Posted on 05/27/2011 7:37:49 PM PDT by Ravnagora
General Draza Mihailovich
Major Richard L. Felman, USAF
*****
Aleksandra's Note: The following memoir was first published in 1964 by Major Richard L. Felman of the United States Air Force. It is his personal true story of his extraordinary experiences during World War Two. It is also the story of the great Serbian patriot and Western Ally General Draza Mihailovich and the Serbs who saved the lives of over 500 Americans who were shot down over Nazi-occupied Yugoslavia in 1944. In honor of Memorial Day 2011 it's worthwhile to revisit this moment in history. As much as his story honors the Americans and other Allies with whom he lived through this unforgettable WWII experience, Major Felman's story equally honors those patriots on the ground in the former Yugoslavia, the Chetniks, who made this story possible. Richard Felman never forgot his debt of gratitude. His memoir, "Mihailovich and I", is a tribute that will remain a timeless repayment of that debt and a powerful reminder of what it means to be a true Ally.
Sincerely,
Aleksandra Rebic
*****
MIHAILOVICH AND I
By Major Richard L. Felman, U.S.A.F.
INTRODUCTION
This is an eye-witness, factual, now-it-can-be-told story. While it is of important historical significance, it is also a simple story. Its importance lies in the betrayal of World War Two’s greatest unsung hero; a man that history will record as being responsible for the turning point in the greatest destructive war mankind has ever known. Its simplicity lies in the association of an inconsequential soldier with this man of history and of his attempts to repay a long outstanding, but never-to-be repaid, debt.
On April 6th, 1941 the savage hordes of the Nazi juggernaut invaded Yugoslavia. Its beloved King, Peter the Second, was smuggled out of the country in the black of night and set up an exile government in London. Its poorly equipped army could do very little against the mighty Wehrmacht Panzer divisions. Within a matter of days the Beast of Berlin added another country to its infamous list. Another country, perhaps, but not another people; for remaining behind was Peter’s Minister of War and Commander in Chief, General Draza Mihailovich. Mihailovich quickly assembled his make-shift, slingshot army and retreated to the hills. The first, and by far, most effective guerrilla leader of World War Two had begun operations. In no time, reports coming out of Yugoslavia related of his many heroic raids on German garrisons, acts of harassment, sabotage, etc. Ever since September 1939 when Hitler overran Poland no country or people had been able to offer anything more than token resistance to the onrushing Nazi steamroller. Suddenly, the Allied world had reason to hope and to question the invincibility of this indestructible force. Here was the Twentieth Century version of David and Goliath. Newspapers screamed headlines of Mihailovich and his brave band of Chetniks. Hollywood produced a motion picture of their courageous guerrilla activities. TIME Magazine ran a cover story on Draza Mihailovich on May 25, 1942. Even kids switched from “cowboys and Indians” to playing “Chetniks”. Everywhere, freedom loving people sang out his name hopefully, with renewed strength, in a darkened world.
On July 17th, 1946 a beaten, tired Mihailovich stood before a firing squad of the Federated People’s Republic of Yugoslavia and was executed as a “war collaborator”.
His grateful followers during the war years were shocked. Newspapers, commentators and historians were just as vociferous in their revulsion as they had been in his support. Indignant people throughout the freedom-loving world were asking: “What happened during the intervening years? Is this the same man who fought so gallantly for our cause and gave us our first ray of Hope?” To add to their confusion, top German staff officers admitted that Mihailovich had caused so much embarrassing harassment to the invincible Nazi machine that Hitler transferred 4 Panzer divisions from the Russian front to wipe him out at all costs. These same divisions, they claimed, spelled the difference in the balance of power on the Russian front and changed the tide of the war. Could this be his reward? What weird and distorted mechanisms of international intrigue permit a tragedy of this nature?
While I lay no claim to being a master of global politics, I do have the right to speak out the truth as I saw it and lived it. As an average American citizen I consider myself most fortunate in having been so closely related to this most important part of history and to the man responsible for it. Little did I realize when I saw the movie “The Chetniks” in 1943 that the real life hero portrayed in the film would be saving my life one year later, or that his Commander-in-Chief, King Peter, would personally decorate me with the Royal Order of Ravna Gora, Yugoslavia’s highest military decoration.
RLF
*****
To view the actual pages of text, please go to:
MIHAILOVICH and I by Richard L. Felman, U.S.A.F.
*****
“The Forgotten 500” is another book that tells the same story. Our government has been infested with communists since the early 20th century.
Our State Dept. educated our fliers that if shot down over Yugoslavia head for the half controlled by Tito. By all means stay away from the half controlled by Mihailovich. Just the opposite was true...the Administration and the State Dept. were full of Commies...and still are.
And our draft dodger President bombed the sh*t out of the Serbs for the Muslims who want to eradicate all the infidels.
And that’s the most amazing thing of all.
Major Felman lived long enough to watch that happen in 1999. Imagine how difficult it was for him, as an American patriot and Air Force veteran, to watch the U.S. Commander in Chief bomb the hell out of the very people that had saved his life and the lives of over 500 of his compatriots 50 years earlier.
He just could not wrap his mind around it.
*****
When Alistair MacLean complained to Churchill that his policy would result in Yugoslavia being communist after the war Churchill replied "Do you intend to live there?".
One of the earliest books on Mihailovich was “Allied Betrayed” by the late David Martin (ex RCAF, WW2 and Senate Internal Security Subcom, Sen. Judiciary Committee Research Analyst and specialist on Yugoslavian Communism). It was printed about 1947.
Dave was behind the movement to “save” Mihailovich re the trial, and then to put up a monument in Wash. D.C. which happened about 10 years ago (Thanks to Lee Edwards and others for carrying on Dave’s work, and eventually putting up a monument to the “Victims of Communism”.)
David Martin was amazing. Two other books by him, “Patriot or Traitor” and “Web of Disinformation” are must-reads on this subject matter.
To date, there is no monument to Mihailovich in Washington, D.C. I am unfamiliar with this monument that you mention, “Victims of Communism” - I would like to learn more about it.
*****
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Thanks for the ping!
I loved "The Web of Disinformation". It was really helpful also in understanding the post-WWII British mindset that suppressed the Mihailovic story, was the same one that George Orwell faced in getting Animal farm published -- a collective self-censorship that existed, so as not to offend the Left. In his original introduction to the book (that he was forced to rewrite) Orwell actually even mentioned the Mihailovic case.
Also, the outing as Soviet spies of the so-called Cambridge Set of Philby, Burgess and McLean & others should have come as no surprise, given that James Klugman who recruited them for the Communist Party while they were students at Cambridge, also had run the Yugoslav desk during WWII -- altering the reports to favor Tito and condemn Mihailovic which ultimately led to Churchill abandoning Mihailovic in favor of Tito.
And what’s so sad is that understanding the history if how all of this transpired, even TODAY people in our government institutions and the media still continue to cover for the communist version of this historical WWII narrative.
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