Mr. Speaker, a hundred years ago, Canada's wartime aviators were household names. Billy Bishop, the highest scoring ace in the Royal Flying Corps, was Canadian; Raymond Collishaw, the highest scoring ace in the Royal Naval Air Service, was Canadian; so was Andrew McKeever, the highest scoring two-seater ace; so was Roy Brown, who shot down the Red Baron; so too was Alan McLeod, the pilot who became the youngest man ever to win the Victoria Cross.
Canada contributed more to the war in the air than did any other allied country. Twenty-two thousand Canadians served in the air war. Our country produced 171 officially recognized flying aces. Of the top scoring aces of all countries, on both sides, fully one-quarter were Canadian. Thousands more flew perilous artillery spotting missions, and the majority of these did not live to see the end of the war.
Ours is a glorious and tragic history. We owe it to these heroes never to let their memory lapse.