Jerry Pentland (1894–1983) was an Australian fighter ace of World War I. He saw action at Gallipoli as a Lighthorseman with the Australian Imperial Force in 1915. Transferring to the Royal Flying Corps in 1916, he was credited with 23 aerial victories to become the fifth highest-scoring Australian ace of the war. He was awarded the Military Cross for attacking an enemy airfield, and the Distinguished Flying Cross for engaging four hostile aircraft single-handedly. Pentland served in the fledgling Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF), and later the Royal Air Force, before going into business in 1927. His ventures included commercial flying around New Guinea goldfields. By the early 1930s, he was a pilot with Australian National Airways. He re- joined the RAAF during World War II, commanding rescue and communications units in the South West Pacific. Perhaps the oldest operational pilot in the RAAF, Pentland was responsible for several rescues involving soldiers and civilians, and earned the Air Force Cross for his bravery and skill. He became a trader in New Guinea after the war, and later a coffee planter. He retired in 1959.
Read more: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jerry_Pentland
_______________________________ Today's selected anniversaries:
1270:
Yekuno Amlak deposed the last Zagwe king and seized the imperial throne of Ethiopia, beginning the reign of the Solomonic dynasty that would last for more than 700 years. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yekuno_Amlak
1628:
The Swedish warship Vasa (salvaged wreck pictured) sank after sailing less than a nautical mile on her maiden voyage from Stockholm on her way to fight in the Thirty Years' War. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vasa_(ship)
1792:
French Revolution: Insurrectionists in Paris stormed the Tuileries Palace, effectively ending the French monarchy until it was restored in 1814. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/10_August_(French_Revolution)
1953:
First Indochina War: The French Union withdrew its forces from Operation Camargue against the Viet Minh in central modern-day Vietnam. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Operation_Camargue
1981:
The severed head of kidnapped six-year-old Adam Walsh was found in a canal in Vero Beach, Florida, prompting his father John to become an advocate for victims' rights, helping to spur the formation of the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Murder_of_Adam_Walsh
_____________________________ Wiktionary's word of the day:
keep shtum: (intransitive, colloquial, idiomatic) Not tell anyone; especially, keep silent about something that may be sensitive or secret. https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/keep_shtum
___________________________ Wikiquote quote of the day:
The forces going on in the society are not things the media can prevent or change. But we can and should help understand this crisis and warn against false solutions. If feelings are trumping arguments — the pun is fully intended — it doesn’t mean that arguments don’t still have to be made. It may not win the news cycle. It may not even win this election cycle. But it’s a critical task. --Andrew Sullivan https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Andrew_Sullivan
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