Henry Wallace McLeod Flight Lieutenant " Wally " Henry Wallace McLeod DSO , DFC and Bar RCAF ( 17 December 1915 – 27 September 1944 ) was a Canadian who flew for the RCAF as a fighter pilot during the Second World War . He achieved a total of 21 enemy aircraft destroyed , three probably destroyed , and 11 damaged , and one shared damaged . McLeod scored 13 of kills during the Battle of Malta , earning the nickname " The Eagle of Malta " . Early life . Henry McLeod was born in Regina , Saskatchewan to James Archibald McLeod , and Hannah Elizabeth McLeod on 17 December 1915 . James McLeod was from Brooklyn , Nova Scotia and went to Acadia University . At the time of James ' death , long after World War II , he was reputed to be the oldest living graduate of Acadia . Henry ' s mother , Hannah , died from Spanish flu , during the pandemic , when he was three . Henry was an average student , never excelling , but always managing pass grades . From a young age he had a reputation as a fast learner . McLeod began his military career in 1928 , serving with the 5th Saskatchewan Regiment and Regina Rifle Regiment until 1934 . McLeod joined the Royal Canadian Air Force on 2 September 1940 . He graduated from training on 1 April 1941 and arrived in Great Britain on 9 May 1941 , attending 57 OTU . Second World War . RCAF . McLeod began fighter sweeps over France in July 1941 with No . 485 Squadron and No . 411 RCAF . By May 1942 he had scored five victories . On 13 October 1942 McLeod was awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross . The citation read : Soon afterwards McLeod was moved to No . 603 Squadron on Malta and in July joined No 1435 Squadron . On 3 November 1942 , he received a Bar to his DFC for his actions in the island ' s defence . It is believed McLeod was credited with 12 enemy aircraft at this point . During his time in Malta , it is thought McLeod may have shot down and killed the 47 victory ace Heinz " Figaro " Golinski on 16 October 1942 . The citation read : On 4 December 1942 it was reported that McLeod had been sent for a rest in Britain after destroying 13 enemy aircraft in three months . Included in his claims were seven Messerschmitt Bf 109s , three Junkers Ju 88 s and three Macchi C . 202 . On 5 September 1944 McLeod was appointed a Companion of the Distinguished Service Order for 250 missions and 21 aerial victories , plus three probably destroyed and 12 damaged . McLeod scored most of his kills in the Spitfire Mk V , scoring 13 kills , two probables , 11 damaged and 1 shared damaged . The citation read : Death . On 27 September 1944 , McLeod was leading his squadron on a patrol with the squadron of James " Johnnie " Johnson over Nijmegen , Netherlands . During the action " Wally " went missing . Johnson made repeated calls over the R / T , but McLeod did not answer . After landing , Johnson could see his friend had not returned . Johnson " interrogated " the rest of the pilots . One of them had seen Wally chasing after a lone Messerschmitt . Knowing McLeod well , Johnson believed he would have attacked regardless of the enemy fighter ' s advantage : I feel certain that he wouldn ' t have let go of the 109 until the issue had been decided one way or the other . There was no other aircraft in the area [ that Johnson had seen ] and they must have fought it out together , probably above the cloud . To start with he would have been at a disadvantage , for the 109 was already several thousand feet higher . I think the Messerschmitt got him . It was always all or nothing for Wally . After the war , McLeod was discovered dead in the wreckage of his Spitfire IX , in the outskirts of Wesel , near Duisburg , just inside the German border . He was buried in the Commonwealth War Graves Commission cemetery at Rheinberg . McLeod may have been shot down by Major Siegfried Freytag of Jagdgeschwader 77 flying a Bf 109 , who claimed on this day , the only Spitfire shot down in the Duisburg area near Wesel for his 101st victory . Honours and tributes . In September 2002 , a building at 15 Wing , the military air training base south of Moose Jaw was named for Henry Wallace McLeod . A McLeod Street in Regina ' s industrial district is jointly named for him and for broadcaster Jim McLeod ( no relation ) .