Friday, November 25, 2016

Obeležavanje godišnjice operacije Halijard / HLEB, SO I RAKIJA ZA SKATA U PRANJANIMA To je za film! Srbi su ovde spasli 500 američkih pilota / "Kurir" Nov. 18, 2016

Kurir
November 18, 2016

ČAČAK - Ambasador SAD u Srbij Kajl Skat rekao je danas u Čačku da su, po njegovoj oceni, najvažniji događaji u Srbiji u 2016, izbori i formiranje nove vlade i ekonomski rast.

Foto: Aleksandar Jovanović 

"U Srbiji se već vidi put ka boljoj budućnosti i Srbija je postala sidro stabilnosti ovog regiona, ali i motor rasta u regionu, što je važna stvar. Ekonomski optimizam je sve veći u Srbiji", rekao je Skat, na pitanje novinara koji dogadjaji su po njegovoj oceni obeležili ovu godinu u Srbiji.

On je istakao da je za deset meseci koliko je ambasador u Srbiji puno putovao po unutrašnjosti i da je primetio da je infrastrukura svakoga dana sve bolja. Dodao je da je izgradnja deonice autoputa od Ljiga do Preljine, kojom je danas putovao, "veoma važan korak napred".

Skot je još rekao da će kasnije danas prisustvovati obeležavanju godišnjice operacije Halijard u Pranjanima kod Gornjeg Milanovca, gde su za vreme Drugog svetskog rata meštani spasili 500 američkih vazduhoplovaca. Skot je ocenio da je to važan događaj koji govori o junaštvu Srba koji su spasili američke vojnike, čuvali ih, hranili dok nisu evakuisani nazad u Ameriku.

"To je znak prijateljstva između Amerike i Srbije koji je dugoročan. Mi smo bili saveznici u dva svetska rata i 134 godina našeg prijateljstva ima samo jedan kretak prekid, za vreme Miloševića kada smo se našli na različitim stranama.

Ali, ja gledam u budućnost, mi smo tu da pomognemo Srbiji u ekonomskoj reformi. Američka preduzeća su zaintereovana za ovaj region i ono što im je važno je da ovaj region bude stabilan, da bude u ekonomskom rastu", rekao je Skot.

Skot je ocenio da se u američkoj javnosti ne zna mnogo o operaciji Halijard i da bi trebalo više da se govori o tome."To je priča za jedan veliki film, priča o junaštvu i srpskom i američkom", rekao je Skot.Na pitanje novinara da li sluša ovogodišenjg dobitnika Nobelove nagrade za knjiženost američkog muzičara Boba Dilana, odgovorio je "slušam, naravno, ko ne sluša Dilana".

Foto: Aleksandar Jovanović
 
Foto: Aleksandar Jovanović
 
Foto: Aleksandar Jovanović
 
Foto: Aleksandar Jovanović
 
Foto: Aleksandar Jovanović
 
Foto: Aleksandar Jovanović
 
Foto: Aleksandar Jovanović
 
Foto: Aleksandar Jovanović
 
 
 
 
 
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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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VIDEO / Srbi su pre 72 godine spasili 520 američkih pilota / "B92" Nov. 18, 2016

B92
November 18, 2016

Polaganjem venaca u Pranjanima kod Gornjeg Milanovca obeležena je 72. godišnjica misije "Halijard".



Tokom te misije u Drugom svetskom ratu, meštani gornjomilanovačkog kraja spasili 520 američkih pilota.

Operacija poznata i kao Vazdušni most, bila je najveća akcija spasavanja savezničkih snaga iza neprijateljskih linija.

Opširnije u videoprilogu:

http://www.b92.net/info/vesti/index.php?yyyy=2016&mm=11&dd=18&nav_category=12&nav_id=1200996




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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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Wednesday, November 23, 2016

U.S. commemorates Serbian support during WWII [HALYARD MISSION] / "U.S. Air Forces in Europe and Air Forces Africa" Nov. 21, 2016

U.S. Air Forces in Europe and Air Forces Africa
By Tech. Sgt. Ryan Crane / Public Affairs
November 21, 2016

Operation Halyard Commemoration in Serbia / The U.S. and Serbian flags are displayed together at an historic marker, detailing a part of Operation Halyard at a ranch in Pranjani, Serbia, Nov. 17, 2016. The U.S. State Department, U.S. Air Force, Royal Air Force and Serbian Armed Forces were in attendance to commemorate the event and the heroic actions of the Serbian people. Operation Halyard was the rescue mission to save more than 500 Allied Airmen who were shot down over Serbia during WWII. The local Serbians housed and fed the downed Airmen, while also keeping their presence a secret from the German forces searching for them. The operation was, and still is, the largest rescue of downed Americans. (U.S. Air Force photo by Tech. Sgt. Ryan Crane)
 
PRANJANI, Serbia -- The sky was black with the billowing smoke of the downed B-17 bombers and the canopies of Allied Airmen parachuting to an unknown fate behind Nazi lines in German-occupied Serbia.

This is the sight the villagers of Pranjani remember from the late summer of 1944.

Operation Halyard was an Office of Strategic Services mission to rescue more than 500 Allied Airmen who were scattered around a mountainous region in Serbia after their bombers were shot down by the Germans in WWII. It remains the largest rescue operation of American Airmen in history.
 
The U.S. State Department, U.S. Air Force, Royal Air Force, Serbian armed forces, and local government officials attended a commemoration event in the town of Pranjani, Serbia Nov. 18, which honored the villagers who welcomed the downed Airmen with open arms.

“As an Airman myself, I can only imagine the fear they felt as they escaped from a mortally wounded bomber and parachuted into a land they knew nothing about,” Brig. Gen. Randy Huston, 3rd Air Force mobilization assistant, said during a speech where he addressed an audience at the historic makeshift airfield.

After parachuting in, they were greeted by the villagers with food and a local brandy drink called rakija.

“People who barely had enough food for their families shared all that they had with these Airmen,” Huston said.

A local hospital was set up to help treat the wounded Airmen and nurse them back to health.

“They cared for the injured Airmen, and every injured Airmen who was taken care of, lived,” Huston said. “It was pretty amazing what these common people did to take care of people they didn’t even know.”

Kyle Scott, the U.S. Ambassador to Serbia, echoed the general’s sentiments toward the Serbians. Switching between English and Serbian, he explained the importance of the villager’s heroic actions.

“Local villagers willingly placed their lives and the lives of their families at risk,” Scott said. “This event commemorates the incredibly strong friendship between our two nations. Through the course of two world wars, we have stood shoulder to shoulder.”

During the event, the Halyard committee unveiled seven markers that help tell the story of the Halyard Operation, as well as identify important locations filled with history from the time.

Delegations from the U.S., RAF and Serbia placed wreaths at the base of a monument that commemorates the bravery of the villagers and the organizations involved in the operation.

The monument is permanently displayed on a hilltop field in Pranjani where the OSS and Serbian military arranged for C-47 transport aircraft to evacuate the Airmen.

“With their bare hands, Americans and Serbs worked side by side on this landing field that would help those planes take them off to their rescue,” Scott explained.

Despite this being a military style operation, it wasn’t just the military officials who made the rescue possible.

“Everyone in the village turned out to level the airfield and expand it to make the airlift possible,” Huston said. “Due to the courage and self-sacrifices of the Serbian people of this region, these Airmen survived.”

Like walking in the footsteps of the downed Airmen, the group toured various sites throughout the region, getting a glimpse into the hospitality and treatment they received from the Serbians.

One marker tells the story of an Airman who happened to parachute onto a family’s hilltop ranch. He stayed with them for two months, taking care of their small child while the family went out to tend to their ranch. The Airman and family remained in contact throughout their lifetimes.

The event was fortunate enough to host the last surviving member of the Chetnik force, who assisted with the airlift of the Airmen. The story of the operation has been preserved by the family members of those involved, and the Serbian people as a whole regard this as one of their proudest moments of U.S. and Serbian relations.

The ambassador closed the event by thanking the villagers and thanking the Serbian people for their heroism.

“Some of our bombers had the fortune to parachute down on Serbian soil, because these men and women risked everything to save them,” Scott said. “The people of this region are the real heroes of this operation. They gave from their meager tables the last crumbs they had to save our soldiers and keep them alive. They risked everything. And for that, America will be forever, forever grateful.”
 
Operation Halyard Commemoration in Serbia / Kyle Scott, U.S Ambassador to Serbia (right), Lt. Col. Todd Andrewsen (center), and Brig. Gen. Randy Huston (left) preset a wreath at the Operation Halyard memorial in Pranjani, Serbia, Nov. 17, 2016. The U.S. State Department, U.S. Air Force, Royal Air Force and Serbian Armed Forces were in attendance to commemorate the event and the heroic actions of the Serbian people. Operation Halyard was the rescue mission to save more than 500 Allied Airmen who were shot down over Serbia during WWII. The local Serbians housed and fed the downed Airmen, while also keeping their presence a secret from the German forces searching for them. The operation was, and still is, the largest rescue of downed Americans. (U.S. Air Force photo by Tech. Sgt. Ryan Crane)
 
Operation Halyard Commemoration in Serbia / Brig. Gen. Randy Huston, 3rd Air Force mobilization assistant, speaks to an audience of Serbians at the Operation Halyard memorial in Pranjani, Serbia, Nov. 17, 2016. The U.S. State Department, U.S. Air Force, Royal Air Force and Serbian Armed Forces were in attendance to commemorate the event and the heroic actions of the Serbian people. Operation Halyard was the rescue mission to save more than 500 Allied Airmen who were shot down over Serbia during WWII. The local Serbians housed and fed the downed Airmen, while also keeping their presence a secret from the German forces searching for them. The operation was, and still is, the largest rescue of downed Americans. (U.S. Air Force photo by Tech. Sgt. Ryan Crane)
 
Operation Halyard Commemoration in Serbia / Kyle Scott, U.S. Ambassador to Serbia, speaks to an audience of local Serbians at the Operation Halyard memorial in Pranjani, Serbia, Nov. 17, 2016. The U.S. State Department, U.S. Air Force, Royal Air Force and Serbian Armed Forces were in attendance to commemorate the event and the heroic actions of the Serbian people. Operation Halyard was the rescue mission to save more than 500 Allied Airmen who were shot down over Serbia during WWII. The local Serbians housed and fed the downed Airmen, while also keeping their presence a secret from the German forces searching for them. The operation was, and still is, the largest rescue of downed Americans. (U.S. Air Force photo by Tech. Sgt. Ryan Crane)
 
Operation Halyard Commemoration in Serbia / A Serbian man, who was a child when his family cared for downed WWII Airmen, recounts the day in 1944 when the Airmen were shot down behind enemy lines at the Operation Halyard memorial in Pranjani, Serbia, Nov. 17, 2016. The U.S. State Department, U.S. Air Force, Royal Air Force and Serbian Armed Forces were in attendance to commemorate the event and the heroic actions of the Serbian people. Operation Halyard was the rescue mission to save more than 500 Allied Airmen who were shot down over Serbia during WWII. The local Serbians housed and fed the downed Airmen, while also keeping their presence a secret from the German forces searching for them. The operation was, and still is, the largest rescue of downed Americans. (U.S. Air Force photo by Tech. Sgt. Ryan Crane)
 
Operation Halyard Commemoration in Serbia / Brig. Gen. Randy Huston, 3rd Air Force mobilization assistant, speaks to his Serbian Armed Forces counterpart at the Operation Halyard memorial in Pranjani, Serbia, Nov. 17, 2016. The U.S. State Department, U.S. Air Force, Royal Air Force and Serbian Armed Forces were in attendance to commemorate the event and the heroic actions of the Serbian people. Operation Halyard was the rescue mission to save more than 500 Allied Airmen who were shot down over Serbia during WWII. The local Serbians housed and fed the downed Airmen, while also keeping their presence a secret from the German forces searching for them. The operation was, and still is, the largest rescue of downed Americans. (U.S. Air Force photo by Tech. Sgt. Ryan Crane)
 
Operation Halyard Commemoration in Serbia / The first color photograph taken in Serbia was of the Operation Halyard rescue mission, and the photo adorns the wall of an historic building in Pranjani, Serbia, Nov. 17, 2016. A ceremony was held in the town to commemorate the operation. The U.S. State Department, U.S. Air Force, Royal Air Force and Serbian Armed Forces were in attendance to commemorate the event and the heroic actions of the Serbian people. Operation Halyard was the rescue mission to save more than 500 Allied Airmen who were shot down over Serbia during WWII. The local Serbians housed and fed the downed Airmen, while also keeping their presence a secret from the German forces searching for them. The operation was, and still is, the largest rescue of downed Americans. (U.S. Air Force photo by Tech. Sgt. Ryan Crane)
 
Operation Halyard Commemoration in Serbia / Americans, Brits and Serbians visit a hospital in Pranjani, Serbia, Nov. 17, 2016, that was used to treat wounded Airmen during Operation Halyard. The U.S. State Department, U.S. Air Force, Royal Air Force and Serbian Armed Forces were in attendance to commemorate the event and the heroic actions of the Serbian people. Operation Halyard was the rescue mission to save more than 500 Allied Airmen who were shot down over Serbia during WWII. The local Serbians housed and fed the downed Airmen, while also keeping their presence a secret from the German forces searching for them. The operation was, and still is, the largest rescue of downed Americans. (U.S. Air Force photo by Tech. Sgt. Ryan Crane)
 
Operation Halyard Commemoration in Serbia / A local man displays a picture of the doctor who treated the wounded Airmen in Pranjani, Serbia, when they were shot down in WWII. The U.S. State Department, U.S. Air Force, Royal Air Force and Serbian Armed Forces were in attendance to commemorate the event and the heroic actions of the Serbian people. Operation Halyard was the rescue mission to save more than 500 Allied Airmen who were shot down over Serbia during WWII. The local Serbians housed and fed the downed Airmen, while also keeping their presence a secret from the German forces searching for them. The operation was, and still is, the largest rescue of downed Americans. (U.S. Air Force photo by Tech. Sgt. Ryan Crane)
 
Operation Halyard Commemoration in Serbia / The Operation Halyard memorial is located in the field where downed Allied Airmen were rescued from behind enemy lines in Pranjani, Serbia. A wreath laying and commemoration ceremony took place Nov. 17, 2016. The U.S. State Department, U.S. Air Force, Royal Air Force and Serbian Armed Forces were in attendance to commemorate the event and the heroic actions of the Serbian people. Operation Halyard was the rescue mission to save more than 500 Allied Airmen who were shot down over Serbia during WWII. The local Serbians housed and fed the downed Airmen, while also keeping their presence a secret from the German forces searching for them. The operation was, and still is, the largest rescue of downed Americans. (U.S. Air Force photo by Tech. Sgt. Ryan Crane)
 
Operation Halyard Commemoration in Serbia / The U.S. and Serbian flags are displayed together at an historic marker, detailing a part of Operation Halyard at a ranch in Pranjani, Serbia, Nov. 17, 2016. The U.S. State Department, U.S. Air Force, Royal Air Force and Serbian Armed Forces were in attendance to commemorate the event and the heroic actions of the Serbian people. Operation Halyard was the rescue mission to save more than 500 Allied Airmen who were shot down over Serbia during WWII. The local Serbians housed and fed the downed Airmen, while also keeping their presence a secret from the German forces searching for them. The operation was, and still is, the largest rescue of downed Americans. (U.S. Air Force photo by Tech. Sgt. Ryan Crane)
 
 
 
 
 
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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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Tuesday, November 22, 2016

Decision 2016: The Untold Story of the Role an Old Grudge and Serbian-Americans Played in the Election of Donald Trump / "Serbian National Defense" Nov. 20, 2016

Serbian National Defense Council of America (SND)
By Dan Ciric, Editorial Board
With reporting from many Serbian communities throughout Pennsylvania State
November 20, 2016

Decision 2016: The Untold Story of the Role an Old Grudge and Serbian-Americans Played in the Election of Donald Trump.

Donald Trump, President-Elect of the United States of America

It is very possible that the seeds of Hillary Clinton’s defeat by Donald Trump in the 2016 Presidential Election were sown on April 4, 1999, a crisp sunny afternoon and Palm Sunday on the Orthodox Church calendar, in front of the White House itself.

Eleven days earlier, President Bill Clinton, at the strong urging of his wife, First Lady Hillary Clinton, and desperately needing a distraction from his recent sex scandal and subsequent impeachment by the U.S. House of Representatives for perjury and obstruction of justice, had begun bombing Serbia, a Christian nation and staunch U.S. ally in both World Wars, for fighting to put down an Islamist insurgency in its Province of Kosovo, the heartland of Serbian religion and culture – its Jerusalem.

In response to a plea from former U.S. Congresswoman Helen Delich Bentley (R-MD), the first Serbian-American ever to serve in the U.S. Congress, beginning early on Palm Sunday morning, Serbs together with their allies in the Greek-American and other Orthodox communities, began to pour into Washington, DC. At first by the hundreds, and within a few hours by the thousands, they gathered to protest the bombing of Serbia in Lafayette Park in front of the White House.

Bentley’s former chief aide and surrogate son, Greek-American attorney Michael Kosmas, remembers her anger at what the Clintons were doing to her beloved Serbia. While speaking to a group of Orthodox bishops in front of the White House gate, he recalls Helen telling them that she knew God would repay the Clintons for this evil deed, but that she would be very happy to help him. As it would turn out, sixteen years later she would get her wish.

The Clintons bombed Serbia for 78 days, not pausing for Orthodox Holy Week or Easter, in a move universally condemned by the global Orthodox Church. The result has been the de facto independence of the rump state of Kosovo, unrecognized by the United Nations, which has rapidly descended into chaos and lawlessness, becoming a global center for money laundering and drug running, and most concerning, a hotbed of Islamist activity funded by “charitable donations” from Saudi Arabia.

For all of these reasons, by the time the 2016 presidential election season approached, the media was already calling the Clintons the most hated couple in Serbia, and the same was true among Serbian-Americans. The writing was already on the wall that Hillary Clinton, President Obama’s first Secretary of State and no friend to Serbs or the Orthodox world, was the overwhelming frontrunner to secure the Democrat Party nomination for the White House. And it was no coincidence that so many Islamist monarchs and dictators had poured so many millions of dollars into the Clinton Foundation. The Serbian-American community knew that Hillary Clinton must be blocked from ever returning to power.

But it was a different event between 1999 and the 2016 election cycle that would ensure that the Trump candidacy would be brought to the center of Serbian-American political power. After Bentley’s retirement from Congress, Kosmas, her aide, left Capitol Hill and politics for a private law practice focusing on hotel and resort development. It was a path that would lead right to the Trump’s doorstep. In 2006 Kosmas met Trump’s adult children when he was hired by a prominent businessman to negotiate a hotel deal with The Trump Organization. The following year, the Trump Organization hired Kosmas as its own outside counsel for hotel development.

Kosmas recalls when Bentley summoned him to her bedside on Thanksgiving weekend in 2015. Although at age 92 her body was frail, her mind was as sharp as ever. How are we going to defeat Hillary Clinton, she wanted to know. Having already become a strong supporter of the candidacy of his famous client Donald Trump, Kosmas shared with her his experiences working for the Trump family for the past several years, noting that he was very strong on the issues about which she was passionate during her service in the Congress – fair trade, manufacturing, steel, the industrial base and jobs for American workers. He asked her to publicly endorse Trump and to campaign for him in Maryland, the state which she represented in Congress for a decade, but more importantly in the national Serbian-American community. She agreed.

Those who know Bentley know that she does not easily accept the mistreatment of her friends, and by February she was already very bothered by the treatment Trump was receiving from the Republican establishment. On Saturday, March 4, 2016, the Washington Post devoted the top half of its Op Ed page to Bentley’s opinion article “Why Blocking Trump’s Nomination Would Be Unfair.” It was both a strong endorsement of Trump’s populist message and a broad attack on party insiders seeking to organize the process in a way that would make his nomination less likely. It was one of the first major pieces to appear in print in a national newspaper supporting Trump.

Bentley distributed her article to the Serbian-American community around the country, and asked them to join her in coalescing behind Trump. She knew early on that it was going to take Trump, the ultimate outsider, to beat Clinton, the ultimate insider.

As Spring turned in to Summer, and with her health fading, Bentley know that she had little time to organize her efforts for Trump. She again summoned Kosmas and two longtime friends and leaders in the Serbian-American community in Western Pennsylvania to aide her . . . Dr. Nenad Janicijevic, a prominent Serbian-American physician and the son of a Serbian-Orthodox priest in former Yugoslavia, and Milana “Mim” Bizic, a nationally award winning retired public school teacher who had a long history of activism in Pittsburgh politics. As an emergency room physician, Dr. Janicijevic was particularly vexed by the Clinton’s indiscriminate bombing of Serbia, and the killing or wounding of thousands of innocent civilians, among them being many children.

Although the Serbian-American population is estimated at approximately 1.5 million, with much of that populations being concentrated in battleground states such as Florida, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Michigan and Wisconsin, Bentley and her team knew that time was short and that it would be impossible to build a national organization. The group decided to focus its efforts in Pennsylvania. On one hand, Pennsylvania seemed to be on the verge of losing its position as battleground state. A Republican had not carried the state in a Presidential election since Bush’s 1988 election, and the last time a Clinton was on the ballot for President, the state went for Bill Clinton by a whopping 9% margin.

But Pennsylvania also had one of the largest Serbian-Americans populations in the country, with an estimated 200,000 people. Pennsylvania was one of the first states to receive large numbers of Serbian immigrants nearly a century before, and its dozens of Serbian cathedrals, churches, clubs, camps, choirs, fraternal societies and other institutions also made it one of the most active and organized Serbian-American communities in the United States. It was also the home of the Serbian National Federation, the oldest Serbian fraternal society in the United States. While Trump had possible paths to victory without winning Pennsylvania, if he carried Pennsylvania it would be hard for him to lose.

Before long the plan to boost the Trump campaign in Pennsylvania was underway. It was a multifaceted plan geared at boosting Trump’s already strong levels of support in the Serbian-American community and making certain that turnout in the community would reach record breaking levels. It also included organizing Serbs to participate together in large numbers in Trump rallies and working every possible angle of social media to support Trump, from Facebook to the many blog sites geared towards all Orthodox Christians but especially popular with Greeks and Serbs. Pictures of the destruction the Clintons wrought in bombing Serbia were posted everywhere so that even the youngest generation of Serbian-Americans, not old enough to remember this crime, could understand the need for solidarity.

While Bizic and Janicijevic and their team were organizing the Serbs in rallies and door knocking and sign waving in Western Pennsylvania, many more Pennsylvania Serbs were quickly brought into the fold. Among the dozen or so interviewed for this article, a few stories stand out.

Bob Vucenovic and his wife were among the many helping to organize the Serbs throughout Central Pennsylvania. According to Vucenovic, Pennsylvania’s Serbs have always been fairly evenly divided between Republicans and Democrats. But this year was different. This year the Serbs were almost to a one behind Trump. Even Serb families that for decades had been heavily involved in Pennsylvania’s Democrat Party politics turned to support Trump over the woman who had played such a key role in bombing Serbia. Vucenovic recalls that when the crowds at Trump rallies broke into a favorite chant of “Lock Her Up,” the many Serbs present would launch into a chant of their own, “Pay Her Back.”

With the wave of Serbian-American activism in Western and Central Pennsylvania going into full swing, the Serbs in Eastern Pennsylvania were determined not to be left out. Nick Loncar, President of the Tesla Science Foundation based out of Philadelphia and organized to remember the legacy of one of Serbia’s greatest sons, began to organize the Serbs in his region in many ways. Beginning with promotion of Trump’s candidacy on a myriad of regional Serbian-American media and social media outlets, his group’s efforts soon turned to organizing activity for Trump in the strong Serbian-American communities of suburban Philadelphia.

Loncar told his volunteers that Philadelphia was Clinton’s only strong spot in the entire state, and if her margin could be held down there then the state could be flipped to Trump. Loncar also noted what he called the “Clinton” effect on Democrat-leaning Serbs in suburban Philadelphia. Almost to a one, they put aside what was often two or three generations of party loyalty to cross over to the Trump camp.

Not wanting his fellow Greek-Americans to be left out of flipping Pennsylvania to Trump, Kosmas reached out to friends in Pennsylvania’s large Greek-American community. He reminded his fellow Greeks of the “glory days” when Bentley’s congressional district stretched from suburban Baltimore to the Pennsylvania line, where it met the congressional district held by Greek-American George Gekas for twenty years. He reminded them of Bentley’s constant friendship to the Greek people on issues ranging from the reunification of Cyprus to the protection of the Ecumenical Patriarchate. He asked them to stand with Bentley one last time by coming into the fold for Trump.

At the beginning of August, Serbian-Americans suffered a great loss with Bentley’s passing. Like the Prophet Moses, she had led her people to the promised land of defeating the Clintons, but would not see it for herself. One of Bentley’s last acts was to pen a letter to the editor castigating Hillary Clinton for putting the nation’s secrets at risk through her email practices, which was published in the Baltimore Sun two weeks before her death. But rather than dampen the enthusiasm of Serbian-Americans, her passing only inspired them to work harder for Trump and to ensure that her wish of repaying the Clintons for the bombing of Serbia would be granted.

While the “Serbs for Trump” activities across Pennsylvania reached a feverish pitch by mid-September, they made a brief pause for Bentley’s 40 day Memorial Service in late September, then resumed without stop, placing signs and banners, making phone calls, knocking on doors and flooding Trump rallies right up until the polls closed in Pennsylvania at 8:00 pm ET on November 8.

Then an anxious, nervous and excited Serbian-American community, like the rest of the nation, gathered in front of televisions to see what would happen. The rest, as they say, is history. One by one states, many unexpectedly, fell into the Trump column. These included many battleground states with large Serbian-American communities such as Ohio, Michigan, Wisconsin, Arizona and Florida.

But to Kosmas, Janicijevic and Bizic, no win was sweeter than in Pennsylvania, where Serbian-Americans poured their hearts and souls into defeating Clinton and electing Trump – ultimately by a margin of 68,236 votes, or less than 1% of the total cast. While the Serbian-American community was elated, many of its most prominent members were not surprised. Attorney Lou Milicich, Co-Chair of the Chicago-Belgrade Sister Cities Committee and former long time the first Vice president of the Serbian National Defense Council of America, observed, “No one should ever underestimate what the Serbs did for Trump in these swing states.”

Bizic, the former teacher, says she too was not surprised. Armed with a long pad of notes and numbers, she explained with the precision of a political science professor what had happened in her state. According to Bizic, “We knew there were about 200,000 Serbs among Pennsylvania’s population of 12,800,000. We also knew that Serbs were incredibly motivated anti-Clinton, pro-Trump voters. So if we could boost Serb turn-out by about 10%, and improve Trump’s performance over historical Republican performance by about 10%, we knew we could move about 70,000 net votes to Mr. Trump.” After many months of hard work, and with Trump’s win by 68,236 votes, the effort seems to have been just enough!

Janicijevic, the physician and priest’s son, took a more philosophic approach to the Trump win. “Evil cannot long triumph over good. And we did not think that God would allow the Clinton’s back into power in the White House. But God also helps those that help themselves, and that is what we did.”

Kosmas thought one final time of that crisp morning in April 1999, standing next to the great Helen Delich Bentley at the White House gate, protesting the bombing of Serbia. “Dear Helen, rest in peace. Your great and proud Serbian-American people have indeed paid Clinton back. Now let us lift up and bless Donald Trump, and help him to make America great again!”


http://www.snd-us.com/en/35-news/snd-news/1764-decision-2016-the-untold-story-of-the-role-an-old-grudge-and-serbian-americans-played-in-the-election-of-donald-trump-2.html


*****

If you would like to get in touch with me, Aleksandra, please feel free to contact me at ravnagora@hotmail.com

*****

Wednesday, November 16, 2016

У оквиру прославе годишњице Мисије Халијард 18. новембра 2016. у Прањанима биће откривено 7 историјских табли са аутентичним илустрацијама људи и догађаја који су обележили овај подухват 1944. године.



"Позивамо Вас да у петак 18. новембра 2016. заједно обележимо годишњицу Мисије Халијард и одамо признање свима који су учествовали у спасавању савезничких авијатичара 1944. уз откривање историјских табли посвећених том подухвату. Свечаност започиње у 11 сати на Галовића пољу уз учешће државних делегација Србије и САД. У 12:15 дружење у основној школи ”Иво Андрић” уз двосатни музички програм оркестра ваздухопловства САД (теме из 30-тих и 40-тих година прошлог века)."


 
 
 
 
 
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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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HALYARD MISSION 72nd ANNIVERSARY COMMEMORATION IN SERBIA! FRIDAY, NOVEMBER 18, 2016


Aleksandra's Note: Sure wish I could be there! Wishing all the participants and guests a wonderful and successful Halyard Mission Commemoration Event!

Sincerely,
Aleksandra Rebic
November 16, 2016

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"On Friday, 18 Nov 2016 in Pranjani 7 historic markers will be unveiled at locations in the surrounding community that have historic relation to the rescue of over 500 allied airmen during the WW 2."

From Lt. Col. John Cappello, President of the Halyard Mission Foundation:

Greetings all,

I just wanted to send a short update about the upcoming  Halyard Mission commemoration ceremony in Serbia.  This year we will hold the event on Friday, 18 November.  As you know we have committed to sponsoring an annual event on Galovica Field. For the past three years we have seen increased U.S. and Serbian government and military participation. This year is no exception. The U.S. Embassy in Belgrade is co-hosting the event along with our community partners in Pranjani.

Attached you will find the Halyard Mission historical markers that will be unveiled during the ceremony. We will have a ribbon cutting and dedication at two of the seven sites. These signs will located at various points that played a role in the rescue mission and form a historic trail that tells the story and provides visitors with important information.  We hope that in some small way this will encourage tourism to the area while telling this important story.

It is thanks to you and all those that have supported the Foundation that we have been able to keep this dedication going.  As you know we are planning more projects for next year and on.

I look forward to another successful ceremony and will be sure to send an update of the event.

All the best,

John

Lt. Col. John Cappello retired from the United States Air Force (USAF) in 2014 after serving over 24 years.  He served as the USAF Attaché to Serbia and Israel. He is a Command Pilot having accumulated over 3,000 flying hours.

http://www.halyardmission.org/

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EVENT AGENDA, NOVEMBER 18, 2016

Galovica Field

1100 – 1120:
Historic Marker 5 & 6 unveiling at Galovica Field
(Halyard Mission Foundation president John Cappello; US Embassy representative; Pranjani municipality head Radovin Grebovic; and field owner Mr. Milorad Tomovic)

1120 - 1140:
Wreath laying at Galovica Field Monument
(Foundation, Embassy, Serbian Ministry of Defense, Gornji Milanovac municipality)
 
1140 - 1150:
Photo session
 
Church/School

1200 - 1210:
Marker 4 unveiling in front of the church

1210 - 1230:
Church service for Halyard Mission participants, Wooden church tour

1230 - 1330:
School tour/sports hall/school principal speech, US Air Force Band Performance

1330 – 1345:
Visit John Kingsberry Clinic, unveil Historic Marker 3
 
 
Leusici (Jevtovica ranch)

1400 - 1410:
Historic Marker 7 unveiling 

1410 - 1500:
Visit Jevtovica ranch,
Lunch hosted by Halyard Mission Foundation
 
1500: Departure to Belgrade

 

NOTE: We are not planning to unveil each of the historic
markers, it will take too much time, and the weather might
not allow for so much time outside. We will  follow up with
photos of them all.
 
 
 
 
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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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