1

David Martin

The mystery
of the 500 rescued airmen

TABLE OF CONTENTS
The mystery of the 500 rescued airmen . . . . . . . .
The Rescue of the Airmen . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
The Air Crew Rescue Mission Goes into Yugoslavia .
The Last Days of Mihailovich . . . . . . . . . . . . .
About the David Martin . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

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ADDENDUM
Notes By American Airmen rescued by General Mihailovich participating in a Memorial
service Washington, D.C. July 17, 1975. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17
Statement by Senator Strom Thurmond (R-SC) on the Senate floor reference a bill to
authorize the erection of a Memorial to General Drazha Mihailovich, July 17, 1975. . . . 20
Petition to the Congress of the United State for legislation permitting the srection in
Washington of a monument to 'General Drazha Mihailovich,
saviour of American Airmen' . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 22
Authorizing the construction and maintenance of the General Drazha Mihailovich monument
in Washington, D. C. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 25
Committee amendment . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 27
Legion of Merit . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .30

The mystery of the 500 rescued airmen

This is the story of one of the best kept secrets of World War II.
During the later part of 1944, an American Air Crew Rescue Unit airlifted from a series of
secret airfields in the heart of Axis-occupied Yugoslavia 432 American airmen who had been
shot down on their way back from raids on Axis oil installations and communications in
Romania, and had been rescued by the forces of General Drazha Mihailovich, Yugoslav
resistance leader. In one twenty-four-hour period alone, on August 9, 1944, 250 rescued
airmen were evacuated by three waves of C47's from a makeshift airfield only 80 miles from
Belgrade. It was by far the largest and most daring operation of its kind conducted anywhere
in Axis-occupied Europe during the whole World War II. But the story was kept secret at the
time, and the facts about it were not officially released even after the war.
On March 29, 1948, President Truman, on the recommendation of General Dwight D.
Eisenhower, awarded the Legion of Merit in the Degree of Chief Commander to General
Drazha Mihailovich in recognition of his services to the Allied cause, first, as a resistance
leader, and second, in rescuing hundreds of American airmen. Among other things, President
Truman's citation said about Mihailovich "Through the undaunted efforts of his troops, many
United States airmen were rescued and returned safely to friendly control."
But for the first and only time in American history, the award of the Legion of Merit was
classified and kept secret. The facts about the award were not made public until Congressman
Edward J. Derwinski of Illinois intervened in 1967 - almost 20 years after the award - to
obligate the State Department to make public the text of President Truman's citation.
Why was the story kept secret? The answer is "politics".
During the war there were two competitive resistance movements in Yugoslavia - the socalled "Chetnik" movement led by General Drazha Mihailovich, a gifted officer of the Royal
Yugoslav Army, and the so-called "Partisan" movement, led by Josip Broz Tito, who had been
leader of the communist underground in Yugoslavia during the 30's. The British and
Americans initially supported General Mihailovich. But in early 1944, Prime Minister
Churchill, on the basis of biased and inaccurate intelligence, and against the recommendations
of all the 20-odd British and American officers who had been attached to Mihailovich,
decided to withdraw support from Mihailovich and throw Britains full support to the
communist forces led by Marshal Tito. The justification put out at the time was that the
Partisans were fighting the Germans, whereas the Chetniks were allegedly collaborating with
them. President Roosvelt, with considerable reluctance, went along with this decision because
it had been agreed that Churchil would have prime say in all matters to the Balkans.
At the time the rescued airmen were evacuated from Yugoslavia, Mihailovich had four months
been receiving zero support from the Allies, while the Partisan forces had been receiving
massive shipments of arms and ammunition which they were using for repeated attacks
against the Chetnik positions. The policy of abandoning Mihailovich and the charges of
collaboration with the enemy simply wouldn't have had sense if the press had published the
story of the rescue of 432 American airmen by the forces of General Mihailovich.[1]

Every reasonable person would have put the question: Why we are abandoning this man in
favor of the communist? And questions would have been asked, too, about the nonsensical and dangerous - briefings that were being given to American airmen, warning them to avoid
the Chetniks if they were shot dawn over Yugoslavia, because, according to the briefers, the
Chetniks were collaborators who would turn them to the Germans.
To prevent such questions, one of the tightest censorships of World War II was imposed, in
both Britain and America. The secrecy itself and the abandonment of a faithful ally were bad
enough. But the lack of gratitude went for beyond this. It is shameful to relate that the very
aircraft that landed in Mihailovich's territory to evacuate the hundreds of American airmen
who had been rescued by his forces - frequently in costly battles with Germans - these very
aircraft, on their way into Yugoslavia, airdropped weapons and ammunition to the Partisan
forces which were then attacking the forces of General Mihailovich. In this way did we show
our gratitude at the time.
The Rescue of the Airmen
The Ploesti oil complex in Romania was Hitler's most important source of oil during World
War II. Shortly after the Allies installed themselves in Italy in the fall of 1943, they embarked
on a sustained campaign of bombing directed against Ploesti. During the first part of 1944,
many hundreds of Allied sorties were flown from Italian bases against Ploesti fields. The
casualties were heavy. Since the route home led across Serbia (Yugoslavia's largest state), and
since Serbia was solidly under the control of General Mihailovich right up until the entry of
the Soviet Red Army in September 1944, hundreds of American airmen who were forced to
bail out over Yugoslavia found themselves being picked up by Chetniks - the bearded
followers of General Mihailovich, who, they had been warned, would probably turned them
over Germans. In this way they became eyewitnesses to one of the most bitterly disputed
issues of World War II: Was general Mihailovich a collaborator, and should we have
abandoned him? The airmen formed some very strong opinions on this matter.
It might be argued that what one or two or three or four airmen observed in Yugoslavia during
a brief sojourn with Chetnik forces would not disprove the charge that there was widespread
collaboration between the Chetniks and the Germans. But when 500 American airmen drop in
unexpectedly on Chetnik forces all through Yugoslavia; when many of them are rescued in
pitched battles with the Germans; when scores of Chetnik villagers are executed in public
reprisals by the Germans because of their failure to turn over American airmen who had
parachuted to safety; when all of the airmen without exception praise the sacrificial efforts
made by Chetniks in rescuing them, caring for them, concealing them, and giving them
medical treatment if they were wounded; when they report that they were given complete
freedom of movement during sojourns in Chetnik territory which sometimes lasted 4 to 6
months, that they witnessed countless clashes between German and Chetnik forces and saw
absolutely no evidence of collaboration - all of this testimony taking together creates an
intelligence mosaic so panoramic and so detailed that its validity is beyond any reasonable
challenge.
The few case histories that follow are characteristic of the hundreds of statements given to
debriefing officers after the rescue and to the American press at a later date.
***

It was the morning of June 6, 1944. As Lt. Donald J. Smith[2] banked his Liberator bomber
into a final approach to his Ploesti target, the sky was alive with ack-ack fire. The plane
shuddered as a round exploded underneath it - and one engine konked out. Lt. Smith
readjusted his rudder to keep his plane heading for target, he dropped his bombs - and as he
did so, his Liberator was hit again and a second engine went dead. As he reversed course for
his base in Italy, he ordered his men to dump every possible excess item in order to lighten the
plane. Since it seemed highly doubtful that they could get back to Italy, the crew was also
ordered to stand by for bailout. They were flying over mountainous terrain about 70 miles
southwest of Belgrade when a third engine exploded in a ball of fire. Smith ordered his crew
to bail out immediately.
Smith hit the ground hard - and was treated almost immediately on landing by a bearded man
on a horse. The bearded man could speak no English and Smith knew no Serbian, but
somehow they managed to converse. Smith's ankle was dislocated and enormously swollen,
so the bearded man dismounted and beckoned to him to get on his horse. In the valley below
they could hear a heavy rat-tat-tat of machine guns and the bursting of grenades - and it took
only a few words in Serbian from the bearded man for Smith to understand that there was a
battle with the Germans going on nearby. The rest of Smith's crew had come down nearby but
none of them were visible. The bearded man - a Chetnik officer - instructed Smith to round
them up as rapidly as possible by shouting to them from a rise of ground. Smith bellowed at
the top of his lungs - and before too many minutes had passed, the other nine members of his
crew had all been rounded up.
The Chetnik officer, on foot, led Lt. Smith and his crew along a river bed, until they came to a
little farm house. At that point, Smith discovered that he and his crew had dropped into
Yugoslavia virtually smack on top of General Mihailovich's secret headquarters. The General
personally greeted the American airmen and invited them to share lunch with him - sitting on
the ground. There were a few officers in the General's headquarters party who understood
some English, so from here on in the conversation moved more easily. The Americans learned
that the Germans had seen them bail out and had initiated an intense search for them in the
area. Because of this, General Mihailovich had to move his headquarters out of the area. As
soon as it became dark, Mihailovich and his headquarters group, accompanied by the
American airmen, moved out towards the north. Sleeping by day, and moving at night, they
traveled together for three days. During this time, as a result of constant companionship and
many hours conversation, Smith and his fellow airmen felt that they had come to know
General Mihailovich intimately. They had dropped into Yugoslavia knowing very little about
the General, and the little they had been told had inclined them to be suspicious. But like all
the American airmen who met Mihailovich personally, they felt they were in the presence of a
truly great man - a man who bore himself with humility despite his rank, was without rancor
despite his abandonment by the Western allies, and whose humanity was apparent in his
relations with his peasant followers. The allegations of collaboration with the enemy simply
could not be reconciled with the extremely hard life led by their Chetnik rescuers. Their lack
of ammunition and even medical supplies, and the frequent sounds of battle wherever they
travelled.
After the third day, Mihailovich parted company with the American airmen, and assigned a
company of troops under the command of Lt. Mike Panovich to escort them.[3] For the next
63 days, Smith and his crew, with their Chetnik escorts, traveled from village to village, never
remaining in one place longer than four or five days. Finally, on August 9, they were
evacuated, together with 240 other rescued airmen, from the secret airfield which the Chetniks
had prepared near the town of Pranjane.[4]
***

As Lt. Richard L. Felman tells the story, his plane, "Never a Dull Moment", on which he was
navigator, was shot down by a swarm of Nazi fighters over Yugoslavia after bombing the
Ploesti fields. "When we landed", said Felman, "all of us had the same fear. We had been
warned to stay away from the Mihailovich's Chetniks. This came from our intelligence
Weeks later, we knew the truth. General Mihailovich was no traitor but a patriot - the only
people who didn't think so were communists."
"The people of the countryside couldn't do enough for us. They had two kinds of bread rough brown bread and other substitute made from corn. None of us were allowed to eat the
corn bread - always the brown bread. If they had one egg - we got it", Felman continued.
One night it rained very hard. Looking out of the window of the peasant house where they
were quartered, Felman saw 10 Chetnik soldiers who had been assigned to guard his group of
airmen standing motionless in the heavy rain and mud. When he protested to one of the
Chetniks, the soldier replied that he was simply obeying Mihailovich's orders: They were
never to leave the "Amerikanski" unguarded.[5]
***
Sgt. Mike McKool of Dallas, Texas, was one of the many airmen who was rescued by forces
of General Mihailovich. Here are a few paragraphs from a much longer story he gave to the
press.
"In 1944 I was a tail gunner on a B-24 in the 15th Air Force in Italy, and the rumors
circulating among our boys at that time were to the effect that the Chetniks were cooperating
with the Germans; that they were our enemies; that they would turn over all Americans to the
Germans, etc.
On July 4, 1944, my crew was forced to bail out over Yugoslavia. The Chetniks rescued me
and my crew from the Germans. When the Germans didn't catch any of us Americans, they
took 20 hostages from among the peasants in the area, all of whom were sympathizers of
Chetniks. Ten of those hostages were shot when the Germans couldn't get any information
from them as to where we escaped. Is it possible that these Chetniks and their sympathizers
would cooperate with the Germans?
I walked some 500 miles during my 38 days with the Chetniks and had the opportunity to
meet a lot of them. Very frequently during our travels we met women - old women - who on
finding out we were Americans would kiss our hands and cry their hearts out to us. Once I
passed through a small town by the name of Gornji Milanovac which in normal times had a
population of about 3,000. But when I passed through it, the entire town without exception of
a church was completely burned to the ground - and I mean to the ground.
The reason? A group of German soldiers were ambushed and wiped out near this town by the
Chetniks. A strong German garrison was sent to wreak revenge, which they did by killing all
the inhabitants they could catch and burning out their city with flame throwers. Is it possible
that these Chetniks and their sympathizers would aid the Germans?...
While under their care, the Chetniks gave us everything they had to make us comfortable,
even though they had but very little to offer. Many a time they gave us their last sip of 'rakia'
(whiskey made from plums), last loaf of bread, last bit of cheese, etc. Whenever we were
lucky enough to stay in a home, they gave us their own beds and slept on the floor. Is it
possible that these Chetniks and their sympathizers would aid the Germans?...[6]
***

Allen Carrico, a bombardier from Oakland, California who was rescued by the Chetniks,
described his experience in this words to the Oakland Post Inquirer:
"A Chetnik officer found me with a sprained ankle. He got off his horse and made me ride,
even though he was suffering from a bayoned wound in the leg. He hid me while some
Bulgarian troops searched for my crew and I, then took me to nearby village
They paid the local mayor for all our food, quarters, clothing - everything we desired or
needed. The officer in charge of us said he had to take good care of us.
And once I went out on a 'party' with them and help then wreck a German supply train! They
were fighting a civil war with Partisans, all right - but they certainly weren't 'collaborating'
with Germans.
***
The American airmen rescued by the Chetniks may not have been trained intelligence officers,
but it does not require trained Intelligence officers to see collaboration. Fundamentally it is a
matter of whether you shoot with the Germans or against them. To quote the eloquent words
of Staff Sergeant Gus T. Brown of Luling, Texas, a member of the first American crew to be
shot down over Yugoslavia: "In five and a half months I witnessed not a single friendly
encounter with the Germans. The only encounters I ever witnessed were shootin' encounters."
Most of the airmen bailed out at 18,000 to 20,000 feet in broad daylight. Frequently it
happened that by the time they hit the ground both the Germans and the Chetniks were racing
to get them, and their possession was decided only after Germans and Chetniks had fought it
out. Staff Sergeant Leland Porter of Lexington, Kentucky, who was shot down near Belgrade
after the bombing raid of Semptember 9, made the following deposition: "The Germans who
were garrisoned at a nearby railroad station tried to take us from the Chetniks. A battle
followed. One Chetnik and four Germans were killed. Six Germans were captured."
Lieutenant Merrill L. Walker of Compton, California told a similar story. Walker was in a
plane which crash-landed on June 6, 1944, near the town of Rudnik, 40 miles south of
Belgrade. His deposition relates: "On the day we crash-landed two men were trapped in the
plane. Before we could get them free a German patrol attempted to capture us but they were
held off by the Chetnik forces until we got two men free. There was some fierce fighting
and I know that the Chetniks suffered some casualties The Germans were in half-tracks and
on motorcycles"
The Air Crew Rescue Mission Goes into Yugoslavia
The last members of the British mission left Mihailovich on June 2, 1944. Shortly after their
departure, the British link in Italy, which still remained in operation, began to receive message
after message informing them that the Chetniks had rescued many American airmen, and that
with Allied cooperation it would be possible to evacuate them.
The official position at that time was that the Chetniks were handing Allied airmen over to the
Germans. British authorities who accepted this position found it difficult to believe that the
Chetniks had actually rescued as many Allied airmen as Mihailovich claimed. What made
them even more suspicious was that some of the messages were being sent in the clear, i.e.,
uncoded. A few British officers even suggested that the whole thing was a German come-on.
After several communications with the British had failed to bring a tangible reply,
Mihailovich, impatient, wired the Yugoslav Ambassador in Washington, Constantin Fotich, on
July 12, 1944:

"Please advise the American Air Ministry that there are more than one hundred American
aviators in our midst We notified the English Supreme Command for the Mediterranean a
long time ago The English replied that they would send an officer to take care of the
evacuation. Meanwhile, to date this has not been done It would be better still if the
Americans, and not the English, take part in evacuation."
Every once in a while Fotich would receive a telegram giving him the names and numbers of
another batch of rescued airmen, and conveying messages to their next of kin. The longest of
these, which was received on August 4, was ten pages long and conveyed messages from over
one hundred airmen. For these messages Fotich personally paid at the rate of 16 cents per
word. Frequently the relayed messages from the Mihailovich's radio reached the anxious
families weeks in advance of any official message from War Department.
By the beginning of July, the 15th Air Force Command was becoming seriously concerned
over the welfare of the rescued airmen. Large scale operations were impending in Yugoslavia.
It was obviously necessary to get the rescued airmen out of the way as soon as possible. The
chief difficulty, oddly enough, was diplomatic. The British authorities were insistent that there
should be no renewal of American representation in Mihailovich's headquarters because they
feared that the Partisans would consider such representation an evidence of duplicity. 15th Air
Force HQ got around this difficulty adroitly by creating an entirely new authority - the Air
Crew Rescue Unit. The Unit enjoyed the status neither of a mission nor of an intelligence
team: it sole task - and this was rigidly specified - was the rescue and evacuation of airmen.
The three men selected for the initial reconnaissance were Lieutenant George "Guv" Musulin,
a 250-pound ex-pro-football player who had been attached to Mihailovich from October 1943
to May 1944; Master Sergeant (later Lieutenant) Mike Rayachich, who had previously been
at an OSS desk; and Arthur Jibilian, a featherweight naval radio operator who had previously
been in with the Partisans.[7]
The operation was described as a blind drop approximately 50 miles southwest of Belgrade.
Everything was very indefinite. The precise position of the field was uncertain; the number of
airmen concentrated in the area was unknown - British sources estimated the number of 40;
according to British Intelligence maps, moreover, the position indicated by the Chetnik radio
was supposed to be in an area firmly held by the Partisans; and, to drop everything, something
seemed to be wrong with the British link. Several sorties were attempted on the basis of
arrangements made over the British link. All of them ended in failure. Either no ground
signals were received, or the wrong ground signals were received.
In desperation, sensing that something was wrong, a group of airmen, under the leadership of
Lt. T. K. Oliver[8], a bomber pilot, constituted themselves a "communications committee" and
decided to try to establish contact with American headquarter in Bari, Italy, using a
transmitter they had borrowed from the Chetniks. They had no code books, so they had to
operate in the clear. To confuse the Germans and to convince headquarters that the message
was authentic, they used slang and a "code" signature. The message said " 165 Yanks are in
Yugo. Shoot us workhorses." (The C47's were called "workhorses" by American airmen). It
was signed "Flat-Rat Number 5". Oliver's tent in Bari bore the name "Poker Flat", and its
occupation were known as "Flat Rats". Number 5 was the position of Oliver's bunk.
A few days later message was received from Bari. Operating with their new all-American
link, a successful sortie was carried out on the night of August 12.
Musulin, Rayachich, and Jibilian jumped in a stick and come down in a stick. Big Guv,
despite his outsize 32-foot chute, was the first to hit the ground. He landed on top of a chicken
coop, utterly demolishing it. Mike Rayachich came down next. He hit in a tree near chicken
coop and hollered for Guv to help him untangle himself. Little Jiby was the last to touch
down.

Hardly were they out of their harness when the peasant woman on whose property they had
landed came charring up. Not stopping to notice her demolished chicken coop, she bestowed
repeated kisses on the embarrassed Americans, called them "liberators" - she apparently
thought it was part of a parachute invasion - and insisted they have something to eat. Guv
gave her 15,000 dinars - about 10 dollars - to cover the cost of her chicken coop, and then she
directed them to the near-by Chetnik unit.
The trio set off along the road in the direction indicated but the old woman, and around a bend
they ran bang into a group of Chetniks. There were cheers and more kisses. Some of the
Chetniks who knew Guv Musulin from his previous stay with Mihailovich actually wept joy:
although Musulin emphasized that they were attach no diplomatic significance to his arrival,
the Chetniks could not help believing that it meant the return of Allied backing.
Some of the American airmen almost wept for joy, too. They informed the mission that there
were roughly 250 airmen in the district, of whom 26 were sick and wounded. The Chetnik
peasants had been wonderful to them. The airmen told to mission how the peasants had given
them their own beds, and had themselves slept on the floor; and how they had insisted on the
airmen eating first while they themselves ate what was left over. But despite the kindness of
the peasants, all of the airmen were fed up with waiting. They knew that Chetniks had been
sending out repeated signals, and they had not been able to understand why the Allied
authorities had not acted sooner on them.
That day the mission held a council of war with a committee of several airmen and
representatives of the Chetnik command. The airmen were divided into six groups of 40 to 50
men, each quartered in a separate village and each under the command of its own officer. The
purpose of this was to minimize the danger if the Germans were to stage a surprise attack.
Each group was assigned to a definite wave of aircraft: they were not to report to the field
until shortly before the assigned wave was due it.
The Chetniks, for their part, had taken the most comprehensive security measures. The
projected airfield was guarded by the 1st and 2nd Ravna Gora Corps under the command of
Captain Zvonko Vuchkovich and major Muzikravich.[9] The troops, numbering some 10,000
men, were distributed through all the villages within a radius of 10 to 15 miles. They blocked
all of the roads and even the cow paths, and they enforced a total ban on movements to and
from the operational area. Two thousands of the best-armed men were distributed in the
immediate vicinity of the airstrip.
The airstrip itself was a natural plateau, extremely level and some 700 yards long. This was a
bit on the short side for C47's, and it was therefore decided to extend it about 75 yards to
bring up it to the maximum for safety. There hundred peasants and sixty carts were mobilized,
and they went to work carting gravel and filling in. For this work they refused to accept any
pay.
To offset the possibility of a surprise attack by the Germans, teams were sent out to
reconnoiter two auxiliary airfields which were within one day's trek.
There was plenty of reason to fear German attack. Several hundred American airmen was a
major prize in the eyes of the Germans. Moreover, within radius of 20-30 miles there were
some half dozen important centers - Chachak, Kralyevo, Valyevo, Kragujevats, Gornyi
Milanovats, Uzitse - with German garrisons ranging from several hundred to several thousand
men. At Kralyevo, some 30 mile away, there was an airfield which housed a Luftwaffe unit.
Chetnik officers who participated in evacuation operation are divided on why the Germans
failed to attack. Some feel that the Germans had a fairly good idea of what was going on but
were too dispirited at that time to venture on attack on an army of 10,000 determined
Chetniks. Others feel that extraordinary security measures taken by the Chetniks completely
baffled the German intelligence.

10

The first evacuation was scheduled for the night of August 9. There were two anxious
moments before it took place. The night before the evacuation, members of the mission who
were sleeping in Pranyane suddenly awoke to the sound of machine-gun fire. They slopped
into their trousers on the double and got ready to move. Minutes later Captain Vouchkovich
came around and informed them that the guard has challenged a moving object; the object
hadn't answered, and the guard had fired - killing a cow.
On the morning of the 9th, Musulin and Rayachich were out on the airstrip supervising the
final touches. From the direction of Belgrade, two specks began to approach. Everyone made
for a cover. The specks came closer. They grew into German hospital aircraft and flew, almost
loiteringly, right for the field at a height of 1,000 feet. Several hundred hearts sank at the
same time. A small herd of cows, noticing the meadow deserted for the first time in a week,
sauntered on, munching at the turf. It was probably this little act of providential camouflage,
more than anything else, which prevented the Germans from noticing the field.
That night at 11 o'clock, the first wave of four C47's arrived. The ground crew flashed the
letters of the day. The aircraft flashed back. The gooseneck flares, improvised out of oil cans,
were lit. And the aircraft came in. The peasants from all around Pranyane had congregated to
witness the sight. If Ringling Brothers and Company had come to this little Serbian village, it
could not have caused more excitement. The peasants garlanded the rescued airmen and
arriving aircrew, they threw flowers on them, they brought them bottles of rakia, they
embraced, they sang.
The C47's took off half an hour later. Before they did so, the airmen who were about to be
evacuated bade a good-bye to those who had rescued them and cared for them. They took off
their shoes, they took off their jackets, and some of them even took of their socks and their
shirts, and left them with their benefactors. The planes took off to the cheers of the assembled
peasants.
At eight o'clock the next morning, a wave of six C47's came in with a fighter cover of twenty
P-51's. The P-51's shot up the field and put on a real aerial rodeo for the entertainment of the
local populace. The local populace, for its part, could hardly contain its pride. "Well, whatever
you say," remarked one octogenarian, "this is the only American airfield in Serbia." The
commander of the airfield guard strutted around with his chest out a yard. "Tell me, he asked
one of the Americans, "is La Guardia Field anything like this?"
Half an hour later, another flight of C47's with a fighter cover of twenty, came in for the
balance of the airmen. When the roll call for the last aircraft was taken, one airman was
missing. The C-47 was just taxiing up for the take-off, when the missing airman came
stumbling onto the field. He had been overindulging in rakia, the potent Serbian plum brandy.
Captain Nick Lalich[10] of Cleveland, who came with the first aircraft on August 9, took over
as Commanding Officer of the A.C.R.U. at this point. While the operation was being
prepared, airmen kept arriving almost every day. One week later there was another small
evacuation. Mihailovich arrived at Pranyane on August 20, and helped plan subsequent
evacuations. On the nights of August 26 and 27, another 58 American airmen were evacuated.
At the direction of General "Wild Bill" Donovan, OSS sent Major Jacques Mitrani and
Colonel Walter T. ("Doc") Carpenter into Pranyane to look after the health of the evacuees
and tend to the wounded. Doctor Carpenter had just come from Partisan hospital at the Island
of Vis, where Allied medical supplies were so plentiful that the commissars were able to
commandeer for themselves sheets and towels and blankets and special foods. Arriving at
Pranyane, Dr. Mitrani and Dr. Carpenter found a situation that was the polar extreme of the
situation at Vis. The local hospital was being administered by two Serbian doctors and one
Italian doctor, with the aid of several villagers. The doctors were capable - on the whole the
Chetniks were much better off for able doctors because few doctors gravitated of their own
volition to the Partisan movement. But the Chetnik doctors were working without anything.

11

They had no medicines, no anesthetics, no soap, no sheets, no proper surgical instruments.

There wasn't even a decent first-aid kit available. The patients slept on straw on the floors.
Major operations were performed without anesthesia.
In exchange for 300 American airmen turned over by Mihailovich up to the end of August, the
Chetniks received one and one-half tons of medical supplies - one-half of an aircraft load. In
certain British and American circles at Bari there was much opposition to sending in even this
small quantity.
One incident which took place on August 27 the Chetniks never forgave. The first of the six
aircraft came in directly and landed at Pranyane. The other five took off, loaded with
munitions for Partisans and carrying partisan dispatcher crews. The munitions were dropped
to the Partisan Army driving into Serbia: and than the five aircraft came in to land, using the
aircraft already on the field as a radio beacon. When they landed, several of Partisan
dispatchers, perhaps not realizing where they were, hopped out of the aircraft.
"Well, Comrades," said one of them, "we've just had a successful drop."
If the American officers had not intervened and bundled him back into the aircraft, the
Chetniks would have hit him.
At the time this incident took place, the Partisan invasion of Serbia was already underway.
Within a week, scores of wounded were being brought back to Pranyane from the front. With
the few materials they had, Chetniks doctors coped as best they could. Those who were going
to die were not hospitalized or given drugs. Only those who had a better than fighting chance
of surviving could be tended to.
The aircraft which arrived on August 27 also brought with them Lt. Colonel Robert H.
McDowell, Captain John Milodragovich and Lt. Ellsworth Kramer, who were to act as an
Intelligence Mission in Chetnik territory.[11]
On September 2, a Chetnik escort arrived at Pranyane bringing with them a group of 35
escaped Russian prisoners-of-war. Mihailovich asked them whether they wished to be
evacuated to Italy or whether they preferred to be returned to the Romanian border. They
opted to Romanian border. Mihailovich wrote out a safe conduct, provided them with an
escort, and the following day they were off.
Meanwhile, members of Air Crew Rescue Unit were fanning out in quest of stray American
airmen. Mike Rayachich was given the assignment of exploring Belgrade area. After many
adventures he succeeded in making his way through to the suburbs of the capital and
established contact with the Belgrade underground. His guides conducted him to an illegal
Chetnik hospital in the village of Ripanj, five and one-half miles from the city proper. Here
Rayachich found a wounded American airman by the name of William Rogers of Chicago.
Rogers had both his legs in casts so that it was out of question to move him; all Rayachich
could do was assure Rogers that the authorities would be notified and that he would be taken
care of somehow.
The genius behind this illegal ten-bed hospital was Dr. Lalovich, Chief-Surgeon of the State
Hospital in Belgrade and a colonel in the Chetnik underground. Several times a week he
risked his life to come out to Ripanj to treat his patients. On the occasion of Rayachich's visit,
Lalovich drove out of Ripanj in a stolen German ambulance, with a driver dressed in German
uniform, and with Rayachich in American uniform lying on the back floor.
Rayachich reported the position of Rogers to the American authorities, and the report was
forwarded to the Red Army when it began to approach Belgrade. The Partisans took over the
village of Ripanj and the illegal Chetnik hospital on October 16. A few days later Lt. Rogers
was evacuated to safety.
After the War, William Rogers received a letter from a Chetnik he had known at Ripanj. The
letter informed him that many of those who had been connected with the hospital had been
executed by the Partisans and that their homes had been destroyed.

12

In early September the Partisan "Serb Lika Brigade" broke through on Mihailovich's weak
southern flank, by-passing the German garrison at Vishegrad, Uzice, and Pozhega, and made
straight for the Chetnik headquarters at Pranyane. On September 9, Mihailovich broke camp
and moved northward through the region of Semberya to Bosnia.
On September 17 the Air Crew Rescue Unit evacuated twenty-odd American airmen from an
airstrip near Kotselyevo, on the Valyevo-Shabats highway. While a battle between Partisans
and Chetniks was raging no more than four miles away, two DC-3's came in with a cover of
six fighters, and took off the American airmen.
The Mission traveled with Mihailovich up into East Bosnia, where they established contact
with his commanders, Pop Sava and Pop Milosh.[12] Towards the end of October, another
evacuation of American airmen took place from an airstrip at Bolyanich, 8 miles east of
Doboy, under the protection of the troops of Pop Sava and Pop Milosh.
All the while Captain Lalich was traveling with Chetnik headquarters, reports kept coming in
about American airmen who had been rescued and wished to be evacuated. Near Vishegrad
they picked up nine airmen. Then they continued further south to Srednye, 20 kilometers
north of Sarajevo. Here they picked up seven more American airmen, all of whom were
injured. There was an airstrip near Srednye, but it was considered unsuitable. Captain Lalich,
with the twenty-four American airmen he had accumulated, decided to head back to the
airstrip at Bolyanich.
On December 10, the day before they left Srednye, the villagers staged a big dance in honor
of Mihailovich and the Americans. People came from as far as Sarajevo to attend the
celebration. The following day Mihailovich and Captain Lalich shook hands for the last time.
To the amazement of all the Americans, Mihailovich appeared optimistic.
"The Allies have made a mistake", he said. "But some day they will come back to us."
before he made this statement, Mihailovich had refused an American offer to be evacuated to
safety in Italy with the American airmen - because he considered it a compelling moral duty
to remain with his people.
Mihailovich headed south into the Sandjak, and Lalich, with his wounded airmen mounted on
horses, headed north for Bolyanich airstrip on December 27. At that time reports had arrived
of the rescue of several groups of airmen in other parts of Serbia. In view of the diplomatic
impossibility of continuing evacuations from Chetnik territory, the Chetnik command agreed
to forward these airmen to Partisan units.
The Last Days of Mihailovich
What happened with Mihailovich after he had collaborated with the Americans in arranging
the evacuation of the 432 rescued airmen?
Despite communist superiority in arms - thanks to massive British and American shipments Mihailovich had remained in solid control of Serbia, the largest and strategically the most
vital part of Yugoslavia, until the Fall of 1944. Mihailovich had long been committed to a
national uprising against the Germans at the proper moment. At midnight on August 3 the prearranged signal was given. The church bells rang out in every village in Serbia. Commenting
on the events of early September, Lt. Colonel Robert H. McDowell, chief of the American
intelligence unit, said:
"Insofar as the small group of American officers were able to cover the front and make
observations, during September Nationalist forces engaged German and Bulgarian forces to
the extent of their capability and equipment. Axis movements were thoroughly disrupted and
considerable quantity of munitions and prisoners were taken. "

13

At that point Mihailovich's forces were hit by combined assauld of the Soviet Red Army
driving in from Bulgaria on the East and the Partisan Army driving from the North and West.
The Mihailovich forces collaborated with the Red Army in the capture of a number of major
centers - but it soon became apparent that the communist forces, both Soviet and Yugoslav,
were committed to the total destruction of the Chetnik Army. In this merciless pincer
onslaught, the Chetniks suffered fearful casualties.
Mihailovich and some of his units held out in the mountains of Yugoslavia for another year
and a half, but the odds were hopelessly against them. On March 25, 1946, the Belgrade press
proudly announced that general Mihailovich had been captured. On June 10, 1946, he was
brought to trial. After typical Moscow show trial which excluded all evidence for the defense
and hose blatant unfairness was editorially condemned by every major paper in the Free
World, Mihailovich was executed on July 17, 1946.
When the news of Mihailovich's capture appeared in the press, the American airmen who had
been rescued by him established contact with each other and organized a "national Committee
of American Airmen to Aid general Mihailovich and the Serbian People." The airmen raised
heaven and earth to present the truth as they saw it. In late April 1946, a delegation of 23
airmen representing the national delegation flew to Washington in a specially charted plane
which they baptized for the occasion "Mission for Mihailovich". In meetings with President
Truman and Undersecretary of State Dean Acheson, as well as several score Senators and
Congressmen, they urged that the United States intercede on behalf of Mihailovich and asked
that they be permitted to testify as witnesses for the defense. When the Belgrade Government
rejected the State Department's request that the airmen be permitted to testify, the airmen
sought to have their evidence transmitted to the Yugoslav court by presenting it to the
"Commission of Inquiry in the Case of Drazha Mihailovich," a body consisting of four of the
nation's most distinguished jurists.[13]
The 600 pages of sworn testimony taken by the Commission were transmitted to
Mihailovichs counsel by the Department og State but the court refused to accept the
evidence on the ground that there was so much evidence of Mihailovichs guilt that there was
no point to making any evidence for the defence!
Wnen the news of Mihailovics execution was anounced, the New York Times suggested
editorially that it would be appropriate to erect a monument in Red Square to Drazha
Mihailovich, Savior of Moscow. Some of the American airmen who were rescued by him
proposed at the time that a monument to General Mihailovich be erected in Washington in
gratitude for his having saved the lives of 500 American airmen. Time passed and nothing
seemed to have com of the idea. But now, 30 years later, the surviving airmen have
reorganized themselves into a National Committee of American Airmen Rescued by General
Mihailovich and have petitioned Congress for permission to erect such a memorial.

NOTES:
[1] The Chetniks rescued roughly another 100 American airmen, but because there were no
nearby fields from which they could be evacuated, the Chetniks turned over the airmen to
their mortal enemies, the Partisans, who then claimed credit for their rescue.
[2] Major-General Donald J. Smith is today Chief of Staff of the Illinois Air National Guard.
He is also Honorary Chairman of the National Committee of American Airmen Rescued by
General Mihailovich.

14

[3] Mike Panovich now lives in Gary, Indiana. As a result of General Smith's participation in a
first gathering of the rescued airmen in Washington on July 17, 1974, Panovich heard Smith's
voice on a local radio station, decided that Major General Smith was the same Lt. Smith he
had helped to rescue - and, after 30 years, the two men were reunited in Chicago.
[4] In addition to the American airmen, the Rescue Unit evacuated 4 British airmen, 2
Canadians, 2 Belgians, 30 Russians and 76 Italians who had been picked up by Chetniks.
[5] Major Richard L. Felman (USAF, Ret.) now resides in Tuscon, Arizona. he is Chairman of
the National Committee of American Airemen Rescued by General Mihailovich.
[6] Mike McKool, who still resides in Dallas, served recently as a Texas State Senator.
[7] George Musulin retired from the army Active Reserve in 1973 with the rank of Lt.
Colonel. he resides in Mclean, Va. Mike Rayachich died of natural causes in Washington,
D.C. in 1961. Arthur Jibilian now lives in Tiffen, Ohio.
[8] Colonel T. K. Oliver (USAF, Ret.) now a resident of Rapid City, South Dakota, teaches at
the State Dakota School of Mines.
[9] Captain Vouchkovich now resides in gary, Indiana. His son has recently graduated from
West Point. Captain Muzikravich was killed shortly after the evacuation in fighting with the
communists.
[10] Captain Lalich, who works for the U.S. Customs Service, now resides in Baltimore, Md.
[11] Colonel McDowell, retired after many years as the Pentagon's Chief soviet analyst, now
lives in Clearwater, Florida. John Milodragovich lives in Missoula, Montana. Ellsworth
Kramer lives in Arlington, Virginia.
[12] Pop is Serbian for "reverend" or "father". Many orthodox priests served as commanders
of Chetnik military units.
[13] The commission of Inquiry was set up by the Committee for a Fair Trial for Drazha
Mihailovich, an exceptionally distinguished by-partisan committee, supported by many
Senators, Congressmen and Governors. The Commission of Inquiry consisted of Arthur
Garfield Hayes, at that time the nation's foremost civil liberties lawyer; Adolph Berle, former
assistant Secretary of State for Latin American Affairs; Charles Poletti, former governor of
New York; and Theodore Kiendl, a prominent Wall Street lawyer.

15

About the David Martin

DAVID MARTIN is the author of "Ally Betrayed - The Uncensored Story of Tito and
Mihailovich", published by Prentice-Hall in 1946. He is also author of numerous political
articles. From 1959 to 1970 he was foreign policy assistant to the late Senator Thomas J.
Dodd of Connecticut. After World War II, he served as Executive Secretary of the prestigious
"Committee for a Fair Trial for Drazha Mihailovich." In that capacity he organized the
Commission of Inquiry in the Case of Drazha Mihailovich, which took the testimony of
American officers who had served with Mihailovich and of more than 100 airmen who had
been rescued by him. In the fifties he served as Executive Director of the International Rescue
Committee, as special assistant to Admiral Richard E. Byrd, and as Executive Director of the
Zellerbach Commission on the European Refugee Situation.

16

ADDENDUM
NOTES BY AMERICAN AIRMEN RESCUED BY GENERAL MIHAILOVICH
PARTICIPATING IN A MEMORIAL SERVICE WASHINGTON, D.C. JULY 17, 1975
"On June 6, 1944, at 10:25 in the morning on a bright sunny day I parachuted out of our
disabled B-24 bomber along with nine other members of our air crew. From a height of
10,000 feet I could see small homes and people. I felt quite alone in a strange country. I was
fortunate to land with friendly forces, the Chetniks. I suffered a fracture of the right ankle in
the landing but did not notice the pain because of the tension involved in the landing. Most of
our crew were quickly picked up and taken to safety in an ox-drawn cart. Those days ahead
were filled with respect and love for a people that did all they could for us, even to the risk of
their own lives.
I will always be in the debt of the Serbian people and their wonderful military genius, General
Drazha Mihailovich."
DAVID E. LA BISSONIERE
Wauwatosa, Wisconsin
***
"T/Sgt. Anthony J. Buckner, flying out of 15th Air forces in Italy on a mission to Plasite
Ploesti Oil fields on April 15th 1944 was shot down in a B-24 over Yugoslavia. Picked up by
General Mihailovich's forces, he was kept out of the hands of the Germans and partisan
forces. General Mihailovich's troops fed, clothed, sheltered and protected me and nine other
airmen for 162 days before stealing a boat from the Germans an enabling us to return to 15th
Air force Headquarters at Bari, Italy."
ANTHONY J. BUKCNER
Johnstown, New York
***
"While flying a bombing mission with 15th Air Force in Italy September 1944, our B-24
bomber was hit by German anti-aircraft fire over Belgrade, Yugoslavia.
Our bomber, damaged beyond control, had to be abandoned by our 9 man crew. We
parachuted into territory that we had been told was controlled by unfriendly Yugoslavs
guerrilla forces that would either kill us or turn us over to the Germans. As we were to find
out in the next 10 days, this mis-information, by our own intelligence was to become one of
the biggest lies to come out of WW II.
There Serbian guerrillas, under Gen. Drazha Mihailovich, seemed to be absolutely fearless in
their efforts to keep us from harm. They suffered many casualties in order that we might live.
There were about 500 airmen rescued by general Mihailovich and his men, but these 500 men,
living and dead, if allowed to speak might well ask, 'How can this nation or any nation deny
this man, General Mihailovich, his rightful place in history?'
He was truly a great man. I am proud to have met him."
CURTIS DILES, jr.
Portsmouth, Ohio
***

17

"Milton E Friend, Mclean, Virgina was a 2nd Lieutenant navigator on a B-24 shot down over
Yugoslavia on D-Day, June 6, 1944 and was rescued by the forces of General Drazha
Mihailovich and taken practically out of the hands of German forces. Hidden on the
mountains and protected by Chetnik soldiers until the German patrols had given up their
search, Lt. Friend was taken to the nearest soldiers garrison manned by Mihailovich's forces.
A group of 20 American airmen and four Canadian RAF crew members, all of whom brought
together in the mountain garrison where plans were made for escape to 15th Air Force
Headquarters in Italy. Sixty-two days later, on August 10th, 1944, the plans materialized and
the 20 "D"-Day airmen were rescued by American transport planes, provided by fighter
escort, along with almost 200 other downed airmen, and flown to Italy and safety."
LT. COL. MILTON E. FRIEND (USAF RET.)
Mclean, Virginia
***
"My name is Neal S. Janosky. I was in the United States Army Air Force based in So. Italy.
On July 4th 1944 our plane developed engine trouble on the way to Romania and the oil
fields. We dropped out of formation and were picked up by German fighters and all hands
eventually bailed out south of Zagreb. We were rescued by Chetniks. The German forces on
the ground saw us bail out and the Chetniks gave them a running battle until we were all
safely in the hills. Oru crew along with several hundred other airmen were evacuated back to
Italy about 40 days later. Thanks to Drazha Mihailovich and the Chetniks, I am alive today.
The sacrifices that the Serbian people made to save us can never be repaid."
NEAL S. JANOSKY
Milwaukee, Wisconsin
***
John E. Scroggs, Lt. Col. , USAFR (Ret.). Kansas City, Missouri. Pilot: 44a Bomb Group,
15th Air force:
"Badly crippled by enemy anti-aircraft and fighter fire over the oil complex at Ploesti,
Romania, we finally were forced to abandon our B-24 bomber over Balkan soil. This was
enemy territory in 1944. Five of our ten crewmen were wounded.
One of our men was captured by the Germans. We found that we had two enemies - the
Germans and the Ustashi. It was my good fortune to be found and defended by Serbian
peasants, who eventually led me to the fearless Chetnik underground army of General Drazha
Mihailovich. With but the meager necessities for themselves these peasants, placed all in their
possession, at my disposal. My comfort, pleasure and safety was paramount at all times. In
addition to my protection, these Chetniks also had the problem of conducting successful
guerrilla operation against the Germans while suffering the harassment of the Communist
partisans and anarchist Ustashi. Amazingly enough, the Chetniks still waged successful
campaigns against Germans, under these conditions. This I personally witnessed several
times.
The Chetniks treated our wounded miraculously - our bombardier with a shot-up knee was
carried by Serbian peasants for weeks on a crude stretcher over mountains.
Ultimately we were evacuated by U. S. OSS and Air Corps from the mountains of Serbia.
Serbian peasants had toiled ceaselessly for months, with no mechanical tools to clear this
landing space for U. S. planes.
How strangely the Allies rewarded our benefactor, General Drazha Mihailovich and his
people."

18

JOHN E. SCROGGS, Lt. Col. USAFR (Ret)

Kansas City, Missouri
***
M/Gen. Donald J. Smith
Chief Staff Ill. Air. Nat. Gd.
1526 N. Pine Avenue
Arlington Hts., Illinois 60004
"A veteran of WWII and Korean War, still active after 37 years, was shot down over
Yugoslavia on "D" - Day (6th June 1944) and subsequently rescued from the Germans and
returned safely to allied control in Italy sixty-six days later by General Mihailovich. He has
come to Washington, D.C. with his good friend, Mike Panovich of Gary, Indiana who was
directly involved in the rescue and protection of Gen. Smith and hundreds of other U.S.
airmen on direct orders of General Mihailovich. Mike Panovich re-located Gen. Smith in
Chicago after thirty-one years through the "National Committee of American Airmen Rescued
by General Mihailovich." General Smith through his personal contact and discussions with
General Mihailovich during the dark days of the American and English withdrawal of support
for Mihailovich's Chetniks believes most strongly that the 500 plus American airmen similarly
rescued owe a personal debt of honor to the memory of this truly outstanding ally who was
also awarded the "Legion of Merit" by the United States of America. These rescued American
airmen are now in increasing numbers dedicated to the erection of an appropriate memorial
monument here in Washington, D.C. to this friend of American airmen."
MAJOR GENERAL DONALD J. SMITH
Chicago, Illinois
***
"I was a bombardier on a B-24 Bomber that was shot down on Yugoslavia following a raid on
the Ploesti oil fields on June 6, 1944. For the following nine weeks the followers of General
Mihailovich fed and sheltered myself and my crew along with many other American airmen
although the country was occupied by the Germans at that time.
General Mihailovich's Chetniks provided security for hundreds of American airmen that year
until we could be evacuated back to Italy.
I am in Washington, D.C. along with other American airmen this week to attend a
commemorial service to remember the death of General Mihailovich 29 years ago."
HAL SOUTER
Hopking, Minnesota

19

STATEMENT BY SENATOR STROM THURMOND (R-SC) ON THE SENATE FLOOR

REFERENCE A BILL TO AUTHORIZE THE ERECTION OF A MEMORIAL TO
GENERAL DRAZHA MIHAILOVICH, JULY 17, 1975.
Mr. President:
I send to the chair for reference to the appropriate committee a bill designed to authorize the
National Committee of American Airmen Rescued by General Drazha Mihailovich to erect a
monument in Washington, with publicly subscribed funds, dedicated to "General Drazha
Mihailovich, Saviour of American Airmen."
During World War II, the United States and Great Britain initially supported the nationalist
resistance movement in Yugoslavia, led by General Drazha Mihailovich. Due to a tragic
combination of errors and mistaken information, the Allies withdrew their support from
Mihailovich at the end of 1943 and threw their weight behind the Communist resistance
movement under the leadership of Marshal Tito. Despite his abandonment by the Allies, and
despite the merciless war waged against him by both the communists and the Nazis during
1944, General Mihailovich and his forces, known as the Chetniks, succeeded in rescuing
some 500 American airmen who were shot down over Yugoslavia. Most of these men were
safely evacuated to Italy in a series of dramatic air rescue missions, which picked them up
from the heart of Nazi-occupied Yugoslavia and flew them to Italy.
President Harry S. Truman in 1948 posthumously awarded the Legion of Merit to General
Mihailovich for his services in rescuing American airmen, and for his larger services to the
Allied cause. Unfortunately, the State Department kept the award to Mihailovich classified
"secret" for almost 20 years, for fear of offending the sensitivities of the Yugoslavia
Communist government.
Now, more than 30 years after their rescue, a group of American airmen have organized
themselves into a National Committee of American Airmen Rescued by General Mihailovich
and have launched a movement to build a memorial in Washington, D. C., dedicated in
gratitude to the man who saved their lives. Today is the anniversary of General Mihailovich's
execution. to mark this anniversary, the rescued airmen have assembled in Washington today
and are holding a memorial service on the steps of the Capitol.
I am introducing this legislation in response to a petition I have received, signed by 26 of the
rescued airmen and eight members of the Air crew Rescue Mission that organized their
evacuation from Yugoslavia. I would like to quote a few paragraphs from this petition:
To say that general Mihailovich and his men saved our lives tells only a very small part of the
story. Frequently, they had to fight off the Germans in order to rescue us. Because of
Mihailovich's commitment to protect us at all costs, scores of innocent hostages were
executed by the Nazis; the Nazis always knew when an American crew bailed out, and when
they could find no trace of the crew, they assumed, quite correctly, that they were being
sheltered by the Chetniks. Those of us who were wounded received the best medical attention
available, sometimes in underground hospitals. Desperately short of supplies, Mihailovich's
men frequently went hungry themselves in order to feed us.
All this we can never forget.

20

Our ranks have begun to thin with the passage of years. But the years have in no way
diminished the admiration, affection and gratitude which we hold in our hearts for General
Mihailovich and his gallant forces.
Having consulted with each other, and confident that we speak for all of the 500 airmen who
were rescued by the forces of general Mihailovich, the undersigned airmen have decided that
it would be proper to give enduring expression to this gratitude by erecting a monument in
Washington, D.C. with funds contributed by ourselves and by members of the American
public, to "General Mihailovich, Saviour of American Airmen." This concrete expression of
gratitude, we fell, would also be in complete harmony with American tradition.
We respectfully petition the Congress of the United States to enact legislation permitting the
errection of such a monument so that we may appropriately discharge what all of us regard as
a sacred debt of honor - a debt of honor all the more compelling because Mihailovich in his
lifetime received no recognition and no reward for the many services to the Allied cause of
which President Truman spoke in his citation.
Mr. President, I can think of no better way of discharging this debt than to authorize these
airmen to erect the monument they have in mind. I want to emphasize that this would be done
with publicly subscribed funds funds and will not cost the American tax payer one penny.
Additionally, I was informed that the airmen want to avoid politics and that they intend to
abstain from any propaganda against Tito government - all they want to do is to give enduring
expression to their gratitude to general Mihailovich by erecting a monument in his memory.
This will be a simple memorial, bearing on one side a plaque listing the names of 500
American airmen rescued by general Mihailovich, and on the other side the text of president
Truman's citation in awarding the Legion of merit to general Mihailovich.
I ask unanimous constant to insert into the RECORD at this point following documents:
(1) The full text of my bill
(2) The text of a foreword to a recent book about General Mihailovich written by former
Senator Frank J. Lausche of Ohio, a son of Yugoslav immigrant parents.

21

PETITION TO THE CONGRESS OF THE UNITED STATE FOR LEGISLATION

PERMITTING THE ERECTION IN WASHINGTON OF A MONUMENT TO "GENERAL
DRAZHA MIHAILOVICH, SAVIOUR OF AMERICAN AIRMEN"
The undersigned veterans of World War II are among the 500 or more American airmen who
were shot down over Yugoslavia during the War and rescued by the forces of General Drazha
Mihailovich, and finally, evacuated to Italy in a dramatic air rescue operation.
We were all pleased to learn that Pesident Truman had specifically mentioned this great
service to the Allied cause in posthumously awarding the Legion of merit to General
Mihailovich in 1948 although we were perplexed by 20 year delay in revealing the fact of the
award to the public. But the award of the Legion of Merit by the United States Government
does not discharge the personal obligation which the undersigned airmen feel toward the man
who saved their lives. This debt only discharged ourselves.
To say that general Mihailovich and his men saved our lives tells only a very small part of the
story. Frequently, they had to fight off the Germans in order to rescue us. Because of
Mihailovich's commitment to protect us at all costs, scores of innocent hostages were
executed off the Germans in order to rescue us. Because of Mihailovich's commitment to
protect us at all costs, scores of innocent hostages were executed by the Nazis; the Nazis
always knew when an American crew bailed out, and when they couls find no trace of the
crew, they assumed, quite correctly, that they were being sheltered by the Chetniks. Those of
us who were wounded received the best medical attention available, sometimes in
underground hospitals. Desperately short of supplies, Mihailovich's men frequently went
hungry themselves in order to feed us.
All this we can never forget.
Our ranks have begun to thin with the passage of years. But the years have in no way
diminished the admiration, affection and gratitude which we hold in our hearts for General
Mihailovich and his gallant forces.
Having consulted with each other, and confident that we speak for all of the 500 airmen who
were rescued by the forces of general Mihailovich, the undersigned airmen have decided that
it would be proper to give enduring expression to this gratitude by erecting a monument in
Washington, D.C. with funds contributed by ourselves and by members of the American
public, to "General Mihailovich, Saviour of American Airmen." This concrete also expression
of gratitude, we fell, would also be in complete harmony with American tradition.
We respectfully petition the Congress of the United States to enact legislation permitting the
erecting of such a monument so that we may appropriately discharge what all of us regard as a
sacred debt of honor - a debt of honor all the more compelling because Mihailovich in his
lifetime received no recognition and no reward for the many services to the Allied cause of
which President Truman spoke in his citation.
So that the congress will have a clear conception of the monument they would be approved
through such legislation, it is our intention to make this a very simple memorial, bearing on
one bronze plaque the text of the president Truman's citation in conferring the Legion of Merit
to General Mihailovich posthumously; and, one another plaque, the names of the airmen
rescued by General Mihailovich, together with a brief statement of tribute and gratitude.
U. S. military personnel involved in the Air Crew Rescue Operation have joined in signing
this petition, because they, too, were direct participants in this "magnificent secret" of World
War II.
MRS. PRESTON ANGLEBERGER**
Frederick, Maryland
DAVID LA BISONIERE

22

Wauwatosa, Wisconsin
GUS T. BROWN
Luling, texas
ANTHONY J. BUCKNER
Johnstown, New York
LT. COL. CHARLES L. DAVIS (USAF Ret)
Falls Church, Virginia
MIKE DEVJAK*
Gary, Indiana
CURTIS DILES JR.
Portsmoth, Ohio
MAJOR RICHARD L. FELMAN (USAF Ret)
Tuscon, Arizona
CHARLES FLANAGAN
Buffalo, New York
LT. COL. MILTON E. FRIEND (USAF Ret)
McLean, Virginia
ROBERT D. FULKS\Rushville, Illinois
RICHARD HOBBY
Storrs, Connecticut
GEORGE R. HURD
Fort Worth, Texas
LT. COL. JAMES M. INKS (USAF Ret)
Llano, texas
NEAL S. JANOSKY
Milwaukee, Wisconsin
ARTHUR JIBELIAN*
Tiffin, Ohio
ELLSWORTH R. KRAMER*
Arlington, Virginia
NICK LALICH
Baltimore, Maryland
PAUL F. MATO
Butler, Pennsylvania
LT. COL. ROBERT H. MCDOWELL (USA Ret)*
Clearwater, Florida
MIKE MCKOOL
Dalas, Texas
JOHN MILODRAGOVICH*
Missuola, Montana
LT. COL. GEORGE MUSULIN (USA Ret)*
mClEAN, Virginia
COLONEL T. K. OLIVER (USAF Ret)
Rapid Citry, South Dakota
ANTHONY J. ORSINI
Elizabeth, New Jersey
LELAND PORTER
Lexington, Kentucky
THOMAS E. SAINSBURY
Pawacatuck, Connecticut

23

GEORGE SALAPA
North Royaliton, Ohio
JOHN E. SCROGGS
Kansas City, Missouri
MAJOR GENERAL DONALD J. SMITH
Chicago, Illinois
HAL SOUTER
Hopkins, Minnesota
GEORGE VUJONOVICH*
Queens, New York
MAJOR MERRILL L. WALKER (USAF Ret.)
Long Beach, California
WARRANT OFFICER CARL J. WALPUSK (USA)
Coraopolis, Pennsylvania
*Members of Air Crew Rescue Mission
**Widow of rescued airmen

24

AUTHORIZING THE CONSTRUCTION AND MAINTENANCE OF THE GENERAL

DRAZHA MIHAILOVICH MONUMENT IN WASHINGTON, D. C.
September 8, 1976. - Order to be printed
Mr. Cannon, from the Committee on Rules and Administration, submitted the following
REPORT
(To accompany S. 2135)
The Committee on Rules and Administration, to which was referred the bill (S. 2135) to
authorize the construction and maintenance of the General Drazha Mihailovich Monument in
Washington, District of Columbia, in recognition of the role he played in saving the lives of
approximately five hundred United States airmen in Yugoslavia during World War II, having
considered the same, reports favorably thereon with an amendment and recommends that the
bill as amended do pass.
S. 2135 as referred would authorize the Secretary of the Interior to permit the national
Committee of American Airmen Rescued by General Mihailovich to construct and maintain
monument to General Drazha Mihailovich, in recognition of the role he played in saving the
lives approximately five hundred United States airmen in Yugoslavia during World War II, as
described in that committee's petition to Congress concerning the authorization of such
monument. The monument would be located on public land within the District of Columbia,
in according with plans approved by the National Capital Planning Commission, the Fine Arts
Commission, and the Secretary of the Interior.
The national Committee of American Airmen Rescued by General Mihailovich would accept
private funds which would be the sole source for the construction and maintenance of the
monument. The Secretary of the Interior would authorize the committee to begin the
construction of such monument only after he determines that it has sufficient funds to
complete the construction and to provide for its maintenance, except that the committee
would have to have such funds in hand no later than two years after the date of enactment of
this Act.
As envisioned by the National Committee of American Airmen Rescued by General
Mihailovich, the memorial would be a very simple one, bearing on one bronze plaque the text
of President Truman's citation in conferring the Legion of Merit to General Mihailovich
posthumously, and on another plaque the names of the airmen rescued gratitude.
Additional information explaining the reasons for this legislation, excerpted from a petition to
the Congress by the National Committee, is as follows:
The undersigned veterans of World War II are among the 500 or more American airmen who
were shot down over Yugoslavia during the War and rescued by the forces of General Drazha
Mihailovich, and finally evacuated to Italy in a dramatic air rescue operation.
We were all pleased to learn that President Truman had specifically mentioned this great
service to the Allied cause in posthumously awarding the Legion of Merit to General
Mihailovich in 1948 although we were perplexed by the 20 year delay in revealing the fact of
the award to the public. But the award of the Legion of Merit by the United States
Government does not discharge the personal obligation which the undersigned airmen feel
toward the man who saved their lives. This debt we can only discharge ourselves.
To say that General Mihailovich and his men saved our lives tells only a very small part of the
story. Frequently, they had to fight off the Germans in order to rescue us. Because of
Mihailovich's commitment to protect us at all costs, scores of innocent hostages were
executed by the Nazis; the Nazis always knew when an American crew bailed out, and when
they could find no trace of the crew, they assumed, quite correctly, that they were being
sheltered by the Chetniks. Those of us who were wounded received the best medical attention

25

available, sometimes in underground hospitals. Desperately short of supplies, Mihailovich's

men frequently went hungry themselves in order to feed us.
All this we can never forget.
Our ranks have begun to thin with the passage of years. But the years have in no way
diminished the admiration, affection and gratitude which we hold in our hearts for General
Mihailovich and his gallant forces.
Having consulted with each other, and confident that we speak for all of the 500 airmen who
were rescued by forces of General Mihailovich, the undersigned airmen have decided that it
would be proper to give enduring expression to this gratitude by erecting a monument in
Washington, D. C. with funds contributed by ourselves and by members of the American
public, to "General Mihailovich, Saviour of American Airmen." This concrete expression of
gratitude, we feel, would also be in complete harmony with American tradition.
We respectfully petition the Congress of the United States to enact legislation permitting the
erection of such monument so that we may appropriately discharge what all of us regard as a
sacred debt of honor - a debt of honor all the more compelling because Mihailovich in his
lifetime received no recognition and no reward for the many services to the Allied cause of
which President Truman spoke in his citation.

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COMMITTEE AMENDMENT
Upon the recommendation of the Secretary of the Interior the Committee on Rules and
Administration is reporting S. 2135 with an amendment which would clarify (1) that the
monument would be located on Federal public land in the District of Columbia or environs,
and (2) that not only the location of the monument but also its design would be subject to
approval by the National Capital Planning Commission, the Fine Arts Commission, and the
Secretary of the Interior.
A joint letter in support of S. 2135 addressed to Senator Howard W. Cannon, Chairman,
Committee on Rules and Administration, by Senator Strom Thurmond, sponsor of the
measures, and Senator William D. Hathaway, a co-sponsor, is as follows:
U. S. Senate,
Committee on Armed Service
Washington, D. C., July 28, 1976
Senator Howard W. Cannon,
Chairman, Senate Rules and Administration Committee,
Suite 305, Washington, D. C.
Dear Howard: On July 17, 1975, we were pleased to introduce S. 2135, a bill to authorize the
construction and maintenance of the General Drazha Mihailovich Monument in Washington.
During World War II, the United States and great Britain initially supported the nationalist
resistance movement in Yugoslavia, led by and mistaken information, the Allies withdrew
their support from Mihailovich at the end of 1943. and threw their weight behind the
Communist resistance movement under the leadership of marshal Tito. Despite his
abandonment by the Allies, and despite the merciless war waged against him by both the
Communist and the Nazis during 1944, General Mihailovich and his forces, known as the
Chetniks, succeeded in rescuing some 500 American airmen who were shot down over
Yugoslavia. Most of these men were safely evacuated to Italy in a series of dramatic air rescue
missions, which picked them up from the heart of Nazi-occupied Yugoslavia and flew them to
Italy.
President Harry S Truman in 1948 posthumously awarded the Legion of Merit to General
Mihailovich for his services in rescuing American airmen, ad for his larger services to Allied
cause. Unfortunately, the State Department kept the award to Mihailovich classified "secret"
for almost 20 years for fear of offending the sensitivities of the Yugoslavia Communist
government.
Now, more than 30 years after this rescue, a group of American airmen have organized
themselves into a National Committee of American Airmen Rescued by General Mihailovich
and have launched a movement to build a memorial in Washington, D. C., dedicated to him.
The construction and maintenance of monument would be of no cost to the government, since
the National Committee of American Airmen Rescued by General Mihailovich would accept
private funds for the monument.
Other co-sponsors of the bill are yourself, Senators Hugh Scott, Domenici, Stevanc, Fannian,
Buckley, and Beall.
We hope the Committee can act on this matter at an early date, so plans for constructions can
get underway.
With kindest regards and best whishes,
Very truly,
Strom Thurmond
William D. Hathaway

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A letter in support of S. 2135, addressed to Senator Howard W. Cannon, Chairman,

Committee on Rules and Administration, by John Kyl, Assistant Secretary of the Interior, is as
follows:
U. S. Department of the Interior,
Office of the Secretary,
Washington, D. C., August 6, 1976.
Hon. Howard W. Cannon,
Chairman, Committee on Rules and Administration,
U. S. Senate, Washington, D. C.
dear Mr. Chairman: Your Committee has requested the views of this Department on S, 2135 a
bill "To authorize the construction and maintenance of the General Drazha Mihailovich
Monument in Washington, District of Columbia, in recognition of the role he played in saving
the lives of approximately five hundred United states airmen as in Yugoslavia during World
War II."
We have no objection to enactment of S. 2135 if the bill is amended as described herein.
S. 2135 directs the Secretary of the Interior to permit the "National Committee of American
Airmen rescued by Geberal Mihailovich" to construct and maintain a monument to general
Drazha Mihailovich on public land within the District of Columbia. The bill further directs
that the Secretary shall only permit the Committee to begin construction when he determines
that the Committee has sufficient funds to complete it and to provide for maintenance, except
that the Committee must have the necessary funds no later than two years after the date of
enactment of the bill.
During World War II the United States and Great Britain initially supported the nationalist
resistance movement in Yugoslavia, led by General Drazha Mihailovich. Due to a tragic
combination of errors and mistaken information, the Allies withdrew their support from
Mihailovich at the end of 1943 and threw their weight behind the Communist resistance
movement under the leadership of Marshal Tito. Despite his abandonment by the Allies, and
despite the merciless war waged against him by both the communists and the Nazis during
1944, General Mihailovich and his forces, known as the Chetniks, succeeded in rescuing
some 500 American airmen who were shot down over Yugoslavia. Most of these men were
safely evacuated to Italy. President Truman in 1948 posthumously awarded the Legion of
Merit to General Mihailovich for his services in rescuing American airmen, and for his larger
services to the Allied cause.
In 1967, the text of President Truman's citation was made public. The reason that the British,
with United States support, supported Tito as opposed to Mihailovich was that it was believed
that Mihailovich was collaborating with the Nazis. However, the case histories of the
approximately 500 United States airmen who were shot down over Nazi occupied Yugoslavia
indicate that Mihailovich and his forces, the Chetniks, saved their lives, often at the risk of
their own and often at the risk of the killing of scores of hostages by the Germans in reprisal.
The Department of the Interior does not purport to answer the question of whatever during
1943 and 1944 the revolutionary forces led by Tito or those led by Mihailovich in Yugoslavia
should have been supported by the United States. There is no question, however, based on
individual case histories of airmen who were shot down over the country, that Mihailovich
and his men at high cost to themselves were responsible for saving lives of approximately 500
American airmen. We believe it would be appropriate, therefore, to permit the rescued airmen
to erect a simple monument to Mihailovich as a memorial to his humanitarian actions during
this period of world hostility.

28

The National Capital Memorial Advisory Committee, which was established by the Secretary
of the Interior to advise on proposed memorials in the District of Columbia, considered this
subject on March 1, 1976, and recommended that the Department support this legislation. We
concur in that recommendation.
The National Committee referred to in the bill to our understanding is not yet formally
organized as a legal association. We understand that the memorial to be erected and
maintained by the Committee will consist of a simple structure bearing on one bronze plaque
the text of president Truman's citation in conferring the Legion of Merit to General
Mihailovich posthumously and on another plaque the names of the airmen rescued by General
Mihailovich together with a brief statement of tribute and gratitude. The Committee intends to
raise the necessary funds entirely by private contributions. We have no estimate of the cost of
memorial nor have we reviewed a proposed design. In this connection the bill requires that the
monument to be erected be located according to plans approved by the National Capitol
Planning Commission, the Fine Arts Commission, and the Secretary of the Interior. We
recommend that the bill be amended to require such approval of the design of the monument
as well. We also recommend that S. 2135 be amended to clarify that the location of the
monument on "public land within the District of Columbia" means land owned by federal
Government. We understand that the District of Columbia supports such an amendment.
The Office of Management and Budget has advised that there is no objection to the
presentation of this report from the standpoint of the Administration's program.
Sincerely yours,
John Kyl,
Assistant Secretary of the Interior.

29

LEGION OF MERIT
"General Mihailovich and his forces contributed materially to the Allied cause, and were
instrumental in obtaining a final Allied Victory".
President of the U. S. Harry S. Truman on March 19, 1948, awarded General Drazha
Mihailovich a posthumous Legion of Merit, the highest honour that can be given a foreign
national.
General Dragoljub Mihailovich distinguished himself in an outstanding manner as
Commander-in-Chief of the Yugoslavian Army Forces and later as Minister of War by
organizing and leading important resistance forces against enemy which occupied Yugoslavia,
from December 1941 to December 1944. Through the undaunted efforts of his troops, many
United States airmen were rescued and returned safely to friendly control. General
Mihailovich and his forces, although lacking adequate supplies, and fighting under extreme
hardships, contributed materially to Allied cause, and were instrumental in obtaining a final
Allied Victory.
March 29, 1948
(Signed) HARRY S. TRUMAN

Note:
The first and second part of the book - an article by David Martin and addendum - are
chapters in testimonial ''Thirtieth anniversary of death of the leader of Third Serbian Uprising
Drazha Mihailovich'', which was published in Chicago by Organization of Serbian Chetniks
Ravna Gora in 1976.

30