Canadian Military Figure. Nicknamed "The Flying Fox", he was a decorated World War II fighter pilot credited with seriously wounding German Field Marshal Erwin Rommel. Flight Lieutenant Charles William Fox was twice awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross and recognized for destroying or disabling nine enemy aircraft and 153 vehicles and trains. He joined the Royal Canadian Air Force in 1940 with the desire to fly the Spitfire fighter plane. He earned his wings in 1941, graduating second in his class, and was posted in Canada as a flight instructor with the British Commonwealth Air Training Plan. In two years he trained hundreds of pilots and gained over 1500 flying hours before his transfer to RCAF 412 Squadron stationed in England. On D-Day June 6, 1944 he flew three missions over Normandy to support the Allied ships and landing craft. Flying near Caen on July 17, 1944 he strafed a German staff car which drove off the road. The passengers included Rommel who was hospitalized with head injuries. Other pilots, including Americans and a South African, claimed to have hit Rommel's car, but German reports of the attack specifically mentioned a Canadian Spitfire. Fox also fought in Operation Market Garden, a battle immortalized in the film "A Bridge Too Far" about the unsuccessful Allied foray in the Netherlands. He narrowly escaped death on many occasions and had fourteen planes damaged by enemy fire. After the war, he joined the 420 Reserve Squadron in London, Ontario until retirement in 1956. In civilian life, he worked in the shoe business and was a passionate advocate for veterans. He founded Torch Bearers, a non-profit organization, to educate young people and to campaign for formal recognition of all Canadian prisoners of war and the Polish combatants who served with Canadian forces in WWII. In addition to the DFC with Bar and other awards, Fox was appointed Honorary Colonel of 412 Squadron in 2004 and received the Canadian Forces Decoration in 2005. He died in a car accident at age 88.