Richard Todd was an Army Captain? at the D-Day invasion
He was in the parachute regiment and his task was to reinforce the glider borne troops who had captured the Orne canal (Pegasus) and river (Horsa) bridges.
When he played Major Howard in the film "the longest day" he wanted the scene shot where Howard shook hands with him on D day. The scene never made the film and anyone watching gets the impression that the first reinforcements were Lord Lovats commandos.