Medical Officer Captain Colin Brebner was in another plane that had to keep five of its men aboard for a second pass after the first fifteen had jumped. Brebner went out in the second group and after a fifteen-second descent ended up dangling thirty to fifty feet off the ground with his parachute completely entangled in the upper branches of a large elm. Brebner realized that there was only one way to free himself and that was to hit the quick release button on his chest and fall out of the parachute harness. But the fall was likely to kill him.
Brebner hesitated, but kept thinking of the fact that he was the battalion's only doctor and might even now be badly needed to save Canadian lives. Positioning his body as trained for a hard landing, he hit the release button, wriggled free of the straps, and the next moment was knocked unconcious.
It was still dark when he awoke later and he was relieved to discover his legs could still move. Then he felt the smashed bones in his left wrist. That was okaay, he thought, for he could conduct surgery one-handed. Rolling over, he levered himself to his feet with his good hand and took a step, only to fall hard on his back. Brebner knew instantly that his pelvis was broken and he was helpless.
A half-hour later, Private Bill Adams approached. Brebner by now had a pretty good fix on his location and was able to direct Adams towards the battalion headquarters' rendezvous point. Ignoring the man's protests that he could not leave the doctor behind, Brebner ordered Adams to load up with all the medical supplies he could carry and to take them to the battalion. After Adams left, Brebner tried to inject himself with a morphine syringe but was unable to break the seal because of his useless left hand. He gritted his teeth and waited to be rescued.
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