There’s no better example of Canada’s collective amnesia regarding its own history than our neglect of Lt.-Col. William Barker.

Barker was one of the legendary fighter aces of World War I and the most decorated war hero in Canadian history — indeed, in the entire Commonwealth. He was a household name after the Great War. An estimated 50,000 people lined the streets of Toronto for his funeral after he died in a plane crash, at the age of 35, in 1930.

Yet he gradually faded from the nation’s consciousness. Barker was long denied even an ordinary grave marker, with his remains interred in the mausoleum of his in-laws in Mount Pleasant Cemetery.

Canada’s lamentable neglect of this man has been corrected, at least in part, with the dedication of a special monument to Barker at the cemetery — a modest stone topped with part of an airplane propeller. It’s a start.

Special credit for this memorial goes to pollster John Wright, who worked hard and successfully to attract support. He has expressed hope that Canada’s War Museum will eventually dedicate a statue in recognition of Barker. It seems the least this country could do to properly honour one of its finest warriors.

It’s no exaggeration to describe Barker in that way. He is credited with destroying 50 enemy aircraft in World War I. Recognized as an outstanding shot and an exceptionally aggressive pilot, he had a history of ignoring orders and flying unofficial patrols.

Barker’s most legendary feat occurred two weeks before the war ended — it would earn him the Victoria Cross and devastating wounds that marred the rest of his life. Flying alone, he shot down a German plane but then encountered 15 or more enemy aircraft. Barker destroyed at least three of them before crash-landing in friendly territory with a section of his left arm blown away and bullet wounds in both his legs.

The injuries rendered his arm useless, and lasting pain from his other wounds left Barker increasingly prone to drink. Today he would likely be diagnosed with post-traumatic stress disorder. But that didn’t stop him from starting Canada’s first commercial airline with friend and fellow ace Billy Bishop, serving as acting director of the Royal Canadian Air Force on its creation in 1924, organizing the first air show at the Canadian National Exhibition, and even serving as the first president of the Toronto Maple Leafs.

Barker is not our only neglected military hero. More than 90 Canadians have won the Victoria Cross, starting with Alexander Dunn at the Charge of the Light Brigade in 1854. Yet few Canadians can recall any except perhaps Bishop. That’s deplorable. When we forget our heroes, we forget our bravest and our best.