John F. Bolt (1921–2004) was a United States Marine Corps aviator and a decorated flying ace who served during World War II and the Korean War. After dropping out of the University of Florida for financial reasons in 1941, he joined the Marine Corps at the height of World War II. Sent to the Pacific Theater of Operations, he flew an F4U Corsair during the campaigns in the Marshall Islands and New Guinea, claiming six victories against Japanese A6M Zeros. Bolt continued his service through the Korean War, entering combat through an exchange program with the U.S. Air Force in late 1952. Over a period of several weeks in mid-1953, he led flights of F-86 Sabres into combat with MiG-15s of the Chinese Air Force, scoring six victories during fights along the northern border of North Korea, commonly known as "MiG Alley," giving him a total of 12 career victories. Bolt stayed in the Marine Corps until 1962, rising to the rank of lieutenant colonel and serving as an analyst and instructor in his later career. In retirement, he qualified as a lawyer in Florida. He remains the only US Marine to achieve ace status in two wars and was also the only Marine jet fighter ace.
Read more: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_F._Bolt
_______________________________ Today's selected anniversaries:
364:
Following the death of the Roman emperor Jovian, officers of the army at Nicaea in Bithynia selected Flavius Valentinianus to succeed him. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Valentinian_I
1815:
Napoleon Bonaparte escaped from Elba, an island off the coast of Italy where he had been exiled after the signing of the Treaty of Fontainebleau one year earlier. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Napoleon
1917:
New Orleans' Original Dixieland Jass Band recorded "Livery Stable Blues", the first jazz single ever released. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Livery_Stable_Blues
1936:
Over 1400 troops of the Imperial Japanese Army staged a coup d'etat in Japan, occupying Tokyo, and killing Finance Minister Takahashi Korekiyo and several other leading politicians. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/February_26_Incident
1995:
Barings Bank, the oldest merchant bank in London, collapsed after its head derivatives trader in Singapore, Nick Leeson, lost £827 million while making unauthorized speculative trades on futures contracts. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nick_Leeson
_____________________________ Wiktionary's word of the day:
beaver away: (idiomatic) To work hard at a task. https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/beaver_away
___________________________ Wikiquote quote of the day:
On certain occasions, the eyes of the mind can supply the want of the most powerful telescopes, and lead to astronomical discoveries of the highest importance. --François Arago https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Fran%C3%A7ois_Arago