Posted on 08/11/2014 3:06:37 PM PDT by Ravnagora
Aleksandra's Note: ...Lt. Col. Milton Friend of the USAF, a Halyard Mission veteran that I met in person in Chicago in 1994 for the 50th anniversary celebration of the Halyard Mission Rescue Operation, got in touch with me in 2009. I had wondered if he was still living. Indeed he was, and he had a story to tell. When I searched for him on the internet, I discovered that he was not featured anywhere that I could find. I told him that his story needs to be made public and be given wide exposure, and it is my absolute pleasure to share that story with you, in Milton's own words. The following year, in October of 2010, Lt. Col. Friend traveled with his wife all the way back to Serbia after 66 years, because he wanted to testify at the Mihailovich Rehabilitation hearings. Fortunately, there was an extensive amount of attention given to his visit and here in the archives of www.generalmihailovich.com you can find many of the news stories, in both the Serbian and English language, that highlighted his visit to Serbia as well as the Mihailovich Rehabilitation hearing that he participated in. He made this journey at the age of 88 with his wife Shirley, and it turned out to an unforgettable trip for both of them.
I'm very happy to report that Milton recently celebrated his 92nd birthday, on June 25, 2014, and that he is alive and well to mark the 70th anniversary of the great Halyard Mission Rescue Operation which forever changed the course of his life in World War II. The first wave of Halyard Mission rescues began on August 9/10 of 1944 in Nazi-occupied Serbia, and Lt. Col. Friend was among the American military personnel evacuated during that first wave.
(Excerpt) Read more at generalmihailovich.com ...
Ping!
At around 250 lbs. he was the heaviest soldier parachuted by American forces during the war:
he had a special chute and they all made bets every jump on if his chute would split open!
A new chapter available in e-book format from Amazon: Red Tails: The Tuskegee Airmen and Operation Halyard: An All-New Update for The Forgotten500
The key qestion remains: Why? Why the story of the largest rescue operation behind enemy lines was suppressed for so long and still ignored?
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.