Wilfred Arthur (7 December 1919 – 23 December 2000) was a fighter ace and senior officer of the Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF) during World War II. Commonly known as "Woof", he was credited with ten aerial victories and led combat formations at squadron and wing level, becoming the youngest group captain in RAAF history. Arthur first saw action in the Middle East and was awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross for shooting down four aircraft in a single sortie. He was then posted to New Guinea, where he received the Distinguished Service Order for continuing to lead an attack after discovering his guns were inoperable. As wing leader of No. 71 Wing, he was severely burned in a runway collision. Upon recovery, he was posted to the Dutch East Indies and played a leading part in the Morotai Mutiny when eight RAAF officers attempted to resign. Following his discharge, he pursued business interests in Australia and Vietnam before settling in Darwin, Northern Territory.
Read more: <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wilfred_Arthur> _______________________________ Today's selected anniversaries: 1942: Second World War: A small unit of Royal Marines launched Operation Frankton, in which they damaged six ships in the port of Bordeaux in German-occupied France. <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Operation_Frankton> 1975: The Indonesian military began a lengthy occupation of East Timor under the pretext of anti-colonialism. <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Indonesian_occupation_of_East_Timor> 2015: The JAXA space probe Akatsuki entered into orbit around Venus to study the planet's atmosphere, five years after its first attempt failed. <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Akatsuki_%28spacecraft%29> _____________________________ Wiktionary's word of the day: condole: 1. (intransitive) 2. Followed by with: to express condolence to, or sympathetic sorrow with, someone; to lament in sympathy with someone. 3. (obsolete) To express deep sorrow; to grieve, to lament. 4. (transitive) 5. (archaic or obsolete except India, often formal) To express regret or sorrow over (an undesirable event or other misfortune); to bemoan, to grieve, to lament. 6. (obsolete) 7. To express condolence to, or sympathetic sorrow with (someone); to lament in sympathy with (someone). 8. (reflexive) To express or feel sorrow for (oneself); to bewail, to mourn. <https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/condole> ___________________________ Wikiquote quote of the day: The most effective way to restrict democracy is to transfer decision-making from the public arena to unaccountable institutions: kings and princes, priestly castes, military juntas, party dictatorships, or modern corporations. --Noam Chomsky <https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Noam_Chomsky> _______________________________________________ Wikipedia Daily Article mailing list. To unsubscribe write to: [email protected] Questions or comments? Contact [email protected]
