21.09.2024.

80th anniversary of Operation Halyard commemorated

A state ceremony to commemorate the 80th anniversary of Operation Air Bridge or Operation Halyard was held in Pranjani today.

The wreath-laying ceremony was led by President Aleksandar Vučić’s representative, Minister for Labour, Employment, Veteran and Social Affairs Nemanja Starović, and a wreath was laid by the acting Assistant Minister for Defence Policy, Predrag Bandić, accompanied by Lieutenant General Duško Žarković and Colonel Veselin Milanović.

Wreaths were also laid by the Ambassador of the United States of America to Serbia, Christopher Hill, representatives of the Gornji Milanovac Municipality, the delegations from the five countries which had participated in Operation Halyard and the Halyard Mission Foundation with family members of the participants in this mission.

Addressing the gathering, Minister Starović said that “the contribution made by Serbs in the Second World War is often unjustifiably overlooked and forgotten”.

- In 1941, the Serbian part of Yugoslavia refused to ratify the agreement on joining the Tripartite Pact at a time when almost all of Europe was under Hitler's heel. During the short April War, Yugoslavia was dismembered and brutal systems were established by occupation regimes. However, the Serbian people found the strength to stage an uprising against the Nazi invaders in 1941. The price for these brave and honourable decisions was high – a merciless destruction of the Serbian people. At a decisive moment in history, Serbs rescued Allied airmen, creating a lasting bond of friendship and respect between Serbia and the United States of America. Operation Air Bridge was one of the most successful military rescue operations during the Second World War - Minister Starović said.

A U.S. Air Force transport aircraft conducted a flyover above Pranjani and members of the Special Anti-Terrorist Unit of the Ministry of the Interior and the U.S Armed Forces performed parachute jumps to honour the descendants of members of the Yugoslav Army and the residents of Pranjani and the surrounding area, who participated in the rescue of American pilots in 1943 and 1944.