NOTE: RESCHEDULED FOR Wednesday, 3-17-10 AT 10:.00 am DUE TO TECHNICAL DIFFICULTIES.
"The Halyard Mission"
"Foreign Policy and You"
on
Public Reality Radio
One of the most heroic, cloak and dagger feats of valor of World War II and also one of the biggest blunders in American foreign policy. This OSS mission in The Balkans was kept classified by the State Department for more than 50 years.
Our guests this week are:
Mr. Arthur Jibilian, sole living veteran of
the "Halyard Mission"
and
Gregory A. Freeman
Author of "The Forgotten 500"
"Foreign Policy and You" on Public Reality Radio.
Wednesday mornings on WPRR 1680 AM and 95.3 FM 10:00 a.m. EST in the vicinity of Grand Rapids, Michigan,and via live stream on www.publicrealityradio.org.
Saturdays rebroadcasts at 5:00p.m.
*****
If you would like to get in touch with me, Aleksandra, please feel free to contact me at ravnagora@hotmail.com
*****
Wednesday, March 10, 2010
Sunday, March 07, 2010
Lt. Col. Milton Friend, USAF, Halyard Mission veteran, desires American debt to General Mihailovich repaid
"The first meeting with the General was very brief. Two Canadians, one British airman, and myself were trying to get to the coast to find a way out of Yugoslavia. We were met by Chetnik soldiers and brought to Mihailovich's headquarters. We spoke only to the General's staff members for about half an hour. We told them we were on our way to the coast after having been in their country for over 50 days. We asked for help to get to the coast. It was then that General Mihailovich came into the room. After being briefed by his Staff, he told us that an American escape committee had been formed which was trying to reach the 15 Air Force headquarters in Bari, Italy to notify headquarters about how many airmen were stranded in Yugoslavia. If they were not successful, the General said that he would provide an escort of his soldiers to take us to the coast. That was good news, and we went back to Pranjani to await developments. I remember how warm and friendly and sincere he seemed in trying to help us.
The second meeting was longer, lasting for about an hour. General Mihailovich described his fondness for America and his hopes for the future when the Americans would come to his aid and help his forces free Yugoslavia. He spoke in French and an aide translated his words into English for us.
I remember that I didn't speak too much, I just listened in awe. He ended up being good to his word. I never saw General Mihailovich face to face again after those meetings in 1944, but I won't ever forget him."
Lt. Col. Milton A. Friend, USAF (Retired)
March 4, 2010
+Jan+2010.jpg)
Thank you, Lt. Col. Friend for sharing your story. I know that others will be so happy that you are still with us, and continue to carry the torch for General Mihailovich.
Sincerely,
Aleksandra Rebic
My name is Milton E. Friend. My twin brother Murray and I were born on June 25, 1922 in Passaic , New Jersey. I’ll be 88 years old this year. My brother Murray and I enlisted in the Aviation Cadet Program in July 1942, prior to being drafted. We were called up from the enlisted Reserve as Aviation Cadets in February 1943 and sent to Nashville, Tennessee for classification as a pilot, bombardier, or navigator. During classification, my brother Murray underwent a minor operation, and I asked to have my classification held up so that we could remain together in Service. However, the request was turned down with the comment that the specialized training we were to undergo could not be delayed. Murray’s healing process took much longer (over six months) than anticipated, and I was classified as a Pilot and sent to pre-flight training in Montgomery, Alabama and then to Primary Flight School at Douglas, Georgia. Unfortunately, I did not progress as quickly as the Air Corps demanded, and was “Washed Out”, but in view of my exceptionally high grades during the academic portion of my training, I was reclassified as a Navigator and sent to Selman Field, Monroe, Louisiana, for navigation training. I graduated on February 8, 1944 from Navigation School and was commissioned as a Second Lt. In the Army Air Corps. Next came training at Aerial Gunnery School in Florida, assignment to a crew on a B-24 Heavy Bomber as a Navigator, combat crew training in Charleston, SC and orders to proceed overseas to Italy with my assigned crew in a brand new B-24.
Murray was still in the hospital in Nashville, recovering from his operation, which was not healing properly. Miraculously, just as the Air Corps was about to release him from service, six months after the operation, the wound healed, and Murray convinced the Air Corps that he should be allowed to continue with his training. In those days with the United States at war, no one wanted to remain at home and not participate as an active combatant. Murray was classified as a navigator and completed his training at Selman Field, Louisiana.
My crew and I arrived in Italy on June 1, 1944 and were assigned to the 15th Air Force. I flew my first mission on June 5, 1944, a milk run to Florence, Italy, and my second and last mission on that tour on D-Day, June 6, 1944. Though I still had not completed all the “Escape and Evasion Lectures” given to all newly arrived crew members, I filled in as navigator on my second mission for an experienced crew (not my own) to replace a navigator who had been assigned to the group. My second mission was to the Ploesti oil fields in Rumania, the toughest and most dangerous target assigned to the 15th Air Force. The plane, piloted by First Lt. Everett Estep, was selected to lead the squadron, a contingent of 12 B-24 bombers within a total force of over 800 bombers. Approximately 100 P-51 fighter planes were assigned to accompany the bombers to the target area. As the 12-plane formation reached the target area and the B-24s were about to drop their bombs from 19,000 feet, another squadron appeared under the formation at a lower altitude just as the bomb bay doors were opened. Since it is impossible to go back to the IP (initial point) and make another run at the target, especially a target as well defended as Ploesti, the pilot ordered the bomb bay doors closed and asked me for a heading (the course he should take) to the alternate target, which was also in Rumania. The 12 planes left the major formation and left the fighter escort and proceeded to the alternate target in Rumania . The bombs were dropped on the marshalling yards (railroad center) in a small city in Rumania , and I then gave the pilot a heading for home, to the airbase in Italy . I called to the crew on the plane’s intercom at 11:00 a.m. on D-Day, June 6, 1944:
“Navigator to crew. My ETA to base is 1132. We will be in the debriefing room in about 30 minutes. Be alert. Watch out for German fighters.”
Within 7 minutes from the time I alerted the crew, the plane was on fire. The Number 4 engine was burning, and the right wing was starting to burn off and curl up. The plane had been attacked by two German ME-109 fighters. As the lead plane, we were at the head of the diamond formation. German fighters always liked to attack the most experienced crews first. Therefore, they flew under the last plane in the diamond without firing and attacked us in the lead plane. They made one pass and got the Number 4 engine. It was so sudden that only a couple of gunners were able to get any 50 caliber rounds off. Almost immediately, the pilot gave the order to bail out. I calmed down enough to tell the crew that we were over Yugoslavia . I was behind the nose gunner turret in the navigator’s compartment. I waited for the gunner to get out of the turret. He was wearing heavy sheepskin lined flying boots and as he tried to climb out of the nose turret his foot got caught on the turret’s control pedals. He told me of the difficulty he was having, but he eventually broke free and gave me the high sign that he was O.K. I then left the plane through the exit doors in the nose. I, too, had some difficulty, because only one of the two swinging escape doors opened, and I hung in the slip stream for about ten seconds (that seemed like 10 minutes) but finally fell free. The entire crew bailed out at about 16,000 feet, and as I remembered the briefing I had attended, I attempted to free fall to avoid being fired upon by the enemy fighters in the area. I pulled the rip cord at about 2000 feet, and within seconds the two ME-109 fighters who had attacked our plane approached my chute. They came close enough so that I could see the face of one of the pilots, but, fortunately, they only buzzed by me without firing and then flew off. After the noise of the gun fire and the enemy fighters subsided, as I floated lazily toward the ground, everything became deathly still. I looked up at the clear blue sky, and said: ‘Thanks, GOD.’
The Chetniks told us that the Germans would not come up into the mountains, because they could not bring their heavy equipment, and that we were safe for the time being. They treated us well, fed us with whatever food was available to them - mostly bread, goat’s milk, some berries, and once in a while, some lamb roasted over an open fire. In about five weeks, after many false alarms, we were told that we were leaving the area and being taken to a place where airplanes could land and take us back to Italy . This turned out to be false, and our prospect of getting out of Yugoslavia before the war was over seemed hopeless. At that time, the rest of our crew members were brought to the mountain garrison, and we were joined by about ten other airmen, including two Englishmen and two Canadians. The Canadians, a pilot and a navigator, and the two Englishmen, aerial gunners, were from the same airplane, a Wimpy light bomber, which had been shot down by anti-aircraft while bombing a bridge in Yugoslavia at night. Accompanied by about 15 armed Chetnik soldiers and traveling through German occupied territory, past radar stations and small guard posts, and crossing a bridge controlled by the Germans, we were taken to a small village about 80 kilometers south of Belgrade, named Pranjani. It took seven days of travel by horse cart, on foot, and for short periods, by truck. We traveled by night and slept by day to avoid the German patrols, which, we were told, were still looking for us.
When we got to Pranjani we found out that no rescue planes were coming. The Americans, at the insistence of the British and Russians, had cut off aid to General Draza Mihailovich and the Chetniks and had decided to support Tito and his Partisans exclusively. At this time, there were more than one hundred airmen in the vicinity of Pranjani. Since an immediate rescue looked hopeless, the two Canadians, one of the English gunners, and I decided that we would leave the area on our own and try to reach the Partisans who we knew were close to Sarajevo, thinking that they could get us out.
After traveling for three days and nights, while looking for a place to sleep, we came upon three farmers in a field. We tried to explain that we wanted to go on, but they insisted we go with them. They eventually took us to Mihailovich’s headquarters. It was there that I met the General for the first of the two times that I would meet with him face to face. He explained to us that an American Escape Committee made up of downed fliers had been formed and that they were trying to reach the Allies in Italy by ham radio. If they didn’t make contact in the next few days, the General told us he would provide an armed escort to enable us to contact the Partisans.
Fortunately, contact was made. At my second and last meeting with General Mihailovich at his headquarters, members of the escape committee he had told me about at our earlier meeting were present, and we obtained maps of the area to prepare for future evacuation. It was at this meeting that General Mihailovich spoke to us at length (in French, which was translated into English by one of his staff) about his plans after the war for a democratic form of government in Yugoslavia . He told us that when the time came, and the Allies returned to Yugoslavia, his forces would be ready to sacrifice their lives, if necessary, for the American and Allied cause. To this day, I have never forgotten either him or his sincere promise to us all those years ago in a faraway land.
An OSS team, of which radioman Arthur “Jibby” Jibilian remains the sole living survivor, was sent into Yugoslavia and a rescue was planned and we were readied for evacuation. The rescue mission, led by Captain George “Guv” Musulin, who lived in McLean, VA and is since deceased, made arrangements with the 15th Air Force in Italy to send in transports and fighter planes to surround the area and to neutralize the German airfields that were in the vicinity of our “homemade” air strip constructed by the Chetniks there in the hills of Pranjani, Serbia. On the night of August 9, 1944 six C-47 cargo planes landed, and the sick and wounded were flown out first. The remainder of the downed airmen, including myself, was flown out the next day, August 10, 1944, on C-47 transports protected by P-51 fighter planes. A total of over 200 Allied airmen were rescued during those two days. The rescue was called the Halyard Mission. To date, the Halyard Mission remains the greatest mass air evacuation of Allied airmen from behind enemy lines in the history of warfare.
The complete story of the Halyard Mission was first published in BLUE BOOK Magazine in Vol. 83, No. 4, in August of 1946. I still have a copy of that article. It is unbelievable what was accomplished. In all, General Mihailovich was responsible for saving over 500 American airmen through this rescue mission and others that followed through the end of 1944. The sad aspect of this story is that Tito and the Partisans captured Mihailovich after the war, and on trumped up charges and refusing the rescued airmen’s repeated offer to testify at the trial in Belgrade, found the General guilty of treason in what turned out to be a phony kangaroo trial and had him executed on July 17, 1946. Over 25 of the rescued airmen, including myself, formed the “National Committee of American Airmen Rescued by General Mihailovich” and attempted for many years to have a monument erected in Washington, D.C., with our assurance that we would fund the monument ourselves, without requesting Government financing, to honor the General for what he did for us Americans, but without success, mainly because of the politics surrounding the situation in Yugoslavia during and after the war. That no such monument yet stands in Washington, D.C. haunts me still.
The second meeting was longer, lasting for about an hour. General Mihailovich described his fondness for America and his hopes for the future when the Americans would come to his aid and help his forces free Yugoslavia. He spoke in French and an aide translated his words into English for us.
I remember that I didn't speak too much, I just listened in awe. He ended up being good to his word. I never saw General Mihailovich face to face again after those meetings in 1944, but I won't ever forget him."
Lt. Col. Milton A. Friend, USAF (Retired)
March 4, 2010
General Draza Mihailovich WWII Yugoslavia
+Jan+2010.jpg)
Lt. Col. Milton E. Friend, USAF (Ret.)
January 2010
87 years old
To my surprise and joy, Lt. Col. Milton Friend of the USAF, a Halyard Mission veteran that I met in person in Chicago in 1994, got in touch with me recently. I had wondered if he was still living. Indeed he is, and he has a story to tell. When I searched for him on the internet, I discovered that he is not featured anywhere that I could find. I told him that his story needs to be made public and it is my absolute pleasure to share that story with you.
Sincerely,
Aleksandra Rebic
THE U.S. AIR FORCE CAREERS OF MILTON AND MURRAY FRIEND
by Lt. Col. Milton Friend USAF (Ret.) March 2010
Murray and Milton Friend of the USAF, 1954
My name is Milton E. Friend. My twin brother Murray and I were born on June 25, 1922 in Passaic , New Jersey. I’ll be 88 years old this year. My brother Murray and I enlisted in the Aviation Cadet Program in July 1942, prior to being drafted. We were called up from the enlisted Reserve as Aviation Cadets in February 1943 and sent to Nashville, Tennessee for classification as a pilot, bombardier, or navigator. During classification, my brother Murray underwent a minor operation, and I asked to have my classification held up so that we could remain together in Service. However, the request was turned down with the comment that the specialized training we were to undergo could not be delayed. Murray’s healing process took much longer (over six months) than anticipated, and I was classified as a Pilot and sent to pre-flight training in Montgomery, Alabama and then to Primary Flight School at Douglas, Georgia. Unfortunately, I did not progress as quickly as the Air Corps demanded, and was “Washed Out”, but in view of my exceptionally high grades during the academic portion of my training, I was reclassified as a Navigator and sent to Selman Field, Monroe, Louisiana, for navigation training. I graduated on February 8, 1944 from Navigation School and was commissioned as a Second Lt. In the Army Air Corps. Next came training at Aerial Gunnery School in Florida, assignment to a crew on a B-24 Heavy Bomber as a Navigator, combat crew training in Charleston, SC and orders to proceed overseas to Italy with my assigned crew in a brand new B-24.
The crew Milton Friend trained and flew with on his first
combat mission in WWII, to Florence, Italy.
On his second mission, to the Ploesti Oil Fields, Romania
he would fly with a different crew.
Murray was still in the hospital in Nashville, recovering from his operation, which was not healing properly. Miraculously, just as the Air Corps was about to release him from service, six months after the operation, the wound healed, and Murray convinced the Air Corps that he should be allowed to continue with his training. In those days with the United States at war, no one wanted to remain at home and not participate as an active combatant. Murray was classified as a navigator and completed his training at Selman Field, Louisiana.
My crew and I arrived in Italy on June 1, 1944 and were assigned to the 15th Air Force. I flew my first mission on June 5, 1944, a milk run to Florence, Italy, and my second and last mission on that tour on D-Day, June 6, 1944. Though I still had not completed all the “Escape and Evasion Lectures” given to all newly arrived crew members, I filled in as navigator on my second mission for an experienced crew (not my own) to replace a navigator who had been assigned to the group. My second mission was to the Ploesti oil fields in Rumania, the toughest and most dangerous target assigned to the 15th Air Force. The plane, piloted by First Lt. Everett Estep, was selected to lead the squadron, a contingent of 12 B-24 bombers within a total force of over 800 bombers. Approximately 100 P-51 fighter planes were assigned to accompany the bombers to the target area. As the 12-plane formation reached the target area and the B-24s were about to drop their bombs from 19,000 feet, another squadron appeared under the formation at a lower altitude just as the bomb bay doors were opened. Since it is impossible to go back to the IP (initial point) and make another run at the target, especially a target as well defended as Ploesti, the pilot ordered the bomb bay doors closed and asked me for a heading (the course he should take) to the alternate target, which was also in Rumania. The 12 planes left the major formation and left the fighter escort and proceeded to the alternate target in Rumania . The bombs were dropped on the marshalling yards (railroad center) in a small city in Rumania , and I then gave the pilot a heading for home, to the airbase in Italy . I called to the crew on the plane’s intercom at 11:00 a.m. on D-Day, June 6, 1944:
“Navigator to crew. My ETA to base is 1132. We will be in the debriefing room in about 30 minutes. Be alert. Watch out for German fighters.”
Within 7 minutes from the time I alerted the crew, the plane was on fire. The Number 4 engine was burning, and the right wing was starting to burn off and curl up. The plane had been attacked by two German ME-109 fighters. As the lead plane, we were at the head of the diamond formation. German fighters always liked to attack the most experienced crews first. Therefore, they flew under the last plane in the diamond without firing and attacked us in the lead plane. They made one pass and got the Number 4 engine. It was so sudden that only a couple of gunners were able to get any 50 caliber rounds off. Almost immediately, the pilot gave the order to bail out. I calmed down enough to tell the crew that we were over Yugoslavia . I was behind the nose gunner turret in the navigator’s compartment. I waited for the gunner to get out of the turret. He was wearing heavy sheepskin lined flying boots and as he tried to climb out of the nose turret his foot got caught on the turret’s control pedals. He told me of the difficulty he was having, but he eventually broke free and gave me the high sign that he was O.K. I then left the plane through the exit doors in the nose. I, too, had some difficulty, because only one of the two swinging escape doors opened, and I hung in the slip stream for about ten seconds (that seemed like 10 minutes) but finally fell free. The entire crew bailed out at about 16,000 feet, and as I remembered the briefing I had attended, I attempted to free fall to avoid being fired upon by the enemy fighters in the area. I pulled the rip cord at about 2000 feet, and within seconds the two ME-109 fighters who had attacked our plane approached my chute. They came close enough so that I could see the face of one of the pilots, but, fortunately, they only buzzed by me without firing and then flew off. After the noise of the gun fire and the enemy fighters subsided, as I floated lazily toward the ground, everything became deathly still. I looked up at the clear blue sky, and said: ‘Thanks, GOD.’
The German Messerschmitt Bf 109E-3 single-seat fighter
Bomb Route from Italy to the Ploesti Oil Fields, Romania
and the fall over Yugoslavia June 6, 1944
Once my parachute opened, I felt confident that everything would be okay. I don’t know why, but I wasn’t worried about what was ahead. I was alive, and that’s what I was thankful for, at the moment. I did not know what was ahead of me, whether the enemy would be waiting for me or whether I could reach friendly forces. At the last escape briefing I had attended we were told that if we landed in Yugoslavia we were to try to find members of Tito’s Partisans. Identify them by the red stars on their hats. They might be able to get us out of enemy territory. We were further told at the escape and evasion lecture that if we landed with the Chetniks, ‘we don’t know what will happen to you’. There were all kinds of rumors back in Italy about the Chetniks. I tried to steer the parachute to an open area (as I was briefed) and away from some trees I saw looming ahead. In spite of my effort, I landed right in the middle of a small group of trees. My chute caught on the branches, and I was hanging in the wind. I banged my right foot on a rock as I landed and I thought it was broken(it turned out to be a bad sprain). Just then, as I was hanging in the tree, I saw three people come over a hill into view. Not knowing if they were friendly or the enemy, as they got closer and I recognized them as two elderly men and a young boy, I yelled ‘Americana!’ When I saw what looked like a smile on the boy’s face, I thought that they might be friendly. When the young boy climbed the tree and cut my parachute down, I felt a little more secure and safe for the time being. It turned out that they were, indeed, friendly. They carried me into a small town nearby, rounded up some more of my crew, fed us, offered us “rackia” (Shlivovitza), a very potent Serbian plum brandy, and told us we were with the Chetniks. About 30 minutes later they told us that the Germans were out looking for us. Some Chetnik soldiers entered the home where we were hidden and said they would escort us away from the town and into the mountains. Only five of us (out of a crew of 11) were together at that time. The soldiers later told us that our nose gunner was hit by the out-of-control airplane and was killed. They found his body and gave him a burial. We traveled for two days, mostly straight up the mountains, until we reached a garrison of about 20 Chetnik soldiers.
The Chetniks told us that the Germans would not come up into the mountains, because they could not bring their heavy equipment, and that we were safe for the time being. They treated us well, fed us with whatever food was available to them - mostly bread, goat’s milk, some berries, and once in a while, some lamb roasted over an open fire. In about five weeks, after many false alarms, we were told that we were leaving the area and being taken to a place where airplanes could land and take us back to Italy . This turned out to be false, and our prospect of getting out of Yugoslavia before the war was over seemed hopeless. At that time, the rest of our crew members were brought to the mountain garrison, and we were joined by about ten other airmen, including two Englishmen and two Canadians. The Canadians, a pilot and a navigator, and the two Englishmen, aerial gunners, were from the same airplane, a Wimpy light bomber, which had been shot down by anti-aircraft while bombing a bridge in Yugoslavia at night. Accompanied by about 15 armed Chetnik soldiers and traveling through German occupied territory, past radar stations and small guard posts, and crossing a bridge controlled by the Germans, we were taken to a small village about 80 kilometers south of Belgrade, named Pranjani. It took seven days of travel by horse cart, on foot, and for short periods, by truck. We traveled by night and slept by day to avoid the German patrols, which, we were told, were still looking for us.
Navigator Milton E. Friend USAF,
standing, 3rd from right,
with Serbian Chetnik rescuers,
Yugoslavia, 1944
When we got to Pranjani we found out that no rescue planes were coming. The Americans, at the insistence of the British and Russians, had cut off aid to General Draza Mihailovich and the Chetniks and had decided to support Tito and his Partisans exclusively. At this time, there were more than one hundred airmen in the vicinity of Pranjani. Since an immediate rescue looked hopeless, the two Canadians, one of the English gunners, and I decided that we would leave the area on our own and try to reach the Partisans who we knew were close to Sarajevo, thinking that they could get us out.
After traveling for three days and nights, while looking for a place to sleep, we came upon three farmers in a field. We tried to explain that we wanted to go on, but they insisted we go with them. They eventually took us to Mihailovich’s headquarters. It was there that I met the General for the first of the two times that I would meet with him face to face. He explained to us that an American Escape Committee made up of downed fliers had been formed and that they were trying to reach the Allies in Italy by ham radio. If they didn’t make contact in the next few days, the General told us he would provide an armed escort to enable us to contact the Partisans.
Fortunately, contact was made. At my second and last meeting with General Mihailovich at his headquarters, members of the escape committee he had told me about at our earlier meeting were present, and we obtained maps of the area to prepare for future evacuation. It was at this meeting that General Mihailovich spoke to us at length (in French, which was translated into English by one of his staff) about his plans after the war for a democratic form of government in Yugoslavia . He told us that when the time came, and the Allies returned to Yugoslavia, his forces would be ready to sacrifice their lives, if necessary, for the American and Allied cause. To this day, I have never forgotten either him or his sincere promise to us all those years ago in a faraway land.
An OSS team, of which radioman Arthur “Jibby” Jibilian remains the sole living survivor, was sent into Yugoslavia and a rescue was planned and we were readied for evacuation. The rescue mission, led by Captain George “Guv” Musulin, who lived in McLean, VA and is since deceased, made arrangements with the 15th Air Force in Italy to send in transports and fighter planes to surround the area and to neutralize the German airfields that were in the vicinity of our “homemade” air strip constructed by the Chetniks there in the hills of Pranjani, Serbia. On the night of August 9, 1944 six C-47 cargo planes landed, and the sick and wounded were flown out first. The remainder of the downed airmen, including myself, was flown out the next day, August 10, 1944, on C-47 transports protected by P-51 fighter planes. A total of over 200 Allied airmen were rescued during those two days. The rescue was called the Halyard Mission. To date, the Halyard Mission remains the greatest mass air evacuation of Allied airmen from behind enemy lines in the history of warfare.
The complete story of the Halyard Mission was first published in BLUE BOOK Magazine in Vol. 83, No. 4, in August of 1946. I still have a copy of that article. It is unbelievable what was accomplished. In all, General Mihailovich was responsible for saving over 500 American airmen through this rescue mission and others that followed through the end of 1944. The sad aspect of this story is that Tito and the Partisans captured Mihailovich after the war, and on trumped up charges and refusing the rescued airmen’s repeated offer to testify at the trial in Belgrade, found the General guilty of treason in what turned out to be a phony kangaroo trial and had him executed on July 17, 1946. Over 25 of the rescued airmen, including myself, formed the “National Committee of American Airmen Rescued by General Mihailovich” and attempted for many years to have a monument erected in Washington, D.C., with our assurance that we would fund the monument ourselves, without requesting Government financing, to honor the General for what he did for us Americans, but without success, mainly because of the politics surrounding the situation in Yugoslavia during and after the war. That no such monument yet stands in Washington, D.C. haunts me still.
C-47 transport planes waiting on the airfield at Pranjani, Serbia
to evacuate the fallen airmen who were rescued during
the Halyard Mission, August 10, 1944. Newspaper source unknown.
Milton Friend at home in New Jersey after returning safe
and sound from Serbia, in August of 1944. He is wearing
his Purple Heart and Air Medal, awarded to him after only
two combat missions.
*****
In the meantime, my brother Murray completed his navigator training. After I was reported “Missing in Action”, he was granted a 30 day emergency leave and then was transferred overseas to the 15th Air Force in Foggia, Italy as a navigator on a B-17. After I returned to Allied control and was debriefed at 15th AF Headquarters in Bari, Italy , I went to Headquarters Personnel and asked if they could locate my twin brother. I had no idea where he might be stationed – in the Pacific, England, Italy, or wherever. In about 10 minutes, the Personnel Officer came out and said that Murray Friend was in Foggia, Italy. The Air Force flew me down from Bari and I went to his squadron orderly room and asked for Lt. Murray Friend. Not knowing that I was alive, you can imagine how he felt seeing me walk into that room. He didn’t know what to do first – whether to cry or laugh or kiss or hug me. We had a great reunion. Murray would tell me that one week before my surprise visit, he’d had a dream where I walked in on him out of nowhere, and he told our mother about it. With tears in her eyes, she had written: “If only GOD would make that dream come true.” Well, it did come true.
Murray finished his 50 missions while I was stationed in San Marcos, Texas as an instructor navigator. He received the first of his three “Distinguished Flying Crosses” (DFC) for heroism in combat, directing his damaged B-17 from a bombing mission over Austria, avoiding further flak damage and enemy fighter aircraft. Both of us were discharged after the war and joined the Air Force Reserves, where we spent six years in the inactive Reserve until the Korean War broke out on June 25, 1950 (on my and Murray’s birthday). Within a few months the Air Force realized there was a shortage of pilots and navigators and called up some reserve squadrons and then asked for volunteers. Our reserve unit was not called up, but we thought it was our duty to volunteer. We were then ordered to active duty, with navigator refreshment training at Ellington Field, Texas, combat crew training at Langley AFB, Virginia in B-26 Bombers as navigator/bombardiers, and finally off to Korea for combat. We told our parents we were going to fly weather missions in Japan so as not to worry them. We both finished our 55 night interdiction missions in about 4 ½ months, from May to October 1951. Murray received his second DFC, and four clusters to his Air-Medal. I received the Air Medal and three clusters to the Air Medal and was put in for the DFC, but it was never properly processed. We tried to fly one mission together, one of us as bombardier, the other as navigator. It was my 55th mission and Murray ’s 50th. Everything was set. The Associated Press had sent a reporter from Tokyo to record the event. Just as we were ready to board the plane for the mission, the wing commander sent Operations a message: “Those twins cannot fly on the same combat aircraft during a mission.” His order was a result of the regulation called The Sullivan Act, which was enacted after the five Sullivan brothers all went down on the same ship in combat. The regulation stated that twins/brothers could not be in the same infantry platoon, ship, or airplane during combat. Everyone was disappointed, especially Murray and I. We then flew our mission on separate B-26’s.
Following Korea we were both sent to Westover Field , MA to fly as navigators with the Military Air Transport Service (MATS), later known as “Military Air Command” (MAC). We flew in transports in MATS for about seven years, flying the families of Air Force personnel and cargo to many destinations overseas. Then, for the first time in seven years, we were separated. I received a military assignment at Stanford University, Palo Alto, CA and Murray was sent to Europe to fly as a navigator on C-130’s flying communication missions over Europe. After two years at Stanford and just short of a degree, I was sent to Okinawa, Japan as a Data Processing Officer in charge of the AF Processing Center on the Island. While holding a ground job, I volunteered to fly with a Troop Carrier Squadron as a C-130 navigator and flew into Vietnam , from 1962 through 1965, getting combat time for the flights I made into enemy territory. I was the only attached (i.e. not assigned to a C-130 Squadron) navigator to become “combat ready” and be eligible to fly troops and cargo into Vietnam. After three years in Germany, Murray was assigned to March Field in California as a Squadron Commander training Reserve Navigators. From California, Murray was sent to Clark Field in the Philippines to fly on C-130s again, in the late 1960’s. Most of his missions were into Vietnam. Murray was awarded a third DFC in 1968 for a mission to Vietnam in which he dropped supplies to retreating troops while the transport plane was under heavy ground fire.
After Okinawa , the Air Force allowed me to return to Stanford, under Air Force sponsorship. I graduated from Stanford University in June 1965 with a Bachelor of Science Degree in Industrial Engineering and was then ordered to the Pentagon for duty as a scientific programmer in the Data Processing Division. I retired from the Air Force as a Lt. Col. in November of 1969. Murray also retired as a Lt. Col. from his station in California and received a Degree in Psychology within six months of retirement.
In all, Murray was awarded three Distinguished Flying Crosses, 12 Air Medals, and numerous combat and theatre ribbons. I was awarded the Purple Heart and the Air Medal for my mission to Rumania , when I was shot down over Yugoslavia, and the Air Medal and three clusters for my 55 missions in Korea. Together, my brother Murray and I probably have more combined combat flying time, in WWII, Korea, and Vietnam, than any other family in the United States.
My brother Murray passed away last year in 2009, just shy of his 87th birthday. I'll be 88, God willing, this June. Though my flying days were over long ago, I continue to remain grateful today for the many things I experienced over the course of my military career in the U.S. Air Force and wouldn't trade any of it for anything in the world. I remain especially grateful to the Serbian people, their beloved General Draza Mihailovich, and his Chetniks soldiers for saving not only my life, but the lives of over 500 of my countrymen.
I think of those days often. I’m proud to have served and will never forget the people in faraway lands that got me home safe and sound to serve another day.
Milton E. Friend
Lt/Col. USAF (Ret.)
March 2010
TESTIMONY OF MILTON E. FRIEND, LT. COL. USAF (RET)
Before the National Capital Memorial Advisory Committee
National Capital Parks
Washington, D.C.
June 11, 1991
Mr. Chairman and Distinguished Committee Members:
My name is Milton E. Friend. I am a retired United States Air Force Lt. Colonel, and I am here today to speak in support of erecting a monument for the late General Draza Mihailovich, who with his Chetnik forces in Yugoslavia, saved over 500 American Airmen who had bailed out or crashed in Yugoslavia during 1944. I was shot down by German fighter planes after returning from a raid on the Ploesti Oil Fields in Rumania, while flying as a navigator on a B-24 Liberator Bomber, on D-Day, June 6, 1944.
It is over 47 years since that fateful day. Nothing that has occurred since then will lessen my determination to repay my, and that of my WWII companions, debt of gratitude to General Mihailovich. General Mihailovich was a great leader, a great humanitarian, and an outstanding friend of the United States. The General saved my life, and hundreds of other Americans, and we will forever be indebted to him and his Chetniks.
Immediately upon landing after bailing out of a burning B-24 just after 11:00 a.m. on June 6th, I was picked up by Serbian townspeople, and after the rest of my crew members (nine of the remaining ten – the nose gunner was killed during the fighter attack) were rounded up, we were taken out of the area by the Chetnik soldiers to avoid the German patrols that had seen our parachutes and were searching the area. We were taken into the mountains under the protection of the Chetnik soldiers, hidden and fed, and moved as was necessary to avoid the Germans. When it was safe, we were moved under the protection of Mihailovich’s forces from the mountains to the village of Pranjani in Serbia for eventual evacuation to Italy.
It was at Pranjani that I was fortunate enough to meet the General. When I met with the American Escape Committee at Mihailovich’s Headquarters to obtain maps of the area for the future evacuation, General Mihailovich spoke to us at length (in French, which was then translated by one of his staff into English) about his plans after the war for a democratic form of Government in Yugoslavia. He told us that when the time came, and the Allies returned to Yugoslavia, his forces would sacrifice their lives, if necessary, for the American and Allied cause.
I and over 200 Allied airmen were evacuated from the Chetnik built airfield at Pranjani on August 9th and 10th, 1944. Each of us owes him this debt of gratitude and recognition for saving our lives. We have been pursuing this cause for over 20 years. As we grow older, and our numbers decrease, it becomes more difficult, but those of us who are left will never give up trying.
On March 29th, 1948, President Truman, on the recommendation of General Dwight D. Eisenhower, awarded the Legion of Merit to General Draza Mihailovich in recognition of his service to the Allied cause. Among other things, President Truman’s citation said about Mihailovich:
‘Through the undaunted efforts of his troops, many United States airmen were rescued and returned safely to friendly control.’
But for the first and only time in history, this award of the Legion of Merit was classified and kept secret. The facts about the award were not made public until Congressman Edward J. Derwinski of Illinois intervened in 1967 – almost 20 years after the event – to oblige the State Department to make public the text of President Truman’s citation.
We initially petitioned Congress for permission to erect a monument on public land in 1976 as a way of expressing our gratitude to the man who saved our lives. Legislation has been introduced in ever session of Congress since then. It has twice passed the Senate by voice vote and has had as many as ninety cosponsors in the House of Representatives, but each time it has been turned down by the Department of State, with the argument that the Yugoslav communist government might not like it. Isn’t it time to ask what the 500 rescued airmen and the United States Government might like? Though are ranks are becoming thinner, we will continue our efforts, because we owe an inescapable moral debt to General Mihailovich.
Erection of a monument to recognize General Mihailovich’s rescue of the Allied airmen is long overdue. We respectfully ask for your support in this continuing effort. Thank you very much.
Milton E. Friend
Lt. Colonel, USAF (Retired)
National Committee of American Airmen Rescued by General Mihailovich
June 11, 1991
*****
If you would like to get in touch with Lt. Col. Milton Friend, please contact me, Aleksandra, at ravnagora@hotmail.com
*****
March 2010
The 50th Anniversary Celebration of the Halyard Mission
Chicago, IL May 1994
From left to right:
Lt. Col. Milton Friend, Norman Reid (Canada)
Major Richard L. Felman, kneeling and saluting, and
Major George Vujnovich, OSS chief of the Halyard Mission.
Photo by Aleksandra Rebic
*****
NATIONAL COMMITTEE OF AMERICAN AIRMEN RESCUED BY GENERAL MIHAILOVICH, INC.TESTIMONY OF MILTON E. FRIEND, LT. COL. USAF (RET)
Before the National Capital Memorial Advisory Committee
National Capital Parks
Washington, D.C.
June 11, 1991
Mr. Chairman and Distinguished Committee Members:
My name is Milton E. Friend. I am a retired United States Air Force Lt. Colonel, and I am here today to speak in support of erecting a monument for the late General Draza Mihailovich, who with his Chetnik forces in Yugoslavia, saved over 500 American Airmen who had bailed out or crashed in Yugoslavia during 1944. I was shot down by German fighter planes after returning from a raid on the Ploesti Oil Fields in Rumania, while flying as a navigator on a B-24 Liberator Bomber, on D-Day, June 6, 1944.
It is over 47 years since that fateful day. Nothing that has occurred since then will lessen my determination to repay my, and that of my WWII companions, debt of gratitude to General Mihailovich. General Mihailovich was a great leader, a great humanitarian, and an outstanding friend of the United States. The General saved my life, and hundreds of other Americans, and we will forever be indebted to him and his Chetniks.
Immediately upon landing after bailing out of a burning B-24 just after 11:00 a.m. on June 6th, I was picked up by Serbian townspeople, and after the rest of my crew members (nine of the remaining ten – the nose gunner was killed during the fighter attack) were rounded up, we were taken out of the area by the Chetnik soldiers to avoid the German patrols that had seen our parachutes and were searching the area. We were taken into the mountains under the protection of the Chetnik soldiers, hidden and fed, and moved as was necessary to avoid the Germans. When it was safe, we were moved under the protection of Mihailovich’s forces from the mountains to the village of Pranjani in Serbia for eventual evacuation to Italy.
It was at Pranjani that I was fortunate enough to meet the General. When I met with the American Escape Committee at Mihailovich’s Headquarters to obtain maps of the area for the future evacuation, General Mihailovich spoke to us at length (in French, which was then translated by one of his staff into English) about his plans after the war for a democratic form of Government in Yugoslavia. He told us that when the time came, and the Allies returned to Yugoslavia, his forces would sacrifice their lives, if necessary, for the American and Allied cause.
I and over 200 Allied airmen were evacuated from the Chetnik built airfield at Pranjani on August 9th and 10th, 1944. Each of us owes him this debt of gratitude and recognition for saving our lives. We have been pursuing this cause for over 20 years. As we grow older, and our numbers decrease, it becomes more difficult, but those of us who are left will never give up trying.
On March 29th, 1948, President Truman, on the recommendation of General Dwight D. Eisenhower, awarded the Legion of Merit to General Draza Mihailovich in recognition of his service to the Allied cause. Among other things, President Truman’s citation said about Mihailovich:
‘Through the undaunted efforts of his troops, many United States airmen were rescued and returned safely to friendly control.’
But for the first and only time in history, this award of the Legion of Merit was classified and kept secret. The facts about the award were not made public until Congressman Edward J. Derwinski of Illinois intervened in 1967 – almost 20 years after the event – to oblige the State Department to make public the text of President Truman’s citation.
We initially petitioned Congress for permission to erect a monument on public land in 1976 as a way of expressing our gratitude to the man who saved our lives. Legislation has been introduced in ever session of Congress since then. It has twice passed the Senate by voice vote and has had as many as ninety cosponsors in the House of Representatives, but each time it has been turned down by the Department of State, with the argument that the Yugoslav communist government might not like it. Isn’t it time to ask what the 500 rescued airmen and the United States Government might like? Though are ranks are becoming thinner, we will continue our efforts, because we owe an inescapable moral debt to General Mihailovich.
Erection of a monument to recognize General Mihailovich’s rescue of the Allied airmen is long overdue. We respectfully ask for your support in this continuing effort. Thank you very much.
Milton E. Friend
Lt. Colonel, USAF (Retired)
National Committee of American Airmen Rescued by General Mihailovich
June 11, 1991
*****
If you would like to get in touch with Lt. Col. Milton Friend, please contact me, Aleksandra, at ravnagora@hotmail.com
*****
Thursday, March 04, 2010
"The Halyard Mission (Misija Halijard)" / An excellent documentary on YouTube
"The Halyard Mission (Misija Halijard)"
Serbian narration with English subtitles
Posted by "MissionHalyard"
http://www.youtube.com/user/MissionHalyard#p/a/u/0/bJS-PbzkIJs
*****
To get in touch with me, Aleksandra, please feel free to contact me at ravnagora@hotmail.com
*****
Serbian narration with English subtitles
Posted by "MissionHalyard"
http://www.youtube.com/user/MissionHalyard#p/a/u/0/bJS-PbzkIJs
*****
To get in touch with me, Aleksandra, please feel free to contact me at ravnagora@hotmail.com
*****
Wednesday, March 03, 2010
Excavation of Draza Mihajlovic’s grave to begin at Ada Ciganlija / "Blic Online" in English
Blic Online
By Vuk Z. Cvijić
March 1, 2010
One of biggest secrets of WWII to be revealed
Excavation of General Dragoljub Mihajlovic’s grave, a commander of Yugoslav Royal Army shall start at Ada Ciganlija as soon as weather conditions improve. It is believed that he was buried there after rigged trial.
Photo of Ada Ciganlija by J. Vuchetich
Forensic doctors say it shall be possible to determine for sure the identity of General Mihajlovic on the basis of his remnants regardless of their condition and the time elapsed.
‘Several indirect witnesses mentioned Ada Ciganlija as a location of Mihajlovic’s grave. The most important is testifying by former member of the Corps of Peoples Defense of Yugoslavia who watched the shooting and who is ready to show exact location where General Mihajlovic’s body was buried’, ‘Blic’ source close to the Commission for finding of Draza Mihajlovic’s grave says.
If the grave is not found at Ada Ciganlija, the search shall be carried out at another two locations, Lisiciji Potok and the Central Cemetery because they were also mentioned as possible secondary graves where Mihajlovic’s body was moved.
At the same time the Commission is trying to get in possession of the documents on shooting and burial of General Mihajlovic removed from the State Security at the beginning of the 80s.
‘It has been determined that those documents are no longer at the BIA. However, there is not full cooperation with the VBA and it seems that somebody there is trying to hide the documents’, ‘Blic’ source says.
General Mihailovich, center with arms crossed,
surrounded by his communist accusers
Historian Slobodan Markovic, member of the Commission confirmed to ‘Blic’ the search for the documents ‘because they certainly do exist’.
General Mihajlovic was executed on July 17, 1946 together with another seven people at Ada Ciganlija. According to partisan documentation the execution was carried out in the presence of Slobodan Penezic Krcun, then Serbia home minister, Josip Hrncevic, then prosecutor of the Federal Peoples Republic of Yugoslavia, Colonel Milos Minic, then military prosecutor, Mihajlo Djordjevic, then president of trial chamber, Slobodan Krstic Uca, security official and a doctor on duty.
Mihajlovic has been given the highest USA and French decorations for merits in fight against the Nazis. French General Charles de Gaulle awarded Mihajlovic with War Cross for war merits in 1943 while American President Harry Truman decorated Mihajlovic posthumously in 1948 for huge contribution to the victory of the allies and for saving of more than 500 American pilots whose planes were shot down in 1944.
General Mihajlovic was rehabilitated in Serbia as late as in 2004 by decision of Serbia Parliament.
http://english.blic.rs/In-Focus/6091/Excavation-of-Draza-Mihajlovics-grave
*****
Aleksandra's Note: The text of this English version of the original news story in Serbian is posted here exactly as it appeared in 'Blic Online'.
*****
If you would like to get in touch with me, Aleksandra, please feel free to contact me at ravnagora@hotmail.com
*****
Monday, March 01, 2010
Na Adi počinje iskopavanje Dražinog groba
Blic Online
March 1, 2010
Vuk Z. Cvijić
Iskopavanje groba generala Dragoljuba - Draže Mihailovića, komandanta Kraljevske jugoslovenske vojske u otadžbini, počeće na Adi Ciganliji čim to dozvole vremenske prilike. Zasad ima najviše indicija da je tamo ubijen i zakopan posle montiranog suđenja.
Prema rečima Aleksandara Čotrića, člana Komisije za pronalaženje zemnih ostataka generala Draže, traganje će biti obavljeno najsavremenijim sondama za pretragu terena, tehnologijom koja je korišćena za pronalaženje masovnih grobnica iz poslednjih ratova.
Iako članovi Komisije nisu želeli mnogo da govore o ekshumaciji, Čotrić nam je rekao da su profesori forenzičari saopštili da će biti moguće utvrditi nesumnjiv identitet generala Mihailovića na osnovu zemnih ostataka, bez obzira na vremenski protok i stanje u kojem budu pronađeni.
- Nekoliko posrednih svedoka navelo je Adu Ciganliju kao lokaciju. Oni su to čuli od onih koji su bili na streljanju generala. Ipak, za sada je najznačajnije svedočenje bivšeg pripadnika Korpusa narodne odbrane Jugoslavije (KNOJ) koji je naveo da je posmatrao streljanje i da je spreman da pokaže tačno mesto na Adi gde je zakopano telo generala Mihailovića - kaže izvor “Blica” blizak Komisiji za pronalaženje zemnih ostataka Draže Mihailovića.
- Ukoliko se, eventualno, pokaže da su netačne informacije da se zemni ostaci nalaze na Adi, iskopavanja će biti obavljena u Lisičijem potoku i na Centralnom groblju. Ta mesta se spominju kao moguće sekundarne grobnice gde je prebačeno telo generala Mihailovića - navodi izvor “Blica”.
Istovremeno, Komisija pokušava da dođe do zapisnika o streljanju i sahrani generala Mihailovića, koji su uklonjeni iz arhiva Službe državne bezbednosti početkom 80-ih godina prošlog veka.
- Utvrđeno je da u BIA tih dokumenata više nema, ali sa VBA ne postoji puna saradnja i izgleda kao da tamo neko pokušava i dalje da sakrije dokumenta. Postoji beleška iz jula 1982. gde Republički sekretarijat unutrašnjih poslova Srbije potvrđuje prijem dokumentacije iz SDB o suđenju Mihailoviću i napominje da “nedostaju određeni spisi” - kaže izvor “Blica”.
Istoričar Slobodan Marković, član Komisije, potvrdio je za “Blic” da tragaju za zapisnicima o streljanju i grobu Mihailovića jer oni sigurno postoje, kao što su sačuvana takva dokumenta u svim drugim slučajevima posleratnih streljanja.
- Sa BIA Komisija ima dobru saradnju, a što se tiče drugih službi, postoji mogućnost da tamo neki još nisu spremni da daju dokumente. Ukoliko je država uspela da izgubi dokumenta o streljanju, kako se tada govorilo, državnog neprijatelja broj 1, onda se postavlja pitanje kakve su to uopšte službe. Onda bi neko morao da odgovara za gubitak i uništavanje takvih dokumenata - kaže Marković. On napominje da Vlada Srbije uskoro treba da skine oznaku državne tajne sa dokumenata od 1944, i da to može da pomogne u pribavljanju zapisnika o streljanju i sahrani Mihailovića.
Marković podseća na to da je u Sloveniji tamošnja Komisija za ispitivanje partizanskih zločina pronašla i grob Dimitrija Ljotića i da je sada to mesto obeleženo.
- Ljotić je bio saradnik okupatora. Potpuno je besmisleno da njegov grob bude poznat i obeležen, a da grob generala Mihailovića, koji je od svih saveznika bio priznat kao vođa jedinog antifašističkog pokreta do 1943. na teritoriji Jugoslavije, bude nepoznat - navodi istoričar Marković.
Komisija za pronalaženje posmrtnih ostataka komandanta Jugoslovenske vojske, prema rečima Aleksandra Čotrića, zaključila je i da se intenzivira saslušanje mogućih svedoka, jer su do sada saslušavani samo oni koji su se dobrovoljno javili.
- Dogovoreno je da se pozovu svi mogući svedoci i da se insistira na saslušanju onih koji nisu bili spremni dobrovoljno da svedoče - kaže Čotrić.
Komisiji koja traži posmrtne ostatke generala Dragoljuba Mihailovića javio se svedok, koji je šezdesetih godina prošlog veka bio daktilograf u komisiji koja je popisivala sve jame u kojima su pokopani leševi streljanih u tadašnjoj SFRJ - potvrdio je prošle godine za “Blic” doskorašnji državni tužilac Slobodan Radovanović.
- On je kucao na mašini ono što mu je diktirao Mihailo Đorđević, šef te komisije, koji je ranije bio predsednik veća koje je sudilo Mihailoviću - naveo je Radovanović. Iskaz ovog svedoka je dragocen i za pronalaženje drugih jama sa žrtvama partizana.
Inače, o streljanju Mihailovića na Adi i bacanju njegovog tela u jamu sa krečom proteklih decenija svedočili su tada živi učesnici događaja. Jedan od njih, Slobodan Krstić Uča, tadašnji major Ozne, za koga se zna da je bio učesnik u zarobljavanju i da je prisustvovao streljanju komandanta kraljeve vojske, rekao je da je Mihailović ubijen na Adi.
General Mihailović je streljan 17. jula 1946. sa još sedam osoba na Adi Ciganliji i prema partizanskoj istoriografiji, ubistvu su prisustvovali Slobodan Penezić Krcun, ministar unutrašnjih poslova Srbije, koji je, prema nekim tvrdnjama, i lično pucao sa streljačkim vodom, zatim Josip Hrnčević, tužilac FNRJ, pukovnik Miloš Minić, vojni tužilac, Mihajlo Đorđević, predsednik sudskog veća, Slobodan Krstić Uča, funkcioner Ozne i lekar po službenoj dužnosti, i malobrojni, javnosti manje poznati, oficiri Ozne i policije.
Mihailović je za zasluge u borbi protiv nacista dobio najviša odlikovanja SAD i Francuske. Francuski general Šarl de Gol, vođa Pokreta otpora i kasniji predsednik, dodelio mu je 1943. Ratni krst za ratne zasluge, a američki predsednik Hari Truman je 1948. posthumno odlikovao Mihailovića za veliki doprinos pobedi saveznika i spasavanje više od 500 američkih avijatičara oborenih 1944. General Mihailović je u Srbiji rehabilitovan tek 2004. odlukom Skupštine Srbije kojom su oba sukobljena pokreta iz Drugog svetskog rata okarakterisana kao pokreti otpora.
Zahtev Vašingtonu, Moskvi i Londonu
Komisija za pronalaženje posmrtnih ostataka generala Mihailovića obratiće se, prema rečima Slobodana Markovića, i tajnim službama pojedinih stranih država.
- Prvo ćemo tražiti od Vašingtona, Londona i Moskve dokumentaciju o generalu Mihailoviću, jer je najlogičnije da je oni imaju. To je bio događaj od svetskog značaja. Samo suđenje je prenošeno na radiju, veliki broj zemalja je imao svoje izveštače. Poređenja radi, to je bio toliko medijski praćeno, kao kada bi sada Srbija igrala u finalu Svetskog prvenstva u fudbalu - objašnjava istoričar Marković.
http://www.blic.rs/Vesti/Tema-Dana/178762/Na-Adi-pocinje--iskopavanje-Drazinog-groba
*****
If you would like to get in touch with me, Aleksandra, please feel free to contact me at ravnagora@hotmail.com
*****
March 1, 2010
Vuk Z. Cvijić
Iskopavanje groba generala Dragoljuba - Draže Mihailovića, komandanta Kraljevske jugoslovenske vojske u otadžbini, počeće na Adi Ciganliji čim to dozvole vremenske prilike. Zasad ima najviše indicija da je tamo ubijen i zakopan posle montiranog suđenja.
Photo by J. Vucetic
Prema rečima Aleksandara Čotrića, člana Komisije za pronalaženje zemnih ostataka generala Draže, traganje će biti obavljeno najsavremenijim sondama za pretragu terena, tehnologijom koja je korišćena za pronalaženje masovnih grobnica iz poslednjih ratova.
Iako članovi Komisije nisu želeli mnogo da govore o ekshumaciji, Čotrić nam je rekao da su profesori forenzičari saopštili da će biti moguće utvrditi nesumnjiv identitet generala Mihailovića na osnovu zemnih ostataka, bez obzira na vremenski protok i stanje u kojem budu pronađeni.
- Nekoliko posrednih svedoka navelo je Adu Ciganliju kao lokaciju. Oni su to čuli od onih koji su bili na streljanju generala. Ipak, za sada je najznačajnije svedočenje bivšeg pripadnika Korpusa narodne odbrane Jugoslavije (KNOJ) koji je naveo da je posmatrao streljanje i da je spreman da pokaže tačno mesto na Adi gde je zakopano telo generala Mihailovića - kaže izvor “Blica” blizak Komisiji za pronalaženje zemnih ostataka Draže Mihailovića.
- Ukoliko se, eventualno, pokaže da su netačne informacije da se zemni ostaci nalaze na Adi, iskopavanja će biti obavljena u Lisičijem potoku i na Centralnom groblju. Ta mesta se spominju kao moguće sekundarne grobnice gde je prebačeno telo generala Mihailovića - navodi izvor “Blica”.
Istovremeno, Komisija pokušava da dođe do zapisnika o streljanju i sahrani generala Mihailovića, koji su uklonjeni iz arhiva Službe državne bezbednosti početkom 80-ih godina prošlog veka.
- Utvrđeno je da u BIA tih dokumenata više nema, ali sa VBA ne postoji puna saradnja i izgleda kao da tamo neko pokušava i dalje da sakrije dokumenta. Postoji beleška iz jula 1982. gde Republički sekretarijat unutrašnjih poslova Srbije potvrđuje prijem dokumentacije iz SDB o suđenju Mihailoviću i napominje da “nedostaju određeni spisi” - kaže izvor “Blica”.
Istoričar Slobodan Marković, član Komisije, potvrdio je za “Blic” da tragaju za zapisnicima o streljanju i grobu Mihailovića jer oni sigurno postoje, kao što su sačuvana takva dokumenta u svim drugim slučajevima posleratnih streljanja.
- Sa BIA Komisija ima dobru saradnju, a što se tiče drugih službi, postoji mogućnost da tamo neki još nisu spremni da daju dokumente. Ukoliko je država uspela da izgubi dokumenta o streljanju, kako se tada govorilo, državnog neprijatelja broj 1, onda se postavlja pitanje kakve su to uopšte službe. Onda bi neko morao da odgovara za gubitak i uništavanje takvih dokumenata - kaže Marković. On napominje da Vlada Srbije uskoro treba da skine oznaku državne tajne sa dokumenata od 1944, i da to može da pomogne u pribavljanju zapisnika o streljanju i sahrani Mihailovića.
Marković podseća na to da je u Sloveniji tamošnja Komisija za ispitivanje partizanskih zločina pronašla i grob Dimitrija Ljotića i da je sada to mesto obeleženo.
- Ljotić je bio saradnik okupatora. Potpuno je besmisleno da njegov grob bude poznat i obeležen, a da grob generala Mihailovića, koji je od svih saveznika bio priznat kao vođa jedinog antifašističkog pokreta do 1943. na teritoriji Jugoslavije, bude nepoznat - navodi istoričar Marković.
Komisija za pronalaženje posmrtnih ostataka komandanta Jugoslovenske vojske, prema rečima Aleksandra Čotrića, zaključila je i da se intenzivira saslušanje mogućih svedoka, jer su do sada saslušavani samo oni koji su se dobrovoljno javili.
- Dogovoreno je da se pozovu svi mogući svedoci i da se insistira na saslušanju onih koji nisu bili spremni dobrovoljno da svedoče - kaže Čotrić.
Komisiji koja traži posmrtne ostatke generala Dragoljuba Mihailovića javio se svedok, koji je šezdesetih godina prošlog veka bio daktilograf u komisiji koja je popisivala sve jame u kojima su pokopani leševi streljanih u tadašnjoj SFRJ - potvrdio je prošle godine za “Blic” doskorašnji državni tužilac Slobodan Radovanović.
- On je kucao na mašini ono što mu je diktirao Mihailo Đorđević, šef te komisije, koji je ranije bio predsednik veća koje je sudilo Mihailoviću - naveo je Radovanović. Iskaz ovog svedoka je dragocen i za pronalaženje drugih jama sa žrtvama partizana.
Inače, o streljanju Mihailovića na Adi i bacanju njegovog tela u jamu sa krečom proteklih decenija svedočili su tada živi učesnici događaja. Jedan od njih, Slobodan Krstić Uča, tadašnji major Ozne, za koga se zna da je bio učesnik u zarobljavanju i da je prisustvovao streljanju komandanta kraljeve vojske, rekao je da je Mihailović ubijen na Adi.
General Mihailović je streljan 17. jula 1946. sa još sedam osoba na Adi Ciganliji i prema partizanskoj istoriografiji, ubistvu su prisustvovali Slobodan Penezić Krcun, ministar unutrašnjih poslova Srbije, koji je, prema nekim tvrdnjama, i lično pucao sa streljačkim vodom, zatim Josip Hrnčević, tužilac FNRJ, pukovnik Miloš Minić, vojni tužilac, Mihajlo Đorđević, predsednik sudskog veća, Slobodan Krstić Uča, funkcioner Ozne i lekar po službenoj dužnosti, i malobrojni, javnosti manje poznati, oficiri Ozne i policije.
Mihailović je za zasluge u borbi protiv nacista dobio najviša odlikovanja SAD i Francuske. Francuski general Šarl de Gol, vođa Pokreta otpora i kasniji predsednik, dodelio mu je 1943. Ratni krst za ratne zasluge, a američki predsednik Hari Truman je 1948. posthumno odlikovao Mihailovića za veliki doprinos pobedi saveznika i spasavanje više od 500 američkih avijatičara oborenih 1944. General Mihailović je u Srbiji rehabilitovan tek 2004. odlukom Skupštine Srbije kojom su oba sukobljena pokreta iz Drugog svetskog rata okarakterisana kao pokreti otpora.
Zahtev Vašingtonu, Moskvi i Londonu
Komisija za pronalaženje posmrtnih ostataka generala Mihailovića obratiće se, prema rečima Slobodana Markovića, i tajnim službama pojedinih stranih država.
- Prvo ćemo tražiti od Vašingtona, Londona i Moskve dokumentaciju o generalu Mihailoviću, jer je najlogičnije da je oni imaju. To je bio događaj od svetskog značaja. Samo suđenje je prenošeno na radiju, veliki broj zemalja je imao svoje izveštače. Poređenja radi, to je bio toliko medijski praćeno, kao kada bi sada Srbija igrala u finalu Svetskog prvenstva u fudbalu - objašnjava istoričar Marković.
http://www.blic.rs/Vesti/Tema-Dana/178762/Na-Adi-pocinje--iskopavanje-Drazinog-groba
*****
If you would like to get in touch with me, Aleksandra, please feel free to contact me at ravnagora@hotmail.com
*****
Friday, February 26, 2010
"Halyard Mission" Forgotten 500 Reunion / "Lest We Forget" Michigan 2009 Now on "YouTube" and "Flickr"
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The Halyard Mission "Forgotten 500 Reunion" was part of the "Lest We Forget" WWII Re-Enactment celebration and commemoration in Michigan in June of 2009. This photo slide show video is comprised of photos taken on June 17th and June 18th, 2009 of Americans and Serbs that came together to honor the "Halyard Mission" operation of WWII, one of the greatest rescue missions in the history of warfare. All photos and slide show created by Aleksandra Rebic. This video is dedicated to Arthur "Jibby" Jibilian of Halyard, who, as of this date, February 26, 2010, 66 years later, continues to work tirelessly to honor the legacy of General Draza Mihailovich and the Chetniks for saving the lives of over 500 American airmen in 1944.
ON "YOUTUBE"
Halyard Mission "Forgotten 500 Reunion" Lest We Forget 2009
To go directly to "YouTube" you can click on the URL link below:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2a8-FQxElBU
You can find a slide show of the same photos (without music) on "Flickr" as well as view each of the photos individually at the following links:
PHOTO SLIDESHOW ON FLICKR:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/aleksandra-rebic/sets/72157623383740665/show/
INDIVIDUAL PHOTOS ON FLICKR:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/aleksandra-rebic/sets/72157623383740665/
TO READ THE TWO PART ACCOUNT OF "THE FORGOTTEN 500 REUNION" YOU CAN FIND THEM HERE ON THIS WEBSITE:
"Part 1 of 2 Halyard Mission Forgotten 500 Reunion - Lest We Forget Michigan 2009"
"Part 2 of 2 Halyard Mission Forgotten 500 Reunion - Lest We Forget Michigan 2009"
ENJOY!
*****
If you would like to get in touch with me, Aleksandra, please feel free to contact me at ravnagora@hotmail.com
*****
Friday, February 19, 2010
A Christian Treasure in the heart of the Midwest - A visit to St. Sava Monastery in Libertyville, Illinois on an early summer morning
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On a beautiful summer morning in June of 2007, I took a drive out to Libertyville, Illinois for the purpose of taking photos of the new memorial monument that had been erected and dedicated to Voyvoda Momchilo Djujich, a highly revered Chetnik commander under the command of Serbia's General Draza Mihailovich in World War II. When I arrived at St. Sava Monastery, the Serbian Orthodox Church that was home to this new memorial, I found the grounds to be even more lovely and peaceful than I had hoped they would be. The experience exceeded my expectations as the beauty of the early morning only served to enhance the serenity and nobility of this special place. There was General Draza Mihailovich, Voyvoda Pavle Djurisich, and now Voyvoda Momchilo Djujich standing guard over the church and the burial grounds of the various people for whom this was their final resting place, including King Peter II of the Karageorgevich royal family.
Inside, there was the familiar gorgeous handcarved woodwork meticulously done by my Uncle many years ago. There, too, were the vivid, striking colors that make every Serbian Orthodox Church a true work of art. And there were the silent candles with their bright flames gently glowing in memorium of departed loved ones.
God and his Holy Son, Jesus Christ, were omnipresent in that lovely place, and I couldn't help but feel like I was being blessed by the Holy Spirit as I enjoyed the moments of solitude and peace that being there at St. Sava Monastery afforded me on a beautiful summer morning.
Below you will find a slide show that features a collection of photographs I took that morning, and I hope you will get a sense of what a special place this is.
Sincerely,
Aleksandra Rebic
To go directly to "YouTube" to view the above slide show, please go to:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W_8_fr5R7js
St. Sava Serbian Orthodox Monastery, Libertyville IL U.S.A.
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The following is found on "Flickr".
The first link below will take you directly to a larger version of the same slide show of photos on "Flickr" that is featured above and the second link will allow you to look at each photo individually if you wish.
http://www.flickr.com/photos/aleksandra-rebic/sets/72157623229531377/show/
http://www.flickr.com/photos/aleksandra-rebic/sets/72157623229531377/
Enjoy, and thanks for visiting!
*****
If you would like to get in touch with me, Aleksandra, please feel free to contact me at ravnagora@hotmail.com
*****
"Shadows on the Mountain: The Allies, The Resistance, and the Rivalries that Doomed WWII Yugoslavia" by Marcia Kurapovna
ANNOUNCING A BRAND NEW BOOK ON THE MIHAILOVICH STORY!
Product Details
Pub. Date: December 2009
Publisher: Wiley, John & Sons, Incorporated
Format: Hardcover, 336pp
ISBN-13: 9780470084564
ISBN: 0470084561
From the Publisher
An in-depth look at a crucial, little-known World War II episode—the failed Allied policy in Yugoslavia and its ramifications in the Balkans and beyond
Winston Churchill called it one of his biggest wartime failures—the shift of British and U.S. support from Yugoslavia's Draža Mihailović and his royalist resistance movement to Tito and his communist Partisans. This book illuminates the complex reasons behind that failure through the incredible story of what has been called the greatest rescue of Allied airmen from behind enemy lines in World War II history, a rescue executed, incredibly, with minimal official support from the United States and none such support from Great Britain.
Recounts an unknown chapter of World War II history and the single largest rescue operation of the war
Starting with Serbia's tragedy and triumph in World War II through civil war in Yugoslavia during World War I, focuses on the history of the Balkans, a tragically misunderstood part of the world
Sheds new light on the OSS-SOE relationship and manipulations of intelligence that profoundly altered policy decision making
Reveals how failed Allied policy set the stage for Yugoslavia's breakup in the 1990s
Details the wartime camaraderie of unlikely warriors who became fast friends, outcasts, and heroes in executing the rescue
Written with the drama of a novel and the insight of serious history, Shadows on the Mountain is essential reading for anyone interested in World War II, European history, and the Balkans.
Synopsis
In Shadows on the Mountain, former Balkan reporter Marcia Kurapovna reveals the unknown, unheralded, and misunderstood story of what Winston Churchill called one of his biggest wartime failures—the shift of British and U.S. support from Yugoslavia's Dra?a Mihailoviç and his royalist resistance movement to Communist Partisans under the command of Josip Broz Tito. This book illuminates the complex reasons behind that failure through the incredible story of what has come to be considered the greatest rescue of Allied airmen from behind enemy lines in World War II, a rescue executed, incredibly, with minimal official support from the United States and no such support from Great Britain.
At the same time, Kurapovna takes into account all sides of this civil war conflict, including the heroism of the Yugoslav Partisans, the origins of the Croat nationalists, the unsung, outstanding sacrifices of the British "SOE" in Yugoslavia, Serb against Serb intrigue, as well as the German point of view. Among the unforgettable figures you'll meet in this thrilling, fast-paced history is Major Linn M. "Slim" Farish, known to his OSS compatriots, with both awe and humor, as "Lawrence of Yugoslavia." Spending months at a time criss-crossing Yugoslavia's rugged and treacherous mountain ranges on foot and horseback, he slipped behind enemy lines and back again in search of downed Allied airmen, hundreds of whom he led back to safety, aided by Macedonian Partisans. Even Farish's boss, legendary daredevil "Wild Bill" Donovan, worried that Farish might be taking too many risks.
It was Mihailovich, however, who accomplished the central achievement in this amazing true story. While resistingthe Nazis and fighting brutal civil wars against Tito and the Croatian Ustashe, he organized and executed the rescue of more than five hundred Allied airmen from behind enemy lines.
Marcia Kurapovna presents a fascinating account of the highly complicated and bitterly successful campaign to undermine Mihailovich's standing with the British and the Americans, a campaign that was part Communist infiltration of and influence on British intelligence, part the renegade attitudes of the Serbian Chetniks themselves, and part gross misinformation, deliberate or accidental—all of it leading to devastatingly tragic consequences. She also tells the heartbreaking story of Mihailovich's post-war trial and execution by firing squad and reveals why the United States, after awarding him the Legion of Merit posthumously in 1948, declared the award classified information. The award was made public in 1967 through the efforts of a U.S. congressman, and was presented to Mihailovich's seventy-four-year-old daughter.
You may never have heard of any of the heroes you'll discover in Shadows on the Mountain, but once you meet them, you'll never forget their courage, ingenuity, and devotion to duty.
Biography
Marcia Christoff Kurapovna is a former international affairs correspondent with an academic background in East European history. She has lived in and reported from southeastern Europe, Cairo, London, New York, and Washington, D.C. Her writing has appeared in the Wall Street Journal Europe, the International Herald Tribune, the Christian Science Monitor, the Economist, and Foreign Affairs. She is now a full-time writer and lives in Vienna, Austria, with her fiancé, Dr. Johannes Eltz.
*****
Aleksandra's Note:
This book is available at both Amazon.com and BarnesandNoble.com
A review will be forthcoming...
*****
If you would like to get in touch with me, Aleksandra, please feel free to contact me at ravnagora@hotmail.com
*****
Product Details
Pub. Date: December 2009
Publisher: Wiley, John & Sons, Incorporated
Format: Hardcover, 336pp
ISBN-13: 9780470084564
ISBN: 0470084561
From the Publisher
An in-depth look at a crucial, little-known World War II episode—the failed Allied policy in Yugoslavia and its ramifications in the Balkans and beyond
Winston Churchill called it one of his biggest wartime failures—the shift of British and U.S. support from Yugoslavia's Draža Mihailović and his royalist resistance movement to Tito and his communist Partisans. This book illuminates the complex reasons behind that failure through the incredible story of what has been called the greatest rescue of Allied airmen from behind enemy lines in World War II history, a rescue executed, incredibly, with minimal official support from the United States and none such support from Great Britain.
Recounts an unknown chapter of World War II history and the single largest rescue operation of the war
Starting with Serbia's tragedy and triumph in World War II through civil war in Yugoslavia during World War I, focuses on the history of the Balkans, a tragically misunderstood part of the world
Sheds new light on the OSS-SOE relationship and manipulations of intelligence that profoundly altered policy decision making
Reveals how failed Allied policy set the stage for Yugoslavia's breakup in the 1990s
Details the wartime camaraderie of unlikely warriors who became fast friends, outcasts, and heroes in executing the rescue
Written with the drama of a novel and the insight of serious history, Shadows on the Mountain is essential reading for anyone interested in World War II, European history, and the Balkans.
Synopsis
In Shadows on the Mountain, former Balkan reporter Marcia Kurapovna reveals the unknown, unheralded, and misunderstood story of what Winston Churchill called one of his biggest wartime failures—the shift of British and U.S. support from Yugoslavia's Dra?a Mihailoviç and his royalist resistance movement to Communist Partisans under the command of Josip Broz Tito. This book illuminates the complex reasons behind that failure through the incredible story of what has come to be considered the greatest rescue of Allied airmen from behind enemy lines in World War II, a rescue executed, incredibly, with minimal official support from the United States and no such support from Great Britain.
At the same time, Kurapovna takes into account all sides of this civil war conflict, including the heroism of the Yugoslav Partisans, the origins of the Croat nationalists, the unsung, outstanding sacrifices of the British "SOE" in Yugoslavia, Serb against Serb intrigue, as well as the German point of view. Among the unforgettable figures you'll meet in this thrilling, fast-paced history is Major Linn M. "Slim" Farish, known to his OSS compatriots, with both awe and humor, as "Lawrence of Yugoslavia." Spending months at a time criss-crossing Yugoslavia's rugged and treacherous mountain ranges on foot and horseback, he slipped behind enemy lines and back again in search of downed Allied airmen, hundreds of whom he led back to safety, aided by Macedonian Partisans. Even Farish's boss, legendary daredevil "Wild Bill" Donovan, worried that Farish might be taking too many risks.
It was Mihailovich, however, who accomplished the central achievement in this amazing true story. While resistingthe Nazis and fighting brutal civil wars against Tito and the Croatian Ustashe, he organized and executed the rescue of more than five hundred Allied airmen from behind enemy lines.
Marcia Kurapovna presents a fascinating account of the highly complicated and bitterly successful campaign to undermine Mihailovich's standing with the British and the Americans, a campaign that was part Communist infiltration of and influence on British intelligence, part the renegade attitudes of the Serbian Chetniks themselves, and part gross misinformation, deliberate or accidental—all of it leading to devastatingly tragic consequences. She also tells the heartbreaking story of Mihailovich's post-war trial and execution by firing squad and reveals why the United States, after awarding him the Legion of Merit posthumously in 1948, declared the award classified information. The award was made public in 1967 through the efforts of a U.S. congressman, and was presented to Mihailovich's seventy-four-year-old daughter.
You may never have heard of any of the heroes you'll discover in Shadows on the Mountain, but once you meet them, you'll never forget their courage, ingenuity, and devotion to duty.
Biography
Marcia Christoff Kurapovna is a former international affairs correspondent with an academic background in East European history. She has lived in and reported from southeastern Europe, Cairo, London, New York, and Washington, D.C. Her writing has appeared in the Wall Street Journal Europe, the International Herald Tribune, the Christian Science Monitor, the Economist, and Foreign Affairs. She is now a full-time writer and lives in Vienna, Austria, with her fiancé, Dr. Johannes Eltz.
*****
Aleksandra's Note:
This book is available at both Amazon.com and BarnesandNoble.com
A review will be forthcoming...
*****
If you would like to get in touch with me, Aleksandra, please feel free to contact me at ravnagora@hotmail.com
*****
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