Stella Jatras
Serbian National Defense Vidovdan Celebration June 28, 2009
New Gracanica Serbian Orthodox Monastery, Third Lake, IL U.S.A.
Photo by Aleksandra Rebic
Colonel George Jatras (USAF Ret.) and Stella Jatras
Serbian National Defense Vidovdan Celebration
New Gracanica Serbian Orthodox Monastery
Third Lake, IL June 28, 2009.
Photo by Aleksandra Rebic
Aleksandra's Note: It took guts to be Stella. Although not Serbian, she fought for the Serbs and the truth as if she were, and more so. Like so many of us in the Serbian community, I had been familiar with Stella's work through the years - her letters to various politicians, policymakers, and media - a number of them actually seeing the light of day in publication - forcing them to face their ignorance about Balkan issues and why the truth mattered. We had a personal correspondence that I now treasure even more, and I had the honor of meeting her "live" and in person in 2009 at New Gracanica Serbian Orthodox Monastery in Third Lake, IL during the Vidovdan Celebration being hosted by the Serbian National Defense Council of America.
Stella Jatras was a woman of intelligence, knowledge, class, and dignity. She was also a kind and thoughtful human being and a tireless advocate for the truth. To say that she was a great friend of the Serbs is an understatement. I can only hope that she knew how much she was appreciated.
Stella died on Saturday, June 15, 2013. Her published words as well as her spirit of integrity will live on, and for that we can be grateful.
Sincerely,
Aleksandra Rebic
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Stella Jatras as a featured speaker and special guest
at the Serbian National Defense Vidovdan celebration
New Gracanica Serbian Orthodox Monastery, Third Lake, IL June 28, 2009.
Photo by Aleksandra Rebic.
Stella Jatras receiving an award of recognition and appreciation
from SND President Slavko Panovich June 28, 2009.
Photo by Aleksandra Rebic.
Stella Jatras, front row left
with former U.S. Congresswoman Melissa Bean (D-IL)
SND President Slavko Panovich, top right, and
Father Urosh Ocokolich, top left.
SND Vidovdan celebration June 28, 2009
New Gracanica Serbian Orthodox Monastery, Third Lake, IL
Photo by Aleksandra Rebic.
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Exactly one year to the day before she died, the following letter by Stella Jatras was published by the Washington Times regarding General Draza Mihailovich:
Serbs saved U.S. airmen in World War II / "The Washington Times - Letter to the Editor" June 15, 2012 / Stella L. Jatras
The Washington Times
Letters to the Editor
June 15, 2012
Stella L. Jatras
“Did Serbia vote for war?” (Commentary, May 24) contains some anti-Serb sentiments. Writer Jeffrey T. Kuhner belittles the character of World War II hero Gen. Draza Mihailovich.
More than 500 American airmen survived the war because of the sacrifices and heroism of Mihailovich, his national forces and the Serbian people. If those American airmen who were shot down over Yugoslavia had been captured by the Ustashi (Croatian Nazis), they would have been turned over to the Germans or executed. Instead, they were protected by Mihailovich’s forces and rescued.
Those biased against Serbs have even tried to paint Serbs as being anti-Semitic. However, one of the rescued airmen was Maj. Richard L. Felman, a Jewish-American who, through binoculars, watched the burning of a village in which 200 Serbian women and children were killed because they would not disclose to the Germans where the Chetniks were hiding the Americans. Of the Serbs, Felman wrote: “If there was one egg, it went to the American airmen while the Serbs went hungry. If there were one bed or one blanket, it went to us while the Serbs slept on the bare ground. No risk or sacrifice was too great to insure our safety and well-being.” These hardly sound like the same people Mr. Kuhner describes.
Rather than accept his portrayal of Serbs and Mihailovich, I accept the judgment of the late Dwight D. Eisenhower and Harry S. Truman who, respectively, recommended and conferred on Mihailovich the Legion of Merit, the highest award our government confers on non-nationals.
STELLA L. JATRAS
Camp Hill, Pa.
http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2012/jun/15/serbs-saved-us-airmen-in-world-war-ii/
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Many of Stella's letters and essays can be found at
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"RAS - The International Serbian Organization grants its Annual award for truth and justice for struggle against anti-Serbian disinformation, falsehood, corruption and bias in the realms of media, politics and academia.
For exceptional courage, determination and success in this struggle and have worked tirelessly to preserve the values of truth and justice in politics, the media and in academia, and as such, have offered those who experienced injustice and suffering as a result of their Serbian ethnicity and heritage, a sense of hope and reinforcement of faith in the human spirit. For this they are specially recognized, admired and loved by many all over the world.
To Stella Jatras:
For her courageous and tireless work against the publication and perpetuation of deliberate falsehoods against the Serbian people in journalism and the media and her numerous articles in which she exposes the corrupt and passionately defends the truth."
http://www.ras-international.org/eng/successful-projects/annual-award-%20for-truth-and-justice2009.htm
*****
Vječnaja pamjat : + Stela Džatras
"Zemljom još gmižu i Medlinka i Hilari, i Nataša i Sonje, za sobom ostavljajući tragove nepočinstava i plač i bedu.
Ali, uznela se jedna duša, čista i neporočna, telesno iznemogla da nastavi otpor onima koji veruju da su vladari ovog sveta.
Nekada je moć baš u telesnom nepostojanju, u bivstvovanju večnom u sećanju, u istrajnom treperenju u visinama, kao zračak nade onima koji po mraku tumaraju, pokoreni, porobljeni, nemoćni da zažare baklju vodilju...
Izgubili smo angela hranitelja zemaljskog, plemenitu, utešujuću, praštajuću majku, koja nikada nije tražila zahvalnost i pohvale (a veoma malo ih je i dobila od današnjih ostrvljenih Srba), koja nas je hrabrila, bodrila, ne dopuštajući nam da posustanemo pred napadima Laži, Zla i Nepravde, koja je, braneći naš narod, naš obraz i našu budućnost, izdržala, stameno i dostojanstveno, najprljavije udare, uvrede i optužbe.
Jedno veliko, hrabro, div-srce, utihnulo je od tuge i bola, u neverici, neprihvatanju vesti da od cilja i smisla odustaju upravo oni za koje je to srce bilo, tuklo i snagom punilo i najkrhkije i najtananije ratnike i mučenike za Slobodu, Istinu i Pravdu.
Možda je i blagoslov ne doživeti ukidanje, smenu, opoganjivanje Vidovdana.
Možda je bolje pridružiti se silama angelskim još za doba srpskog čojstva i junaštva, neokaljanog sopstvenim, dobrovoljnim okončanjem Srpstva, bez otpora, nebranjeno ga, u poniznom šapatu, preobratiti u njegovu suprotnost...
Provela je trećinu svog života dajući širokogrudo svoja blaga za nas–priloge u novcu, celu svoju porodicu uključivši u borbu za nas, svoje ovozemaljsko bivstvovanje, svaki svesni trenutak, i, što je i najvrednije, svoju Reč, Čast, Ugled i Dušu položivši pred ceo svet kao žrtvu, nevinu i najčistiju, za nas danas, gotovo nedostojne, za one koji su naše srpsko ime stvorili vrednim da se za njega žrtvuje, i za one buduće, kojima ostaje najsvetije predanje i dug da ga od nas, pregordih i samoljubnih, slaboumnih i gotovo bezdušnih, preuzmu, povrate, ožive i uveličaju i ukrase, i da nikada ne zaborave veliku ženu, majku i našu plemenitu sestru Grkinju Stelu Džatras.
Vječnaja pamjat!"
Višeslav Simić
profesor
16. jun 2013.
Meksiko Siti
*****
MAY GOD BLESS YOU, STELLA. REST IN PEACE.
YOU WILL BE MISSED.
*****
If you would like to get in touch with me, Aleksandra,
please feel free to contact me at ravnagora@hotmail.com
*****
I found some more articles by Stella here:
ReplyDeleteStella L. Jatras on Yahoo group Sorabia
To see some of the photos from her funeral that I took, you can click on this link:
ReplyDeletehttps://www.facebook.com/mim.bizic/media_set?set=a.10201269519557068.1073741851.1144385231&type=1
V. Rev. Fr. Srboljub gave a beautiful eulogy for our Stella today, on behalf of all of us. Later on, at the hall, besides all the other loving tributes given to Stella by her son Jim, husband George, granddaughter and friends, I also spoke and said how she was like our "Wonder Woman." WW's tiara had a star in the middle of it, and Stella was our star in many ways. Like WW's golden lariot (lasso), Stella was able to corral all those media lies. Then, remembering the beautiful boots of WW, I couldn't help but remember how Stella gave those lies the boot, sending them flying high in the sky, over the newswires, appearing in the newspapers as editorials, on TV, at rallies, etc. She was indeed a special woman. Like her son, Jim, said: "She did it ALL!" Loving wife, mother, grandmother, faithful church-goer, and fighter for justice all over the world!
Martha Zatezalo spoke, saying how Stella and George invited them to their house to stay over, when they all attended a party in Washington, DC together. Until then, Martha and Stella had never met in person, only through emails! "Imagine her hospitality to strangers!'
Milan Varadinovic, Head Counselor of the Embassy of the Republic of Serbia also spoke, saying how much the Serbian people everywhere, but especially those in Serbia, appreciated having a friend speak up for them during the most trying times.
Zvezdana Scott and her husband were also at the funeral to show their utmost respect, but couldn't stay for the mercy dinner afterwards.
We all were so grateful we had an opportunity to bid her one last farewell. As they took her coffin out of the church, Fr. Srboljub Jockovich and I sang "Vjecnaja Pamjat." While the mourners at the cemetery placed their flowers atop her coffin, I sang "Memory Eternal" alternating with "Vjecnaja Pamjat" until the last mourner passed. I then kissed her coffin from all of us! Goodbye, dear Stella, American-Greek by heritage, but a true AMERICAN-SERBIAN hero too. A fighter for truth and justice for all causes she believed in.