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Frank McNamara (1894–1961) was an Australian recipient of the Victoria Cross, the highest decoration for gallantry in the face of the enemy that can be awarded to a member of the British and Commonwealth forces. Serving with the Australian Flying Corps, he was honoured for his actions on 20 March 1917, when he rescued a fellow pilot who had been forced down behind enemy lines. McNamara was the first Australian aviator, and the only one in World War I, to receive the Victoria Cross. He later became a senior commander in the Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF). Born and educated in Victoria, McNamara was a teacher when he joined the militia prior to World War I. In 1915, he was selected for pilot training at Central Flying School, Point Cook, and transferred to the Australian Flying Corps the following year. He was based in the Middle East with No. 1 Squadron when he earned the Victoria Cross. In 1921, McNamara enlisted as a Flying Officer in the newly formed RAAF, rising to the rank of Air Vice Marshal by 1942. He held senior posts in England and Aden during World War II. Retiring from the Air Force in 1946, McNamara continued to live in Britain until his death from heart failure in 1961. (more...)

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October 26: National Day in Austria (1955); Angam Day in Nauru; Feast Day of Saint Demetrius of Thessaloniki

• 1825 – The Erie Canal, connecting the Great Lakes with the Hudson River and hence the Atlantic Ocean, was opened.
• 1937 – Second Sino-Japanese War: Xie Jinyuan and National Revolutionary Army soldiers began the Defense of Sihang Warehouse against waves of Japanese attackers during the Battle of Shanghai.
• 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.
• 1955 – Ngo Dinh Diem (pictured) proclaimed himself president of the newly created Republic of Vietnam after defeating former Emperor Bao Dai in a fraudulent referendum supervised by his brother Ngo Dinh Nhu.
• 2001 – U.S. President George W. Bush signed the USA PATRIOT Act into law, significantly expanding the authority of U.S. law enforcement agencies in fighting terrorism in the United States and elsewhere.

More anniversaries: October 25 – October 26 – October 27