Bruce Kingsbury (1918–1942) was an Australian soldier of the Second World War. After serving in the Middle East, he gained renown for his actions during the Battle of Isurava, one of many battles of the Kokoda Track campaign in New Guinea. His bravery was recognised with the Victoria Cross, the highest decoration for gallantry "in the face of the enemy" that can be awarded to members of the British and Commonwealth armed forces. Kingsbury was a member of the 2/14th Infantry Battalion. During the Battle of Isurava, he was one of the few survivors of a platoon that had been overrun by the Japanese. He immediately volunteered to join a different platoon, which had been ordered to counterattack. Rushing forward and firing his Bren gun from the hip, he cleared a path through the enemy and inflicted several casualties. Kingsbury was then seen to fall, shot by a Japanese sniper and killed instantly. His actions, which delayed the Japanese long enough for the Australians to fortify their positions, were instrumental in saving the battalion headquarters. He was the first serviceman to receive the Victoria Cross for actions in Australian territory.

Read more: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bruce_Kingsbury

_______________________________ Today's selected anniversaries:

1198:

Lotario de Conti was elected as Pope Innocent III; he later worked to restore papal power in Rome. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pope_Innocent_III

1815:

American forces led by General Andrew Jackson defeated the British Army at the Battle of New Orleans, two weeks after the United States and the United Kingdom signed the Treaty of Ghent to end the War of 1812. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_New_Orleans

1956:

Five Evangelical Christian missionaries from the United States were killed by the Huaorani in the rainforest of Ecuador shortly after making contact with them. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Operation_Auca

1979:

The oil tanker Betelgeuse exploded at the offshore jetty of the Whiddy Island Oil Terminal off Bantry Bay, Ireland, killing approximately 50 people (memorial pictured). https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Whiddy_Island_Disaster

1996:

An Antonov An-32 cargo aircraft crashed into a crowded market in Kinshasa, Zaire, killing up to 237 on the ground. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1996_Air_Africa_crash

_____________________________ Wiktionary's word of the day:

raze: 1. (transitive) To demolish; to level to the ground. 2. (transitive) To scrape as if with a razor. https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/raze

___________________________ Wikiquote quote of the day:

Virtue alone is for real; all else is sham. Talent and greatness depend on virtue, not on fortune. Only virtue is sufficient unto herself. She makes us love the living and remember the dead.   --Baltasar Gracián https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Baltasar_Graci%C3%A1n