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Captain in the Headquarter Staff of the 1st US Army. Heydon W. Buchanan had been trained as an infantry officer and then became part of the intelligence branch when V Corps Army was being assembled and trained in "The Great Louisiana Maneuvers" in the summer of 1941. Then, he trained in photographic intelligence and went to Northern Ireland in May 1942 as part of V Corps Army. He had advanced photo intelligence training in England from June to July 1942 ad then joined the staff of General Dwight D. Eisenhower, commander of the European Theater of Operations. Heydon Buchanan and his commanding officer went from Northern Ireland to London and became part of the planning staff for Operation Torch, the Allied landings in North Africa in November 1942.

In December 1942 Heydon boarded the Strathallan on his way to rejoin the Headquarter of General Eisenhower in Algiers. After the torpedo hit and people were in the lifeboats, he went over the side and ended up in the water all night. He probably swallowed some diesel fuel in the water as he was in hospital for a couple of weeks with steady headaches, fever, and weakness. After recovery in early February 1943 Heydon became part of the planning group for Operation Husky, the invasion of Sicily and eventually joined the staff of General Harold Alexander, commanding officer of the 15th Army Group.

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