28 Mar 1944
The award of the Distinguished Flying Cross to Pilot Officer David Paul, an Indigenous Australian pilot who had been serving in North Africa with No 454 Squadron (an RAAF Baltimore unit in the RAF) was announced. At the time of the announcement Paul was a prisoner of war in Germany, having been shot down by Me-109F fighters over the Aegean Sea on 4 December 1943 while making the final trip of his operational tour. After his release from Stalag IVb POW camp at Muhlberg in 1945, he returned to Australia and joined the New South Wales Police Force, becoming a detective sergeant. He also served in the RAAF Reserve and reached the rank of Squadron Leader.