25.09.2015.
71st anniversary of Halyard Mission marked
On the occasion of the 71st anniversary of the mission "Halyard", when, thanks to the help of the Yugoslav Army in the fatherland under the leadership of Dragoljub Mihailovic and US Office of Strategic Services OCC, hundreds of American pilots and other allied personnel from Britain, Russia, France, Italy and Bulgaria were evacuated, delegations laid wreaths today at the memorial on Pranjani Galovica Field near Cacak, where an improvised airport once stood.The ceremonial meeting was attended by Special Envoy of the President of the Republic of Serbia Oliver Antic, Deputy US Ambassador in Belgrade Gordon Duguid, Deputy Commander of the Air Force and Air Defence Brigadier General Dusko Zarkovic, Brigadier General Mark Camerer from the US Air Force in Europe, Director of the Secretariat of Defence Laura Gross, representatives of the Ministry of Defence and the Serbian Armed Forces, Serbian Orthodox Church, local governments, Halyard foundation, Halyard Mission veterans and their families.
Envoy of the President of Serbia recalled the courage of the Serbian people, its honor, tradition and history.
- The occupying forces plagued ordinary villagers in the area that hid American pilots; some of them were shot, but no one gave away any American pilots. It is an essential feature of the Serbian people and the Serbian army. They were all returned safely to the bases in Italy – Antic said.
Greeting the attendees, General Camerer stressed the importance of the operation Halyard and said he could not find words to express his gratitude to the Serbian people.- That is why I will end with a simple, but full of emotions ‘thank you’. Thank you for everything you have done to connect our two nations. Since we are here today, I am convinced that we will continue building the friendship between our two armies, aviation, and our countries - Camerer said.
Mayor of Gornji Milanovac Milisav Mirkovic said that it was an honour after so many years to stand in this place and know that the kindness of the Serbian people had not been forgotten, and that the hospitality of residents of Pranjane was answered in the best possible way, through investment in our greatest treasure - our children and their healthy and happy childhood.
The guests then visited the Church of the Ascension in Pranjani where the memorial service was held, and then, at the elementary school "Ivo Andric", whose reconstruction was aided by the US Embassy in Belgrade, they watched a film about George Vujnovic, former agent of the Office of Strategic Services OCC, and last hero of the rescue mission of 512 US airmen shot down over Serbia in 1944. The film was made by authors Daniel Sunter and Bojan Dragicevic, and directed by Dejan Zivkovic.
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