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"Thank you Serbian Chetniks and Serbian villagers from the bottom of our hearts. We are forever indebted to you."Aleksandra's Note: The above photograph and tribute were posted by Teresa Guidry, daughter of Halyard Mission veteran Staff Sgt. Curtis "Bud" Diles, Jr. of the U.S.A.F. Curtis Diles was one of the "Forgotten 500" who was rescued by General Draza Mihailovich and his Chetniks in the later days of 1944. As a result of his being rescued and returning home safely to live out the rest of his beautiful life before passing on September 10, 2014, 70 years later, 27 people walk...

The Chetnik Freedom Fighters as Immigrants in New LandsSerbian Chetnik immigrants in the UK in 1948. Photo courtesy of Andy Evans"What a difference time makes. Pictured are immigrants to the UK in 1948. These brave men were the first ones to stand up and fight against fascist rule dominating Europe in 1941. They had lost everything but decided to stay and fight for their homeland and democracy against overwhelming odds. For three years the Western Powers hailed the Serbian Chetniks as heroes until the winds of power altered direction and it was evident Communist Russia would be the liberator of...

American Flag and the Flag of Serbia image courtesy of the Studenica Foundation. REMEMBERING SERBIA'S GREAT GENERAL DRAZA MIHAILOVICH ON AMERICA'S MEMORIAL DAY Taking to the Ravna Gora hills of Serbia 75 years ago in May of 1941 with only a handful of men to mount the first real resistance to Hitler's occupying forces in Europe was impressive. The guts it took and the resolve necessary for these men and their leader to initiate such a courageous act against the Nazi war machine that in 1941 appeared to be invincible seems almost inconceivable now. But it was real, and the...

BELGRADE – The Serbs are among the rare nations that were completely on the right side in World War II, and Serbia has nothing to be ashamed of regarding the fight against Nazism, says Israeli Ambassador to Serbia Yossef Levy.Yossef Levy, Israeli Ambassador to Serbia In a statement published in Wednesday’s issue of Vecernje novosti, he said that the Serbs are among the rare nations that had the courage to fight against Nazi Germany without hesitation or fear. Levy declined to comment on the debate in the Serbian public and the region on the recent rehabilitation of General Dragoljub Mihailovic,...

Aleksandra's Note: It is through tears of joy and relief that I announce that what so many of us have been hoping and praying for all these years has finally come to pass! As the world marks the 70th Anniversary of the end of World War Two, one of the war's greatest heroes and martyrs has officially been rehabilitated by the Higher Court in Belgrade, Serbia! The historic decision is final, reversing one of the most unjust convictions in the history of mankind, and restores all civil rights to Serbian General Dragoljub Draza Mihailovich, falsely charged, tried, convicted, and executed...

The photo is taken during the division training at Neuhammer. The romantic notions that Himmler had about the Bosnian Muslims were probably significant in the division’s genesis. He was personally fascinated by the Islamic faith and believed that Islam created fearless soldiers. He envisioned the creation of a Bosnian SS division constituted solely of Bosnian Muslims in a manner similar to the Bosnian divisions of the old Austro-Hungarian Empire. Many of these soldiers came from Bosnia, and it was a conscious decision to fight the Communist Partisans and the nationalist Chetniks. The Nazis tried to cater to the Muslim religious...

SGT. MIKE MCKOOL, rescued American WWII Halyard Mission Airman, testifies before Commission of Inquiry regarding "Fair Trial for General Mihailovich" May 1946 New YorkAleksandra's Note: On May 13, 1946, the Committee for a Fair Trial for General Mihailovich announced that a "Commission of Inquiry" had been established in New York for the purpose of taking the testimonies of American officers and airmen whose request to be heard as witnesses at the trial of General Draza Mihailovich in Belgrade, Yugoslavia had been refused by the Tito government. The following is the testimony of Sergeant Mike McKool from Dallas, Texas, one of...

The Russian and Serbian leaders watched as jets, including a Russian aerobatic team, flew in formation over Belgrade to applause from the crowd. More than 3,000 Serbian soldiers took part in the parade, marching in heavy rain, with tanks, rockets and boats all featuring.... The event is likely to play well among Serbs and Russians nostalgic for Yugoslavia and the Soviet Union. In another nod to the two countries' historic relations, a statue of Russia's last Tsar, Nicholas II, was erected this week in Belgrade.

General Draza Mihailovich WWII The 70th anniversary of Belgrade’s liberation in WW2, will be marked by a military parade. After a 29-year hiatus, some 3,000 members of the Serbian Army will parade on October 16. Also scheduled is the appearance of the Russian acrobatics group “Strizhi”, flying the newest MiG-29 fighters. The celebration will be graced by the presence of the Russian President Vladimir Putin, a symbol of Russia’s rebirth. Putin’s visit to Serbia is a clear signal to both Serbian citizens and the West. During their aggression against the Serbs in the 1990s, Washington and Brussels have exterminated...

Professor Kirk Ford, Jr. General Mihailovich 100th Birthday Celebration Chicago, IL April 23, 1993 Rebic Collection. Aleksandra's Note: Dr. Kirk Ford, Jr. is the Chairman of the Department of History and Political Science at Mississippi College in Clinton, Mississippi. He is the author of the book OSS and the Yugoslav Resistance 1943-1945, published by Texas A&M University Press, 1992. This book is an extensively researched, in-depth, objective, and truthful analysis of OSS activity attached to both the Mihailovich Chetnik forces [Nationalists/Royalists] and the Partisan forces [Yugoslav communists] under Marshal Tito. I highly recommend it for any honest pursuit of research...

Aleksandra's Note: A great job by Nick Tintor in summarizing an often polarizing issue that is in need of resolution after all these years. I wanted to extend a special note of gratitude to The Jerusalem Post for publishing this important piece, and keeping it online despite the hostility it has evoked in some of the Post's readers. The Post is to be commended for this. Anyone who refers to Serbian "anti-Semitism" during WWII or General Mihailovich's alleged "collaboration with the Nazis" clearly is repeating the usual communist propaganda that has so infiltrated the historical record regarding the Chetnik movement...

It turns out that someone at the State Department knew all along that Croatia never answered for its Nazi past and shouldn’t just sail into the EU un-scrutinized and unreformed. Unfortunately, it’s a bit late. This former Under Secretary of State, Stuart Eizenstat, could have spoken up when Croatia was put on the fast-track in the mid-2000s, or even as late as last year, when the final stage of accession began; Croatia will be an EU member by mid next year. Still, one is grateful for the following item from Thursday’s Haaretz (and please don’t be fooled by the paper’s...

Draza Mihailovich and the Chetnik guerrillas reaffirmed their status as comic book heroes in the U.S. during World War II with their appearance in Thrilling Comics, #35, in May, 1943. They were featured in the comic story “The American Crusader Joins the Chetniks”. The eight page script and the letters were by Richard E. Hughes, the pencils and inks by Max Plaisted, who also had created the American Crusader character. The cover, featuring the character Doc Strange, was by Jack Binder, who did the inks and pencils. Thrilling Comics were published by Standard Comics in eighty issues from February, 1940...

"Real Heroes" 1942 "What Kind of Man is a Hero?"By George J. Hecht, President and Publisher "Real Heroes" Comics and Founder of "Parents Magazine""Does War make heroes? On first thought you say, 'Yes, of course, war makes heroes.' And in a way it is true. A great many famous men would never have been known as heroes if war had not brought them fame. But on the other hand, the uniform does not make the man. He has to have the stuff inside him, before he puts on that uniform....Most of the "Chetniks" in Mihailovich's growing army of guerrilla fighters...

The following personal account by Angeliya Kuraica, the daughter of a Chetnik freedom fighter, was published in the Vaskrs (Easter) issue of "Britic - A British Serb Magazine" April 2010 Angeliya Kuraica From the editors of Britic: Angeliya Kuraica arrived in Britain in 1957 aged just 15 years old. She married Petar Zarac in 1964 and they went on to have 3 children, Milan, Milena and Rajko. Angeliya never went to school in England and started work almost immediately. She worked up to retirement, often doing two jobs at a time. She has been very active with the Pokret Chetnika...

Frederick Heydenau In 1943, a second major novel on Draza Mihailovich and the Chetnik guerrillas was published in the United States by E.P. Dutton in New York. The novel, "The Wrath of the Eagles: A Novel of the Chetniks", was written by Austrian-born émigré author Frederick Heydenau who recounted the emergence and exploits of the guerrilla resistance movement led by Draza Mihailovich. Book Review "The Wrath of the Eagles: A Novel of the Chetniks" by Frederick Heydenau Published by E.P. Dutton & Co., Inc., New York. Translated from German by Barrows Mussey. 318 pp. As more and more news accounts...

Aleksandra's Note: The following is a terrific book review and commentary on George Sava's "The Chetniks" by Carl Savich, who captures the true spirit of what this story conveys. To all the old Chetniks, the true blue freedom fighters who continue to carry the Chetnik spirit in their hearts and have passed it along to their children and grandchildren who look upon them as real heroes, I extend best wishes for a wonderful Thanksgiving 2009. Those of us who came after you, and who have had the privilege to meet you and know you, will be forever grateful that you...

"Undercover" (1943)"Underground Guerrillas" (U.S. 1944)On July 27, 1943, Ealing Studios in Great Britain released the movie Undercover on the guerrilla resistance movement in Axis-occupied Yugoslavia. Undercover was re-released by Columbia Pictures on September 14, 1944 in the United States under the title Underground Guerrillas. The movie was originally entitled Chetnik and was to document the Yugoslav Chetnik resistance movement headed by Draza Mihailovich. Because the movie was released when British support for Mihailovich was waning, however, the film was re-edited and references to Mihailovich and the Chetniks were deleted. The movie is invaluable, nevertheless, as a cinematic account of the...

Two men who changed history never met, but they should have. They had an enormous impact on each other’s lives. They both were men of war. One would survive. The other would not. The following gives voice to General Draza Mihailovich, the one who did not survive, and what he might have said to the one who did, the great Statesman Winston Churchill, had he had the chance to do so. Dear Winston, During a critical period in the history of the world, our paths crossed in a fateful way, though we would never meet. I would die first, without...

General Draza Mihailovich in the hills of Serbia WW II Photo of Major Richard Felman, U.S.A.F. (Ret.) by Mari Shaefer. Richard L. Felman stands before a Douglas C-47 Sky Train, a plane similar to the C-47 transports used to evacuate 500 U.S. fliers from Yugoslavia during World War II. The photo was taken at Pima Air Museum in Tucson, Arizona. To the group of stranded American airmen he rescued during World War II, the Serbian guerrilla leader who once graced the cover of Time Magazine deserves a monument on federal land in Washington, D.C. To others, including Croatian-Americans, he’s a...