Ronald "Red" Daniels

"The dream was different last night. This time we made it home. Together. I can still hear the wolves, Paul. Sometimes I still see'em comin'. But you showed me how to fight'em. So this belongs to you. 'Cause the sacrifice you made taught me a hero will risk it all to save his brother. And you'll always be both to me."

- Red at Paul's grave in the "Epilogue".

Corporal Ronald "Red" Daniels is the main protagonist of Call of Duty: WWII.

Biography
He joined the army on March 7th, 1944 wanting to live up to his brother's legacy. As he had been never left his hometown, he acted naive and sheltered from the outside world. He left home to join the army and was assigned to the 1st Infantry Division and was deployed to Europe. Red is also engaged to a woman named Hazel back home and finds out that she is pregnant with their first child.

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 who were killing their cattle, Red was surprised by a wolf that started attacking his elder brother, panicking he was 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 joined the boot camp as he enlisted to the United States Army. He was assigned to the 1st Infantry Division, 16th Infantry Regiment. He met his squad in the basic training and hated Robert Zussman in the first week, but he eventually became Daniels' best friend.

Invasion of Normandy
Daniels landed 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 were killed. Daniels successfully got to and destroyed the seawall with Zussman's support. He then cleared four bunkers with the squad, and is ordered to clear the bunker with Zussman alone. When Daniels enters the bunker, he is attacked by a German soldier. Zussman punches the soldier but he got stabbed. Daniels knocked out the soldier with a Stahlhelm and dragged Zussman to a field hospital. Daniels then went to destroy a GPF cannon which was storming the beach with the squad. He returned to Zussman and promised that he will fight with him to the end.

Operation Cobra
"Maybe I'll get home by Christmas with a couple medals on my chest, but first we gotta take Marigny"

- Red before the operation.

Daniels meets Augustine Perez of the 745th Tank Battalion on July 25th. His squad is suddenly attacked by German Stukas. After the squad captured the AA Guns and destroyed the German planes, they regrouped with Perez and took out the PaK 38 guns. The squad regroups with Turner and were ordered by Col. Davis to rescue Charlie Company with Jeeps.

The next day, William Pierson leads the squad to assault Marigny, Manche. After the squad captured the church, Pierson orders Zussman and Aiello to destroy the AA guns. While Daniels, Pierson, Pvt. Jones and some US soldiers were providing sniper support for them. After clearing the way for the two men, the AA gun was operated by the enemies and the tower was destroyed, leading it to collapse. The squad regrouped with Turner and held off the German counterattack, successfully captured Marigny.

Intercepting German Train
The squad teamed up with British Special Operations Executive agents Arthur Crowley and Vivian to stop a German armored train carrying V-2 Rockets near Argentan. The squad failed to infiltrate the station before the train leaves. Daniels and Zussman drove a jeep to chase the train. A Stielhandgranate exploded and hit the jeep, causing it to crash into the train, leading the train to derail. After derailing the train, they met Camille "Rousseau" Denis as she escorted them to rally with the squad. Daniels and Zussman then went back to wreckage for some papers for a mission in Paris.

Liberation of Paris
On August 25th, the squad planned for an ambush on a Nazi garrison. After Rousseau and Crowley blew the gates, Daniels and the squad assaulted the garrison with the French Resistance. After regrouping with Rousseau and Crowley, he and Zussman went to a building to provide sniper support the resistance for the German counterattack. Paris was successfully liberated and the S.O.E. and French Resistance separated from the squad.

Aachen
On October 17th, the 1st Platoon arrived in Aachen. Aiello took a letter wrote by Hazel and handed it to Daniels. Stiles saw "Ronald Daniels" is written on the letter instead of "Red", telling Daniels that it is a break up letter. Daniels refused to read the letter and believed Hazel is still still by his side.

The 1st Infantry Division advanced into the city of Aachen on October 18th. The squad couldn't advance because of the PaK 38 artillery. Daniels and Pierson called in support from "Villain", Perez and Rabson's tank squad. After Perez cleared the Stadttheater, the squad was ambushed while advancing to the hotel. They captured the hotel and went to the basement. The squad heard a kid's voice, Daniels lured Anna with his candy bar that Turner gave him. The squad then found out her sister Erica and other civilians. Turner orders the squad to escort the civilians to a truck. Daniels went back to the basement after Erica noticed that Anna was missing. Daniels brought Anna to the truck and held off a German counterattack. When the truck was ready to go, they were ambushed, causing Erica to be killed.

Battle of Hürtgen Forest
Before the battle, Daniels finally decided to open Hazel's letter. He found out that Hazel is pregnant, instead of leaving him. He stared at the photo of Hazel until Zussman reminded him that the mission briefing is about to begin.

After defending the bridge, Joseph Turner and William Pierson splitted into two teams to reach Hill 493. After Turner's squad eliminated the mortar team, they were attacked by artillery. Daniels dropped to the ground from a hill and saw Paul in an illusion. He got pass the Dragon's Teeth and regrouped with Turner. After they taking out the German sniper who was shooting at them, they captured the mill with Stiles. Turner's squad waited for Pierson's squad to arrive at the base of Hill 493. But they later found out that Pierson was leading his squad and second platoon were assaulting Hill 493. Turner's squad advanced to the hill immediately. Daniels escorted Pvt. Parker to plant a Pole Charge on the MG pillbox. After clearing the bunker, Daniels was ordered to disable 3 150mm artillery with Thermites. After disabling the artillery, the squad is attacked by a German tank. Daniels uses thermites to disable the tank and crawled away from the tank which was backing down. Turner got shot by the tank commander after he just killed the crewmen of the tank. Daniels grabbed Turner's revolver to kill the commander. He then dragged Turner to cover but the squad was ordered to retreat. Daniels refused to leave Turner but got pulled out by Zussman and Pierson.

Battle of the Bulge
After Turner's death, Daniels is promoted to Corporal. He and the squad celebrated Christmas in the midnight of 25th December. In the morning, Daniels met Howard, an engineer originally serving in a segregated African-American Regiment. When the convoy is passing, 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 was holding the front line, they were attacked by German tanks and Anti-Tank units. Pierson ordered Daniels to call in air support on the tanks inside the safety limit but refused. Pierson forced Daniels to give him the coordinates and called in air support himself. Daniels was 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 launched 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 towers when the attack has begun. The overwatch tower was shot by a German tank, causing the two men falling to the ground. They were about to be captured and transported inside a truck. The squad killed the Germans near the truck but Zussman was already inside the truck. Daniels disobeyed Pierson's orders and grabbed his truck to chase after the truck but failed. He was about to be executed by Pierson but Stiles and Aiello arrived, saving his life. Daniels was discharged from the 1st Platoon.

Field Hospital
Daniels had been staying in the 42nd Field Hospital in the Ardennes forest since Zussman was captured for 8 weeks. He was visited by Colonel Davis and stated Pierson didn't care about Zussman just like the soldiers who died in the Kasserine pass, but Davis told him the truth why Pierson is taking the orders so seriously. Daniels thought himself will be punished with court-martial but instead was honorable discharged because of the intelligence he found on the escaping German prisoner. Daniels was called a "bona-fide hero". After Davis leaving, Daniels held the Saint-Michael pendant that Aiello gave Zussman right before D-Day. He dreamed of returning to Longview, Texas and reuniting with Hazel and Paul. He went to hunt with Paul and being called a "bona-fide hero" by him. Daniels then remembered the promise he made with Zussman after the beach landings.

Rejoining the Platoon
Daniels convinced Pierson to let him rejoin the platoon. He reminded Pierson what happened in the Kasserine pass and teared off his honorable discharge certificate signed by Davis. Pierson allowed Daniels to rejoin the platoon because of his determination to save Zussman.

Battle of Remagen
"We get this convoy across, we're in the heartland. We'll bust'em open"

- Red right before the battle.

The 1st Infantry division, 99th Infantry Division and 9th Armored division launched an assault on the Ludendorff Bridge at Remagen, the final bridge crossing the Rhine. Daniels and the squad attacked the bridge with the other soldiers, while Howard's squad went to defuse as many charges as possible under the bridge. After crossing the bridge, Daniels got on an Anti-aircraft gun and stopped the Stukas trying to destroy the bridge. The friendly air support came in and swept the battlefield, leading to the surrender of the Germans defending the bridge.

Liberation of Concentration Camps and Saving Zussman
"I thought I knew what cruelty was, I didn't know everything. But one thing's for certain. What I saw will stay with me forever."

- Red after liberating concentration camps.

After the battle of Remagen, The squad was informed that there were POW camps in the area and ignored Davis' orders to find Zussman. They liberated concentration camps in their way and arrived at the smaller labor camp in Berga. After walking through the camp, Pierson realized that the prisoners might have been marched to the woods for execution. Daniels arrived in time and killed Metz, saving Zussman from being executed.

Disbandment of the Squad
After saving Zussman, the 1st Infantry Division was given a speech by Davis in the Port of Le Havre. The squad mates said their final words to Daniels and returned to their daily lives. Later, Daniels went to the hospital and visited Zussman.

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 reunited with Hazel and his son, who he named Joseph Turner Daniels in honor of Lieutenant Joseph Turner's sacrifice in Hill 493.

Personality


After losing his brother, Red believed that Paul watching him during his time in the United States Army. Red is honorable, heroic 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 squad mates praise his abilities in battle, often relying on him to pull them through. Paul's illusion states that Red doesn't know when to quit, as 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 refused to return home to his wife and child and get a bronze star.

Though naïve, Red cared for his squad mates, 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 Red to never give up and be like him during the war, and was willing to die for his squad mates and civilians despite knowing he would be a father soon.

Through the campaign, Red shows the most morale in the squad, telling Aiello and Perez to treat the Germans with respect, stating that they had family at home. In addition, he cared of 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. Red is intelligent and quick thinking as well, noting the German Prisoner was hiding something if ran from them, giving the Army information on the German's ambush.

Trivia

 * Daniels' first name and nickname are based off of Glen Schofield's father of the same name who died during the making of Call of Duty: WWII.