95px|Tom Derrick
Tom Derrick (1914–1945) was an Australian recipient of the Victoria
Cross (VC) during the Second World War. He was awarded the VC for his
assault on a heavily defended Japanese position at Sattelberg, New
Guinea, in November 1943. During the engagement, he scaled a cliff face
while under heavy fire and silenced seven machine-gun posts, before
leading his platoon in a charge that destroyed a further three. Derrick
enlisted in the Second Australian Imperial Force in July 1941, joining
the 2/48th Battalion. He was posted to the Middle East, where he took
part in the Siege of Tobruk, was recommended for the Military Medal and
promoted to corporal. Later, at El Alamein, Derrick was awarded the
Distinguished Conduct Medal for knocking out three German machine-gun
posts, destroying two tanks, and capturing a hundred prisoners. He
returned to Australia with his battalion in February 1943, and
subsequently served in the South West Pacific Theatre where he fought
in the battle to capture Lae. A year later, he returned to Australia
for officer cadet training and was commissioned lieutenant in November
1944. During the Battle of Tarakan on 23 May 1945, he was hit by five
bullets from a Japanese machine gun. Derrick died from his wounds the
next day. (more...)
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Today's selected anniversaries:
235:
Maximinus Thrax succeeded to the throne of the Roman Empire, the first
of the so-called barracks emperors who gained power by virtue of his
command of the army.
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Maximinus_Thrax>
1600:
Five advisers to Polish–Swedish king Sigismund III Vasa were publicly
executed, effectively ending his reign.
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Link%C3%B6ping_Bloodbath>
1815:
After escaping from exile in Elba, Napoleon Bonaparte entered Paris,
officially beginning his "Hundred Days" rule.
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hundred_Days>
1852:
American author Harriet Beecher Stowe's Uncle Tom's Cabin was first
published, profoundly affecting attitudes toward African Americans and
slavery in the United States.
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Uncle_Tom%27s_Cabin>
2006:
Cyclone Larry made landfall in Far North Queensland, eventually causing
nearly AU$1 billion in total damage and destroying over 80 percent of
Australia's banana crop.
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cyclone_Larry>
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Wiktionary's word of the day:
forethoughtful (adj):
Having or full of forethought; provident; proactive; visionary
<http://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/forethoughtful>
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Wikiquote quote of the day:
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When we dead awaken. ... We see that we have never lived.
--Henrik Ibsen
<http://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Henrik_Ibsen>
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