25.12.2019.
Veterans of the 63rd Parachute Brigade send letter of support to Minister of Defence
The Veterans’ Association of the 63rd Parachute Brigade has sent a letter of support today to minister of defence Aleksandar Vulin in gratitude for his decision to re-establish the 63rd Parachute Brigade, a unit that they say has “cherished its tradition for 76 years."
“We are pleased and honoured that the current authorities of the Republic of Serbia, especially the president of the Republic and the commander-in-chief, have recognised and brought back our unit to the place and among the most elite brigades of the Serbian Armed Forces, which the courageous generations of paratroopers of the 63rd Parachute Brigade deserved with their work and deeds. We hope that there will never be a war again and that some new generations of the 63rd Parachute Brigade will proudly represent our unit in peacetime”, the letter says.
“We are very proud, both we the veterans and the regular composition of the 63rd Parachute Battalion that our unit has been brought back again to the brigade rank. Finally, all the work, effort, dedication, and sacrifices made in defence of the homeland were recognised, especially during the war of the 1990s, in which the brave parachutists particularly stood out. For its heroic deeds, the 63rd Parachute Brigade was awarded the Order of the People’s Hero in 1999”, the letter of support reads.
“The answer to the question that has plagued all of us all this time is why, after so many brave struggles in our recent history, written in the blood of the bravest among us, many of whom have just stepped to life and immediately gone with their heroic deeds to eternity, the most elite units of the Serbian Armed Forces and their members, especially the killed soldiers, were so degraded? No matter how much we think, there is no logical answer, and even today, 13 years later, history has not yet given it. However, it is clear that the return of the most elite units of the Serbian Armed Forces to the lowest status of the battalion, in that year 2006, was, to say the least, unacceptable, but also a cowardly act by the then authorities in an attempt to defy NATO leaders and their demands, thus leading to the destruction of the strongest defence forces of our Serbia”, the letter of support from veterans of the 63rd Parachute Brigade emphasises.
