Len Wilson taught Business at Northwestern in the 1970's and 1980's. It was then that I found out about his illustrious career in WW2.
A fighter pilot with RCAF 442 Squadron, Mr. Wilson's Spitfire squadron supported the Allied invasion as it moved across northern France and into the Netherlands. The squadron later converted to Mustangs in support of Bomber Command and participated in the last RCAF operational sortie of the war during the liberation of the Channel Islands on May 9, 1945, a day after the Allied victory had been declared.
In a 2009 interview recalling his wartime experience, Mr. Wilson credited a U.S. pilot for saving his life when his aircraft came under attack from German planes on New Year's Day 1945.
Mr. Wilson re-enlisted in the RCAF during the Korean War and served at RCAF Centralia as a flying instructor before moving on to other military postings during the Cold War.
He was the subject of a commemorative WW2 painting by Richard Thistle, which featured three Spitfire fighters taking off on a runway. Mr. Wilson also served as a Stratford City Councillor for many years. A life well-lived, he passed away in 2012. It was my ultimate honour to march beside him in the 2011 Remembrance Day parade in Stratford.