Mr. Speaker, on this date 68 years ago one of the pioneers of Canadian aviation and Canada's most decorated war hero, Lieutenant-Colonel William Barker, was killed in a plane crash on the Ottawa River just a few kilometres from here. He was 35 years of age.
In his day Lieutenant-Colonel Barker was a hero's hero. His state funeral was reported to be the largest in the history of Toronto. The cortege was two miles long with 2,000 uniformed men as escorts and 50,000 spectators looking on.
When he ended his military career he held no fewer than nine gallantry awards including the Victoria Cross as well as two foreign decorations. He had 50 great war air victories to his credit. Flying alone in his last air battle, he was seriously wounded three times, fell into unconsciousness twice, but still managed to destroy four enemy aircraft.
Lieutenant-Colonel William Barker is one of Canada's forgotten heroes. He is also one of this country's greatest heroes. It is high time Canadians recognized his extraordinary achievements.