AustLit

Leonard Victor Waters 'enlisted in the RAAF on 24 August 1942... After initially training as a flight mechanic, he transferred to air crew training and was promoted to Sergeant on 1 July 1944...Len was determined to fly and studied hard to pass his flight crew training course. His efforts were rewarded when he was selected as a fighter pilot, becoming the only known Aboriginal fighter pilot in the RAAF during the second World War. Waters saw action against the Japanese in Dutch New Guinea and in Borneo before the end of the War. He was discharged with the rank of warrant Officer on 18 January 1946... after which he returned to his pre-war occupation of shearer.' (Source: Robert A. Hall Fighters from the Fringe, 1995)