This morning while walking the dog I came across this sad little park a few streets over. I rarely go this way, and have a vague memory of seeing the bust of 'someone'. Today I took the time to look and read.
Tadija Sondermajer (the J is pronounced as a Y) was born on February 19th 1892 and died on October 10, 1967. He was a Serbian and Yugoslav Royal Air Force Reserve Colonel, a decorated fighter pilot in WW I, and one of the founders of the first civil aviation company inn the then-Yugoslavia, Aeroput.
Here's a cut and paste from Wiki: "Born in Belgrade, he was the first engineer of aeronautics in the country and the only fighter plane pilot from the Kingdom of Yugoslavia to fight in the French Air Force during World War, I on the Western Front, most notably against the German squadron of Manfred von Richthofen. In between the wars he flew a record intercontinental flight between Paris and Bombay, India, and back to Belgrade. He received the highest, Serbian, Yugoslav and French decorations for his war service and numerous peacetime decorations. Sondermajer is undoubtedly one of the most striking figures in Yugoslav civil aviation and a major contributor to the development of civil aviation in the region."
Thought it fitting I should post this today on his birthday.
