George Jones (1896–1992) was a senior commander in the Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF). He served as Chief of the Air Staff from 1942 to 1952, the longest continuous tenure of any RAAF chief. During World War I, Jones fought as an infantryman at Gallipoli before transferring to the Australian Flying Corps. Posted to a fighter squadron in France, he achieved seven victories to become an ace, and was awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross. After a short spell in civilian life, he joined the newly formed RAAF in 1921, and rose steadily through training and personnel commands prior to World War II. Jones was a surprise appointee as Chief of the Air Staff, and his achievements were coloured by a divisive relationship with the head of RAAF operations in the Pacific, Air Vice Marshal William Bostock. This was partly the result of a divided command structure, which neither man had any direct role in shaping. After World War II, Jones had overall responsibility for transforming what was then the world's fourth largest air force into a peacetime service that was also able to meet overseas commitments in Malaya and Korea. He was promoted to air marshal in 1948, and knighted in 1953.
Read more: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/George_Jones_(RAAF_officer)
_______________________________ Today's selected anniversaries:
1708:
The final stone of St Paul's Cathedral (pictured), rebuilt after the original burned down in the 1666 Great Fire of London, was laid by the son of its architect, Christopher Wren. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/St_Paul%27s_Cathedral
1881:
The Gunfight at the O.K. Corral, one of the most famous gunfights in the history of the American Old West, took place in Tombstone, Arizona, between the faction of Wyatt Earp and Ike Clanton's gang. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gunfight_at_the_O.K._Corral
1944:
World War II: In one of the largest naval battles in modern history, Allied forces defeated the Imperial Japanese Navy at the Battle of Leyte Gulf in the seas surrounding the Philippine island of Leyte. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Leyte_Gulf
1979:
President of South Korea Park Chung-hee was assassinated by the director of the Korean Central Intelligence Agency and a long-time friend, Kim Jae-kyu. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Park_Chung-hee
1985:
The Australian government returned ownership of Uluru, also known as Ayers Rock, to the local Pitjantjatjara people. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Uluru
_____________________________ Wiktionary's word of the day:
antihero: (literature) A protagonist who proceeds in an unheroic manner, such as by criminal means, via cowardly actions, or for mercenary goals. https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/antihero
___________________________ Wikiquote quote of the day:
The greatest achievements of men, were at first, nothing but dreams of the minds of men who knew that dreams are the seedlings of all achievements. A burning desire, to be and to do, is the starting point, from which the dreamer must take off. --Napoleon Hill https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Napoleon_Hill