US airman under Serbian care
Posted on 02/07/2003 6:24:30 PM PST by Karadjordje
Open letter—April 9, 1999
To Our Troops In The Former Yugoslavia
| "We Found Out The Truth About the Serbs...When We Were Shot Down" World War II Rescued American Airmen Defend Serbs By Richard L. Felman Over 500 MlAs Saved By The Serbian People During WWII During World War II, we were in the Army Air Corps list as "Missing in Action" in the very same area you are now serving. If we may, we would like to relay to you a frank, soldier-to-soldier message about our personal experience while there—something which politicians who sent you there have not told you and something which you have not read or seen in the anti-Serb media. In 1944, the members of our committee were flying bombing missions out of Italy over Southern Europe. During that time over 500 of us were shot down over enemy-occupied Yugoslavia and saved from certain death by the Serbian people. Ours was the greatest rescue of American lives from behind enemy lines in history but has been kept under wraps all these years because of pressure from foreign sources. [Emphasis added] While we were there, those of us who were wounded were given whatever medical supplies they had even at the deprivation of their own troops. If there was one piece of bread in the house, or one egg, it went to the American airmen while the Serb went hungry. If there was one bed or one blanket, it went to us while the Serb slept on the bare ground. No risk of sacrifice was too great to insure our safety and well being. One experience which is forever seared in my memory is the time a village with 200 women and children was burned to the ground by the Germans because the Serbs would not tell them where they were hiding us. To this day, I can smell the terrible stench of their burning flesh. One does not forget such things. The most incredible part of our rescue was that before each mission, our bomber crews were briefed by the highest levels of American intelligence that if shot down over Yugoslavia, we were to stay away from the Serbian people as they were collaborating with the Germans and "cutting off the ears of American airmen" before turning them over. Only after we were shot down did we find out the amazing thoroughness with which the truth about the Serbs was being distorted. [Emphasis added] Further compounding this deception is the fact that while the Serbs were our allies in WWII, Croatians and Muslims (who we are favoring today) were allies of the Nazis, shooting at us and responsible for killing many of our fellow American fliers. In view of the lies we were told about the Serbs during World War II, we could not help but wonder if our foreign policy there today is the same anti-Serb bias we encountered 52 years ago. Could our career diplomats sacrifice former friends and reward former enemies in the name of political expediency? Could it be because in the world community there are over one billion Muslims and only 9 million Serbian Orthodox Christians with the same proportionate power in the global economy? Could it be because the Serbs have no oil wells and no unlimited oil money? Could it be because the Croatians and Muslims outspend the Serbs 50 to one on lobbyists, media firms and campaign contributions? Could this be why, "atrocities" are manufactured to make the Serbs look bad while gaining sympathy for their opponents? Could this be why the Serbs are branded "aggressors" in land they have lived on for over 600 years? Could our policy have something to do with the fact there are 540 members of Congress, none of whom are Orthodox Christians? Could the State Department’s bitter bias, against General Draza Mihailovich, the anti-Communist guerrilla leader who saved us, be based on the fact he was a Serb? Could these be the reasons the State Department has covered up the truth of our rescue all these years and opposed our petition to express gratitude for saving over 500 American lives (a petition which is supported by the 8 million veterans of the American Legion, the Veterans of Foreign Wars and the Air Force Association and which has been approved by the United States Senate.)? Could it be these are the reasons the Chairman of the House Foreign Affairs Committee has also denied our petition by saying to us here are "ethnic groups in Yugoslavia" who oppose it? Are we mad? You can bet your next month’s paycheck that we are mad! We did not leave our families, risk our lives and watch our buddies get their arms, legs and heads blown off so that "ethnic groups in Yugoslavia" could tell us what we could or could not do in our own country. Now that the spring thaw has set in, temperatures and tempers will start to rise in the volatile area you now find yourselves. All we ask is that in your dealings with the local people you be made aware of the eyewitness experience of your fellow comrades-in-arms. By speaking out now we have nothing to gain except a burning moral passion to tell the truth, a sworn duty to protect our national honor, a patriotic desire to express heart felt gratitude to those on foreign soil who save American lives while they are fighting in defense of our glorious country. Now that you have been sent to foreign soil and asked to risk your lives we feel you should know the truth and not be "suckered in" by the rhetoric of highly paid public relations firms, foreign lobbyists and self-serving politicians who know absolutely nothing of the region’s history. We might also add that had it not been for the Serbian people, Air Force General Donald J. Smith, our chairman and one our rescued airmen, would not have survived the war and been able to dedicate 40 years of honorable service to his country. Had it not been for the Serbian people, technical Sgt. Curtis "Bud" Diles, another of our airmen, would not be alive today in Dayton, Ohio, enjoying retirement with his four children and 12 grandchildren. There are hundreds of us with stories just like those. Some of the greatest testimony to the many sacrifices made on our behalf us the many thousands of American children who are alive today solely because the Serbian people saved over 500 of their grandfathers during World War II. Some of them could very well be serving with you today in Bosnia. I was one of three rescued American airmen who returned last year to the former Yugoslavia to commemorate the 50th anniversary of victory in Europe with the people who saved us and to visit the cow pasture that served as a landing strip from which we were rescued. The most moving experience of our sentimental trip was being cheered by over 50,000 Serbs who gathered at a mountain top to welcome us and who kept chanting "USA, USA". As American military men, we have a proud tradition of "duty, honor and country" to uphold and a fierce sense of loyalty to those with whom we fought side by side in combat. We never forget their kindness nor do we return their battlefield sacrifices for us by bombing their women and children. The Serbian people helped us when we were desperate and in trouble. Now that the situation is reversed we can do no less. Please keep these untarnished truths in mind as you now serve our country and all it stands for, and may God bless you all as we pray for your safe return. This war will not last long. If for no other reason, it appears the US Forces are already running low on missiles. And, Clinton’s blustering threats of "escorting the Albanian Kosovars back to their home" is silliness. So far Clinton’s war has failed to even find ONE of Milosevic’s mobile units to shoot at. How does he plan on personally escort back the reported 1,000,000 Albanians his spokespersons claim have fled the country? The Serbs tied up 10 divisions of Hitler’s Crack troops—even after they lost the war. If he continues the kind of bombing he conducted last couple of nights, he is going to lose the humanitarian war on CNN. —Pictures of mothers and newborn premature babies being evacuated from the hospital 100 yards from the Interior Ministry’s spectacular blaze, a father on the street being interviewed saying it was "easy for Clinton to drop bombs on the children from the sky—but we will see what kind of man he is when he comes to our soil" or the flames from a residential area hit in last night’s bombing raids, are far more dramatic and horrifying than watching Albanian refugees who are riding trains to the border and walking across. Pictures of bombs on civilian targets. So far this week, over 1000 people are reported to have died so far in the bombing raids. That is a far higher death toll than Christiane Amanpour has been able to muster up in her drive to sell the Albanian side to a jaded, suspicious American public. The world is seeing the results of the bombs. The effort to portray the Serbs, as US News and World Report does in its April 12, 1999, issue on "Balkan Hell" as crazed killers is largely verbal so far. Stories of "summary executions," US News and World Report noted, were hard to "prove" but are "quite credible given the Serbs’ vicious record. These stories are being challenged by those, such as Col. Felman, USAF Ret., who have had personal experiences with the Serbs. We are in a whole new kind of warfare, folks, and it appears that Milosevic has pretty much won it. It already sounds like the Clinton administration is trying to figure out who it can blame for the debacle. |
Redacted for inclusion on this site. Contact information:
|
DISCLAIMER: The content of this message is the sole responsibility of the originator. Posting of this message to the POW/MIA E-MAIL NETWORK © list does not show AIIPOWMIAI endorsement. It is provided so you may make an informed decision. AIIPOWMIAI is not associated in any capacity with any United States Government agency or entity, nor with any non-governmental organization. Advocacy And Intelligence Index For Prisoners Of War/Missing In Action, Inc.1220 Locust Avenue, Bohemia, Long Island, New York 11716-2169 USA Voice: (1-516) 567-9057 Fax: (1-516) 244-7097 TDD: (1-516) 244-6996 E-mail: AIIPOWMIAI@aol.com (Bob Necci) andi@earthlink.net (Andi Wolos) Website: http://www.aiipowmia.com/
Karadjordje
If you look at the title of the New York Times article you can read "DEMOGRAPHICS" and further reading shows "The South Slavs, and Others: Where They Live"
foreign policy wonk wrote:
You're also excluding Serbian Chetnik collaboration, particularly in Bosnia and Croatia.
Mihajlovic (is that the correct spelling?) was the least tainted by collaboration, as he actually fought the Germans.
THE MIHAILOVICH STORY: A RETELLING (<- click)
MIHAILOVICH'S CLOSING SPEECH (<- click)
Do you know how many Chetnicks had been liquidated by the Tito communists?
Can you tell me why the Tito Communists hated Chetnicks?
Karadjordje
Visionaries need to be recognized, and history needs to be tossed.
Don't become a prisoner of history.
Radical Islam is the clear and present danger.
Why then is Zagreb supporting the muslim terrorist KLA and the albanian demands for an independent Kosovo?
The enemy of my enemy......guess the visionaries in Zagreb have only one vision: a humiliated and defeated Serbia on her knees. My advice to them: read some history books and don't forget the Serbs have not been knocked out - they are waiting in their corner for a better coach and the gong for the next round.
So, who screwed up their deal in your oppinion?
Why? Because I'am telling the truth?
Karadjordje
Do you want to engage in serious discussion or spout racist crap here? Or are you just bewildered about the events in Srebrenica before 1995? Freerepublic is always good to learn something, isn't it? Otherwise you would still not be able to say who Nasir Oric is and what he did in and arround Srebrenica before that famous firefight that is refered to in the western media as a 'massacre'.
foreign policy, who did all this Muslim Albanian, Croatian, Muslim Bosnian and German Volksdeutsche SS hunt?
Karadjordje
Some Serbs see the world in four dimensions. The three you mentioned plus the historical perspective. How many dimensions of the world are we getting from CNN? I mean , have you ever heard of CNN telling the real story about Srebrenica, the surounding vilages, Nasir Oric and his minions killing and rampaging there for years?
Correction
7th SS Freiwilligen-Gebirgs-Division "Prinz Eugen"
13th Waffen Gebirgs Division der SS "Handschar" kroatische nr1
21st Waffen-Gebirgs-Division der SS "Skanderbeg"
23rd Waffen-Gebirgs-Division der SS "Kama" kroatische nr2
Karadjordje
I think so, too.
Sure I am a evil, mad serb who hates Muslims and wants to butcher and to eat them...WOW...what a perfect racist propaganda.
You're asking why no massmurder of serbs are mentioned in NWO Propganda channels like CNN? Read this Washington Post article about how the CIA and the military want to manipulate your emotions and objective reasoning (Regarding Kosovo Crisis):
WASHINGTON TIMES Wednesday, 28 July 1999 Group will battle propaganda abroad ----------------------------------- By Ben Barber The Clinton administration begins work today on a new International Public Information group designed to "influence foreign audiences" in support of U.S. foreign policy and to counteract propaganda by enemies of the United States. U.S. military, diplomatic and intelligence officials will participate in today's meeting of a core group to set up the IPI system of coordinating all overseas information among the various branches of the U.S. government. The aim is "to enhance U.S. security, bolster America's economic prosperity and to promote democracy abroad," according to the IPI Core Group Charter, a copy of which was obtained by The Washington Times. However, the charter also says that IPI control over "international military information" is intended to "influence the emotions, motives, objective reasoning and ultimately the behavior of foreign governments, organizations, groups and individuals." The charter makes clear that IPI activities "are overt and address foreign audiences only." But it also says domestic information should be "deconflicted" and "synchronized" so as not to send a contradictory message. The Clinton administration also hopes to encourage the United Nations and other international organizations to make "effective use of IPI . . . in support of multilateral peacekeeping," the charter says. Shocked by confusion during military missions in Kosovo and Haiti, when no U.S. agency was empowered to coordinate U.S. efforts to sell its policies and counteract bad press abroad, President Clinton on April 30 issued a secret Presidential Decision Direction --PDD 68 -- ordering the creation of IPI. "In the old days, the U.S. Information Agency and State were the main agencies for communicating internationally," said an administration official. "With the information revolution, all agencies now have the ability to communicate internationally and interact with foreign populations," said the official, speaking on the condition of anonymity. "IPI is a mechanism that has been established to make sure that these various actors are working in a coordinated manner." The charter insists that information distributed through IPI should be designed not "to mislead foreign audiences" and that information programs "must be truthful." But numerous clauses in the document have an Orwellian ring that gives the impression of a vast, coordinated propaganda operation. "The objective of IPI is to synchronize the informational objectives, themes and messages that will be projected overseas . . . to prevent and mitigate crises and to influence foreign audiences in ways favorable to the achievement of U.S. foreign policy objectives," the charter says. U.S. officials, and the text of the charter, explicitly state that the new information policy will not be used as a propaganda weapon against the American public --which is prohibited by U.S. law. However, since foreign media reports often get played back in U.S. media, it will likely be impossible to prevent a backwash of the pro-U.S. information into America. The charter recognizes this by calling for the government's domestic public affairs activities to be coordinated with its foreign IPI efforts. Information aimed at domestic audiences should "be coordinated, integrated, deconflicted and synchronized with the [IPI Core Group] to achieve a synergistic effect for [government] strategic information activities," the charter says. The administration official said that the IPI system is "geared towards prevention and mitigation of crises" and will remain active in peacetime "so we won't need to reconstitute the entire thing all the time." Mr. Clinton's PDD 68, issued with no fanfare during the Kosovo bombing campaign, orders top officials from the Defense, State, Justice, Commerce and Treasury departments and the Central Intelligence Agency and FBI to meet and set up the core group. Junior level officials from those agencies were to hold the first IPI planning session today at the State Department. By Friday, the IPI core group is required to issue a statement of its policies, programs and scope of its work. Next Wednesday, senior-level officials meet under the chairmanship of Morton Halperin, policy planning director of the State Department, to firm up the IPI system. While a large number of government agencies are involved, knowledge of the IPI effort has been closely held. Aides to top officials in the State Department, USIA and Voice of America all said yesterday they knew little about the concept apart from a vague outline of its mission. The IPI core group is also instructed by the charter to arrange "training exercises at the National Defense University, National Foreign Affairs Training Center, the Service War Colleges" and other institutions. And its activities could go beyond broadcasts and press releases. The IPI core group is ordered by the presidential directive to "assist [U.S. government] efforts in defeating adversaries." "The intelligence community will play a crucial role . . . for identifying hostile foreign propaganda and deception that targets the U.S.," the charter says. Copyright 1999 News World Communications, Inc.
Karadjordje
Gimme a bleeping break! Ali Bubba calls Fox a "old friend",and Jeb Bush even used to vacation with the previous president of Mexico and his brother. You know,the president who is under indictment for stealing billions,and in exile in Europe? The same one whose brother is in jail in Mexico now for being a major drug dealer and for murder? I believe it was Jeb's Mexican wife who had the contacts there,but I'm not positive of that.
All this is also the reason Ali Bubba refuses to address illegal aliens or closing the border. The family plan is to run Jeb's son,George "The Mexican" Bush for president in the future,and the Bush family wants all the Mexican voters they can get living here.
You should get a job with the CIA if you have such info and can verify it.
Oh yeah,this stuff is really a big-time secret. Jeb's connection to corrupt Mexican politicians who are drug dealers,murderers,and thieves has been written up in various newspapers in the past,including one in Miami. Of course,none of this would mean anything to you,because you would automatically dismiss it as "left wing lies".
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.
