Correcting the Lies about a Great WW II Hero

Banner of Liberty ^ | May 6, 2005 | Mary Mostert

[Nathan Zachary]

There is alot of truth that is buried in lies about the Serbs. Clinton bombed the wrong side. Islamic fundamentalists are laughing.

[concentric circles]

Don't bother contacting the State Department in support of the Legion of Merit for Mihailovich.

He was awarded the Legion of Merit in a posthumous ceremony on March 29, 1948. President Harry Truman presented the award at the behest of General Eisenhower.

Mihailovich disobeyed orders to negotiate terms of surrender with the invading Nazis. He led fewer than 100 armed comrades into the mountains to form the first resistance to the German occupation.

[dj_animal_2000]

Ping

[Route101]

Bill Clinton on the wrong side...what else is new?

[Shery]

Thanks for posting! Just emailed Secretary Rice!

[conservatism_IS_compassion]

it was Winston Churchill who thought it best to side with the Croatian Communist leader, Josip Tito rather than with the Serbian leader Mihailovic. Churchill thought giving in to Stalin on the Yugoslavian issue would lead to world peace after the War. As a result, the Serb Draza Mihailovic, who saved hundreds of Americans, was executed by the Communist Croatian dictator Josip Tito on July 17, 1946.

Of course, sacrificing Mihailovic and the Serbs didn’t lead to world peace.

Churchill would have preferred to have invaded Europe from the south rather than from the west (Normandy), precisely because he wanted to limit the Soviet control in the Balkans and Eastern Europe.

[Nennsy]

Jane, thanks for posting this.
I am pleased to read that there are still some Americans who didn't forget what Serbs did for them.

[RushLake]

I read a very good book recently entitled "The Ottoman Centuries" which outlines in detail the effect that the muslims have had on Eastern Europe. After reading the book, it was clear that we were definitely on the wrong side of the conflict over there under clinton. There's a lot more to the Balkans story that needs to be made clear.

[Banat]

[Banat]

[Nennsy]

Through the undaunted efforts of his troops, many United States airmen were rescued and returned safely to friendly control. General Mihailovic and his forces, although lacking adequate supplies, and fighting under extreme hardships, contributed materially to the Allied cause, and were instrumental in obtaining a final Allied Victory.
March 29, 1948
HARRY S. TRUMEN
President Truman awarded Mihailovich the Legion of Merit, the highest combat award the U.S. government can give to a foreign national, but it was kept secret for decades because of pressure from the State Department.

---

In a letter, American President Richard Nixon said about General Draza:

General Draza Mihailovich was a patriot, a brave soldier and a gallant ally of the United States and every nation that went to war in the early forties to destroy the tyrannies that sought to enslave our world.

Hundreds of American pilots owe their lives to General Mihailovich and his forces and, the American people will never forget that debt.

As long as there are patriots in any nation, the name of General Mihailovich will be remembered and revered."

---

In telling about General Draza Mihailovic, Ronald Reagan said:

"... I believe that the spirit in which you have gathered here to honor the memory of General Mihailovich, the faithful allied commander and the first anti-Nazis leader in Europe, is shared by the great majority of Americans.

The ultimate tragedy of Draza Mihailovic cannot erase the memory of his heroic and often lonely struggle against the twin tyrannies that afflicted his people, Nazism and Communism. He knew that totalitarianism, whatever name it might take, is the death of freedom. He thus became a symbol of resistance to all those across the world who have had to fight a similar heroic and lonely struggle against totalitarianism. Mihailovich belonged to Yugoslavia; his spirit now belongs to all those who are willing to fight for freedom.

I wish that it could be said that this great hero was the last victim of confused and senseless policies of western governments in dealing with Communism. The fact is that others have suffered a fate similar to his by being embraced and then abandoned by western governments in the hope that such abandonment will purchase peace or security.

Thus, the fate of General Mihailovich is not simply of historic significance--it teaches us something today, as well. No western nation, including the United States, can hope to win its own battle for freedom and survival by sacrificing brave comrades to the politics of international expediency.

......... it has been demonstrated beyond doubt that both freedom and honor suffer when firm commitments become sacrificed to false hopes of appeasing aggressors by abandoning friends."

---

DRAZA MIHAILOVICH the Hero, as told by Major Richard L. Felman U.S.A.F., Retired in his Book:
American war vetran Major Richard Felman, author of "Mihailovich & I", wrote and published his work as an extraordinary gesture of gratitude and Appreciation for General Draza Miahailovich and his loyal Chetniks who rescued, sheltered and saved him and other American airmen from the Nazis and their fascis collaborators - Croatian Ustashas and Muslim fundamentalists- during the bloody World War II in occupied Yugoslavia.

In his book he praises not only the paramount role of General Mihailovich and the courage of the Chetnik fighters, but also the hospitality of the Serbian people and their passionate quest for freedom.

Major Felman's book is a testament not only to the Resistance Movement under the banner of Draza, but of the undeniable truth of the great contribution of the Serbian people to the Allied Forces and their victory over Nazism and Fascism.

A special place is given to the Allied pilots (Americans in particular) who survived the Nazi attcks after parachuting into the contryside of Serbia and their mentors- Draza's Chetniks. Major Felman emphasizes the fact that this rescue mission greatly endangered Draza's soldiers and Serbian civilinan population- especially the peasants- as Nazi reprisals were imminent. Some 500 American pilots found safety and fredom, as they were transfered in the second half of 1944 into Allied bases in newly freed territories in neighbouring Italy.

There, they shared their experiences and told their stories of bravery, rescue, and Serbian peoples' enormous suffering under the Nazi- Facist occupation, to their supiriors and comrades alike. ronically, by this hour the very same Allied Forces had already betrayed Draza and his Chetniks as well as the freedom loving Serbian people.

[norton]

See post number 3:

So which is correct - was the award given in 1948 or being considered today?

As a note, I met some (OK, two) fliers who came out via the Chetniks. They had great praise for the non-communist partisans and they also told of joining in on Chetnik raids. However, contrary to the article, they indicated that the Brits did have connections with Mihailovic.

[Nennsy]

Brits did have connection with Draza, but their union broke later, when Brits decided that cooperating with Tito was better choice.

[TXnMA]

It was taken care of -- in 1948...

"Mihailovich, after being captured by the Yugoslav communists, was tried by a kangaroo court in Belgrade on fabricated charges, sentenced to death, and executed on July 17, 1946. He was 53 years old. There would be no marker, no headstone, no grave in all of Serbia.

Two years after his death, U.S. President Harry Truman, under the advisement of General Dwight D. Eisenhower, posthumously awarded General Mihailovich the Legion of Merit, the highest combat award our nation can bestow upon a foreign national:

"LEGION OF MERIT -- CHIEF COMMANDER"

"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 the 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 the Allied cause, and were instrumental in obtaining a final Allied victory."

March 29, 1948. Harry S. Truman

See http://www.snd-us.com/Liberty/sm_1774.htm

This doesn't reflect well on Mary Mostert's ability to research and report the truth...

[montyspython]

God Bless Draza Mihailovic.

[dj_animal_2000]

[Banat]

LOL! Awesome. Svaka chast. :)

[dj_animal_2000]

Hvala....i Pozdrav....

:D :D :D

[montyspython]

Sweet.