Michael Henriques
Ms. Cachera
ENG2D1h
25 May 2012 Billy Bishop is a Canadian Hero A hero, legend, great fighter and the most famous “Canadian Hero”, William Avery Bishop, best known as “Billy” Bishop, was a person who had great respect for his country and amazing talent. The history behind Bishops success in World War 1 is very unique, as there are many events surrounding this brilliant hero. With his brutal and dramatic battles in France, Billy Bishop was Canada’s top Ace who had a total of 72 victories within his enemy aircrafts. This led him to winning the respect of his enemies and inspiring a whole new generation of fighter pilots. However, although he is Canada’s best known war hero, he has not escaped controversy. Many people doubt that the presumed greatest flying ace lied about many of his 72 victories and the receiving of some of his awards. However, it is reasonable to argue the number of planes Bishop shot down throughout that terrible conflict is irrelevant. Many people regard Bishop as a hero simply because he continued to persevere for his dreams even through the many obstacles, he battled courageously for the sake of others peace and he achieved major accomplishments on and off the battlefields. Billy Bishop’s path to greatness was not an easy one. He encountered many challenges throughout his young life that recognized him as an even fiercer fighter pilot and a true hero. Billy Bishop who was born in Owen Sound, Ontario, faced incredibly tough tasks in achieving his Henriques 2 dream of becoming Canada’s greatest ace. Bishop experienced a tough life throughout school in which he stated after being sent away to Royal Military College that he was “20 years old, a convicted liar and cheat. I mean, I’m on record as the worst student in R.M.C and on record as the worst student they ever had” (Gray 299). He was not an academic student and his third year of