Ronald "Red" Daniels

Corporal Ronald "Red" Danielshttps://blog.activision.com/de/call-of-duty/archives/announcing-call-of-duty-wwii is the protagonist of Call of Duty: WWII. He also appears in Call of Duty: Heroes.
==Biography==
Daniels joined the army on March 7th 1944, wanting to live up to his father's legacy. As he had never left his hometown, he was naive and sheltered from the outside world.http://imgur.com/YfysAAZ He left home to join the army and was assigned to the 1st Infantry Division, where he was deployed to Europe. He is engaged to a woman named Hazel back home and finds out that she is pregnant with their first child after his deployment.
===Early Life===
Daniels was born sometime in 1925 in Longview, Texas to Emmet Daniels, a World War I veteran who was awarded the Silver Star for his action at the Battle of Cantigny. There was a particular incident when Daniels and his elder brother Paul went hunting for wolves that were killing their cattle. He was surprised by a wolf that started attacking his elder brother and started panicking, unable to load his rifle in time. Fortunately, Paul managed to kill the wolf with his knife. Unfortunately, moments after Paul lectured his brother, he collapsed and died of his wounds.
===Basic Training===
Daniels went to boot camp after he enlisted in the United States Army. He was assigned to the 1st Infantry Division, 16th Infantry Regiment. He met his squad in basic training and hated Robert Zussman in the first week, but he eventually became Daniels' best friend.
===Invasion of Normandy===
Daniels lands on Omaha Beach with his squad on June 6th, 1944. He is ordered by his officer, Lt. Joseph Turner to blow the seawall with a Bangalore torpedo as Kopelson and James have been killed. Daniels successfully reaches and destroys the seawall with Zussman's support. He then clears four bunkers with the squad, and is ordered to clear the 5th bunker with Zussman alone. When Daniels enters the bunker, he is attacked by a German soldier. Zussman punches the soldier, but gets stabbed in retaliation. Daniels knocks the soldier out with a Stahlhelm and drags Zussman to a nearby field hospital. Daniels then joins his squad in destroying a GPF cannon, which is firing on the beach at landing troops. He returns to Zussman and promises that he will fight with him to the end.
===Operation Cobra===
Daniels meets Augustine Perez of the 745th Tank Battalion on July 25th. His squad is suddenly attacked by German Stukas. After the squad captures the AA Guns and destroys the German planes, they regroup with Perez and take out the PaK 38 guns. The squad regroups with Turner and are ordered by Col. Davis to rescue Charlie Company with Jeeps.
The next day, William Pierson leads the squad in assaulting Marigny, Manche. After the squad captures the church, Pierson orders Zussman and Aiello to destroy the AA guns while himself, Daniels, Pvt. Jones and Stiles provide sniper support from the bell tower. After clearing the way for the two men, an AA gun fires at the bell tower, causing it to collapse with the men narrowly escaping. The squad regroups with Turner and holds off the German counterattack, successfully capturing Marigny.
===Intercepting German Train===
The squad teams up with British Special Operations Executive agents Arthur Crowley and Vivian Harris to stop a German armored train carrying V-2 Rockets near Argentan. The squad fails to infiltrate the station before the train leaves. Daniels and Zussman chase the train in a jeep. However, the explosion of a Stielhandgranate causes the jeep to crash into the train, derailing it. Afterwards, they meet Camille "Rousseau" Denis and she escorts them back to the squad. Daniels and Zussman then return to the wreckage to look for some papers for a mission in Paris.
===Liberation of Paris===
On August 25th, the squad plan an ambush on the Nazi garrison headquarters. After Rousseau and Crowley blow the gates, Daniels and the squad assault the garrison with the French Resistance. After regrouping with Rousseau and Crowley, he and Zussman enter the headquarters to provide sniper support for the Resistance against the German counterattack. Paris is successfully liberated and the S.O.E. and French Resistance separate from the squad.
===Aachen===
On October 17th, the 1st Platoon arrive in Aachen. Aiello hands Daniels a letter from Hazel. Stiles notes that "Daniels" is written on the letter instead of "Red", telling Daniels that it is a break up letter. Daniels refuses to read the letter and believes that Hazel is still by his side.
The 1st Infantry Division advance into the city on October 18th, but are pinned down by PaK 38 artillery. Daniels and Pierson call in support from "Villain", Perez and Rabson's tank squad. After Perez clears the Stadttheater, the squad is ambushed while advancing to the hotel. They capture the hotel and head into the basement. The squad hear a kid's voice, so Daniels lures Anna out with his chocolate bar. The squad then find out that Anna, her sister Erica and other civilians are taking shelter in the basement. Turner orders the squad to escort the civilians to a truck. Daniels goes back to the basement after Erica notices that Anna is missing. Daniels brings Anna to the truck and helps hold off a German counterattack. When the truck is ready to go, they are ambushed, leading to Erica being killed.
===Battle of Hürtgen Forest===
Before the battle, Daniels finally decides to open Hazel's letter. He finds out that Hazel is in fact pregnant, not leaving him. He stares at the photo of Hazel until Zussman reminds him that the mission briefing is about to begin.
After defending the bridge, Turner and Pierson split into two teams to reach Hill 493. After Turner's squad eliminates a mortar team, they are attacked by artillery. Daniels falls down the hill and sees Paul in an illusion. He sneaks through the Dragon's Teeth and regroups with Turner. After taking out the German sniper who was shooting at them, they capture the mill with Stiles.
Turner's squad waits for Pierson's squad to arrive at the base of Hill 493. However, they later find out that Pierson is leading his squad and Second Platoon in assaulting Hill 493 alone. Turner's squad advances to the hill immediately. Daniels escorts Pvt. Parker to plant a Pole Charge on the MG pillbox. After clearing the bunker, Daniels is ordered to disable 3 150mm artillery guns with Thermite charges. After disabling the artillery, the squad is attacked by a German tank. 
 Daniels uses thermite to disable the tank and is saved from the tank crew by Turner, who is then shot by the tank commander. Daniels grabs Turner's revolver and kills the commander. He then drags Turner to cover, but the squad is ordered to retreat. Daniels refuses to leave Turner behind, but is dragged away by Zussman and Pierson, watching as Turner is killed.
===Battle of the Bulge===
After Turner's death, Daniels is promoted to Corporal. He and the squad celebrate Christmas at midnight on 25th December. In the morning, Daniels meets Howard, an engineer originally serving in a segregated African-American Regiment. As the convoy is passing by, the Ardennes Forest is suddenly attacked by German artillery fire. After the bombardment, Daniels helps Howard to operate the radio, calling in close air support from Rover Joe. While the squad is holding the front line, being attacked by German tanks and anti-tank units, Daniels is ordered by Pierson to call in air support on the tanks inside the safety limit, but refuses. Pierson forces Daniels to give him the coordinates and calls in the air support himself. Daniels is dragged by Zussman into a foxhole, surviving the friendly bombers attack.
===Ambush on German Air Base===
Two days after the battle, the 1st Infantry Division launches an operation to sneak attack a German air base in the Ardennes. Daniels and Zussman are ordered to sneak into the base and provide sniper support from the overwatch positions when the attack begins. The overwatch tower they are in is shot by a German tank, causing the two men to fall to the ground. They are about to be captured and transported away by a truck when their squad kills the Germans, but Zussman is already inside the truck and it drives away. Daniels disobeys Pierson's orders and grabs a jeep to chase after the truck, but fails. He is about to be executed by Pierson for insubordination, but Stiles and Aiello arrive, saving his life. Daniels is then discharged from the 1st Platoon.
===Honorable Discharge===
Daniels has been staying in the 42nd Field Hospital in the Ardennes Forest. Zussman has been in captivity for 8 weeks. He is visited by Colonel Davis and Daniels states that Pierson didn't care about Zussman, just like the soldiers who died in the Kasserine Pass. However, Davis tells him the truth about why Pierson is so serious about orders. Daniels belives that he will be punished with a court-martial, but instead is honorably discharged because of the intelligence he found on the escaping German prisoner. Daniels is called a "bona-fide hero" by Davis.
After Davis leaves, Daniels holds the Saint-Michael pendant that Aiello gave Zussman right before D-Day. He dreams of returning to Longview, Texas and reuniting with Hazel and Paul. He goes out to hunt with Paul and is called a "bona-fide hero" by him. Daniels then remembers the promise he made to Zussman after the beach landings.
===Rejoining the Platoon===
Daniels convinces Pierson to let him rejoin the platoon. He reminds Pierson about what happened in the Kasserine Pass and tears up his honorable discharge certificate, signed by Davis. Pierson allows Daniels to rejoin the platoon because of his determination to save Zussman.
===Battle of Remagen===
The 1st Infantry Division, 99th Infantry Division and 9th Armored division launch an assault on the Ludendorff Bridge at Remagen, the last bridge standing across the Rhine. Daniels and the squad attack the bridge's defenses, while Howard's squad attempt to defuse as many of the explosive charges as possible. After crossing the bridge, Daniels hijacks an anti-aircraft gun and shoots down the Stukas trying to destroy the bridge. The friendly air support then arrives and sweeps the battlefield, leading to the surrender of the Germans defending the bridge.
===Liberation of Concentration Camps and Saving Zussman===
After the battle of Remagen, the squad was informed that there were POW camps in the area and ignored Davis' orders, going off to find Zussman instead. They liberate concentration camps along their way, shocked discovering the scale of the Holocaust, and arrive at the smaller labor camp in Berga. After walking through the camp, Pierson realizes that the prisoners might have been marched out to the woods for execution. Daniels arrives in time and kills Metz, saving Zussman from being executed.
===Disbandment of the Squad===
After saving Zussman, the 1st Infantry Division was given a speech by Davis at the Port of Le Havre. The squadmates say their farewells to Daniels and return to their daily lives. Before saying goodbye to Pierson, he tells him that he will tell stories to his son of the war and about "that crazy bastard Pierson", but Pierson replies with what Daniels said after tearing up his discharge papers. Later, Daniels goes to the hospital to visit Zussman and explains to him why he decided to save him instead of returning home. The two shake hands, fulfilling Daniels' promise to Zussman he made after they landed in Normandy.
===Returning to Home===
Ronald "Red" Daniels returned to Longview, Texas on June 13th, 1945. He put his Bronze Star medal on top of his brother's grave and reunites with Hazel and his son, who he names Joseph Turner Daniels in honor of Lieutenant Joseph Turner's sacrifice on Hill 493.
==Personality==
After losing his brother, Daniels believed that Paul was watching him during his time in the United States Army. Daniels is an honorable, patriotic and selfless individual, being sympathetic to German civilians, even risking his life to save a young woman's sister alone. He shows himself to be a capable soldier, as his squadmates praise his abilities in battle, often relying on him to pull them through. Paul's illusion states that Daniels doesn't know when to quit and it's shown that he can take a lot of damage (e.g. surviving a train crash). Even Pierson, who is ruthless and shows himself to be crazy, sees him as insane when he refuses to return home to his wife and child with a Bronze Star.
Though naïve, Daniels cares for his squadmates, being Zussman's best friend and partner in missions. In his eyes, a hero risks their lives for others, seeing his brother Paul as one after his death. Paul's death inspired Daniels to never give up and to be like him during the war, and was willing to die for his squadmates and civilians, despite knowing he would be a father soon.
Throughout the campaign, Daniels is shown to be the most moral and pure-hearted of the squad, telling Aiello and Perez to treat the Germans with respect, stating that they had family at home too. In addition, he cared for the German civilians more so than Pierson. He is similar to Turner, as both show leadership and focus more on casualties than others, notably Pierson. Daniels is intelligent and quick thinking as well, noting the German Prisoner was hiding something if he ran from them, giving the Army information on the German's ambush. He is also incredibly selfless, sacrificing the opportunity of returning to his spouse and son early to save Zussman and fulfill his promise to him on D-day. 
==Gallery==
RedDaniels ProfileDossier WWII.png
Paul Thomas Daniels Dead WWII.png|Daniels kneeling over his brother's corpse in 1938.
Anna candy bar WWII.png|Daniels giving Anna a candy bar in "Collateral Damage".
Daniels holding bottle WWII.png
Daniels mad WWII.png
Daniels Zussman Epilogue WWII.png|Daniels visiting Zussman in the hospital
Daniels.png|Daniels, after his dream
1stPlatoon Epilogue WWII.png|Daniels and 1st platoon
Liberation Image WWII.png|Daniels looking over France with French Resistance members
Daniels in battle of the bulge WWII.jpg|Daniels with a beard, which he doesn't have for the rest of the campaign
===Daniels' Dossier===
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COD_WWII_VIRAL_11_DANIELS.PNG
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==Quotes==
== Video ==
Call of Duty® WWII – Meet the Squad "Red" Daniels
== Trivia ==
*Daniels' first name and nickname are based on Glen Schofield's father of the same name who died during the making of Call of Duty: WWII.https://streamable.com/s/4j25k/fizift
*Daniels appears to be a soldier of the American 3rd Infantry Division instead of the 1st Infantry Division in pre-launch marketing materials.
*Daniels seems to have facial hair during the cut scene in Battle of the Bulge and Ambush, but it is not present in the ending cutscene of The Rhine.
== References ==
ru:Рональд "Рэд" Дэниелс
Category:Call of Duty: WWII United States Army Characters
Category:Call of Duty: Heroes Characters
Category:Playable Characters
Category:Protagonists
Category:Call of Duty: WWII Red's Family Characters