Canadian BIOGRAPHY® of the Year Essay Contest
Nicole Parson-Admussen
HONOURABLE MENTION Winner (GRADES 9-12)
Prize: Her school receives an A&E library theatre including a television, DVD player and DVDs of A&E programming.
Subject: Smokey Smith
A great Canadian is a Canadian who is recognized by Canadians for who they have done. They are not always recognized with a medal, but in Ernest Alvia (Smokey) Smiths's case he was. Smokey Smith was awarded the Victoria Cross in 1944, during World War II.
I believe that this year it is important to recognize Smokey Smith because on August 3 2005 the last Canadian Victoria Cross winner, Smokey Smith died at the age of 91. This year was especially important because the Canadian government marked this year The Year of the Veteran.
To earn the Victoria Cross Smokey put his own life in danger to save his comrades. He put one German Tank out of commissions and killed four attacking Germans.
Smokey is a great Canadian because he thought of others before himself. He was almost like us, an almost ordinary Canadian. He saved lives and was deemed a hero for it. But when someone once called him a hero, he said his own heroes were buried on the battlefields of Europe. They are the men who weren't as fortunate as Smokey, they are the ones who didn't come home.
One noticeable difference between Smokey Smith and other "heroes", like rock groups, was that he didn't strut around. He was just like many older people, he enjoyed a whiskey or scotch, a cigar and a good joke.
Smokey Smith was a hero, a true Canadian representative, and an inspiration to a new generation of Canadians.
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