they were suddenly attacked by German Stukas. After killing Nazi soldiers, Daniels was ordered to shoot down German planes with their AA guns. The team regrouped with Perez, and took out the PaK 38 guns, and were later ordered by Colonel Davis to rescue Charlie Company with jeeps.
The squad were later sent to Marigny, Manche to take back the French town, and later captured the church. Afterward in the bell tower, Pierson ordered Zussman and Aiello to destroy German AA guns, as Daniels, Jones and U.S. soldiers provided cover fire. Daniels cleared the way for the two, but one of the AA guns fired at the bell tower, leading to the deaths of Jones and the tower collapsing. The squad held down at the church, and successfully captured Marigny after Zussman and Aiello regrouped.
===Helping the S.O.E.===
The squad teamed up with the Special Operations Executive (S.O.E.) members Arthur Crowley and Vivian to stop a armored train that was carrying V-2 rockets. The squad stealthily infiltrated the area before having to go loud, and the train leaves the station. Daniels and Zussman drove a jeep to chase the train, and succeeded in causing it crash. Afterward, Camille "Rousseau" Denis saved Daniels and Zussman, and took them back to the squad.
After getting papers for a mission in Paris, Daniels and the squad planned an ambush on the Nazi's headquarters. After Rousseau killed Carl Heinrich and placed the bombs, the squad assaulted the garrison with the French Resistance. The squad regrouped with Rousseau and Crowley, Daniels and Zussman stayed in the headquarters to provide support against the counterattack. The squad and the S.O.E. succeeded in liberating Paris from the Nazis, and briefly celebrated as fireworks were in the sky.
===Aachen===
Daniels was afraid to open a letter that Hazel had written him, and Aiello noted that she wrote his full name instead of his nickname. After Frank said it could be a break up letter, Daniels refused to read it, and wanted to believe that Hazel was still with him.
The squad and the 1st Infantry Division advanced into Aachen, but were halted when the enemy forces used PaK 38 artillery. Daniels and Pierson called into support to Perez and Rabson, but Rabson and his tank squad were killed by a German tank. Despite this, Perez and his tank squad continued, and gave them support by destroying the artillery. Afterward, Daniels and the squad captured a hotel and went into the basement, finding civilians and a girl named Anna, and her sister Erica.
Turner orders the squad to escort the civilians to a truck, but Erica tells them that her sister is missing. Daniels decides to go back to the basement, and fights a Nazi soldier before going down there. He found Anna, and brought her to the truck, but had to hold off a German counterattack. When the truck was leaving, they were ambushed by German forces, and Erica was killed by a shot.
===Hürtgen Forest===
Before the Battle of Hürtgen Forest, Daniels decided to open Hazel's letter, and learned that she was pregnant with their child. After telling Aiello and Stiles, Zussman told him that a briefing was about to begin. The squad were sent to the bridge to defend from German forces, and after doing so, Turner and Pierson broke into two teams to reach Hill 493.
Daniels was part of Turner's team, and helped him eliminate a mortar team, but were placed into a ambush and attacked by artillery. Daniels survived the massacre, and stealthy went through the area and reunited with Turner. After taking out a sniper, they captured the mill with Stiles, and Turner tells the squad to wait for Pierson to return. Daniels didn't believe that Pierson would return with the other squad, and his words ringed true.
The group learned that Pierson was leading his squad to assault Hill 493, and Turner's squad advanced to the hill to stop the German forces. After escorting Parker to plant a charge on the MG pillbox, Daniels witnessed Turner confront Pierson before continuing on their mission. The squad cleared the bunker, and Daniels was ordered to disable artillery with thermites, but were the squad was attacked by German tanks.
Daniels succeeded in disabling the tanks with thermite, but the tank commander shot Turner, and was pulled to safety by Red. Turner decided to stay to give cover fire as they escaped, and Daniels had to be dragged away by the others as Turner was killed.
===Belgium===
Daniels was promoted to Corporal by Pierson, and the squad celebrated Christmas before The Battle of the Bulge. The team met Howard, and the group had to fight German forces, and they called air support to deal with soldiers on the ground. Towards the end of the battle, Pierson ordered Daniels to call in air support to the enemy tanks, and the soldiers were nearly killed by Pierson's order.
Two days after the battle, the division launched an operation to attack a German air base after Red got the intel from a prisoner. Daniels and Zussman stealth their way through the base and provided sniper support to help the squad during the battle. The tower they were positioned was shot by a tank, causing them to fall to the ground, and were later captured. Daniels was saved by the squad, but Zussman was captured and was being drove out of the Ardennes. Daniels disobeyed Pierson and went to save his friend, but failed. Pierson was close to executing him, but Stiles and Aiello arrived, and Daniels was discharged from the platoon.
===Rejoining the Squad===
While in a field hospital, Daniels told Colonel Davis that Pierson didn't care about Zussman, just like his soldiers in Kasserine. However, Davis told Red that Pierson attempted to save his men, and disobeyed orders himself, and was later de-promoted. Davis told him that Red was being honorably discharged, due to him getting intelligence for the German air base. After Davis left, Red held the pendant that Zussman won off Aiello, and had a dream of returning home to his family.
Despite the comfort of the dream, Daniels remembered the promise he made to Zussman in Normandy. Daniels managed to convince Pierson to let him back on the squad, reminding him of Kasserine, and ripping his honorable discharge to save Zussman.
===Remagen ===
The 1st and 99th Infantry Division and the 9th Armored Division launched an assault on the Ludendorff Bridge at Remagen. During the battle, Daniels and the squad managed to defuse the charges off of the bridge, and Daniels destroyed German planes with an anti-aircraft gun. Once friendly air support came in, the Germans surrendered and the squad declared victory.
===Saving Zussman===
After the Rhine, the squad was informed that there were POW camps in the area, and went to find Zussman. The squad liberated concentration camps, and managed to save Zussman from being executed by Metz.
===End of the War===
Daniels and the squad returned home and heard Colonel Davis' speech, and Red went to the hospital to talk with Zussman one last time. Afterward, Daniels returned home and named his son after Turner, placed his medal on his brother's grave, and embraced Hazel and their son.
==Quotes==
==Gallery==
===Images===
Paul_Thomas_Daniels_Dead_WWII.png|Red kneeling over his brother's corpse.
2017-11-07_0851.png|Red during the war.
red-daniels1.png|Red in Germany.
red-daniels2.png|Red after opening his letter from Hazel, learning she's pregnant.
Daniels beard Bulge WWII.jpg|Red during the winter.
176479-cod-ww2-red-daniels-costume-article_m-1.jpg|Red at the end of the war.
==Trivia==
*He is about 5'11 and 165 lbs.
*He is presumably of English, Dutch, Danish, and Swedish descent.
*He has unique stealth takedowns, able to strangle a soldier with his arms.
*His first name and nickname come from Glen Schofield's father who passed away during the making of Call of Duty: WWII.
*In the marketing for the release of the game, Daniels appeared as a member of the American 3rd Infantry Division instead of the 1st Infantry Division.
== External Links==
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