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Europe
OSS officer to receive Bronze Star, helped Serb Chetniks rescue 500 Allied airmen during WWII
2010-10-16
For more than 50 years, George Vujnovich was a mild-mannered salesman working away at his small business in Queens and living a quiet life on a quiet block in Jackson Heights. He never spoke, even to his closest friends, about his secret role organizing one of the greatest rescue missions of World War II.
Because the nationalist Chetniks opposed the communist Partisans, and after aid was cut off by the Allies (in order to make Stalin happy) the Chetniks sought aid from the Germans.
Because such men (and women) never speak about what they did. Julia Child was just a diplomatic wife and cooking student during the same war, right?
The O.S.S. was the Office of Strategic Services -- a precursor to the Central Intelligence Agency. And what Mr. Vujnovich kept locked away all these years was his key role as the operations officer for Operation Halyard, a daring rescue of more than 500 Allied forces airmen during World War II in Nazi-occupied Yugoslavia.
Wikipedia says:
Operation Halyard a.k.a. Halyard Mission was the largest Allied airlift operation behind enemy lines, of over 500 Allied airmen downed over Nazi occupied Serbia by Serbian Chetnik guerrillas, led by General Dragoljub Mihailović, with the assistance of American Office of Strategic Services (OSS) liaison officers. Most of the airmen had been shot down during numerous bombing runs, most of which were on their way from Italy to bomb German occupied oil fields in Romania. They were not captured, but instead practiced escape and evasion until coming into contact with the Chetniks.
Mr. Vujnovich's efforts went unrecognized because the operation was kept secret by the United States military until a few years ago. But now, 66 years after that summer of 1944, he will receive the Bronze Star for his service, in a ceremony on Sunday afternoon at the Cathedral of St. Sava, a Serbian Orthodox church on West 26th Street in Manhattan.
Clearly not because Mr. Vujnovich needs to be recognized, but it's good for the nation, and this particular president, to acknowledge those who worked so hard to protect it. Thank you sir, for what you did, and for keeping the faith all these years.
Posted by:gromky

#2  Because the nationalist Chetniks opposed the communist Partisans, and after aid was cut off by the Allies (in order to make Stalin happy)

It is a bit more complex than that. The man sent by the British for assessing the situation in Yugoslavia was Kim Philby, who secretly worked for the Soviets. He told his superiors that the Communists were the only faction who was doing any good against the Germans and I think he told that teh Chetniks were cooperating with the Germans At that time this wasn't true.
Posted by: JFM   2010-10-16 11:08  

#1   (in order to make Stalin happy)

Really? Tito wasn't one of Stalin's 'men', but an independent even though communist. Stalin had dealt with tens of thousands of his 'men' much closer in Russia who he even suspect of less than dogged loyalty. What aid Stalin did dole out appears to be pretty much verbal propaganda with little means of material support. The Allies supported both though more so to the Chetniks to begin with. The Chetnik activity started to drop when the leadership became far less aggressive in face of German reprisals against civilians. The communists had no such qualms about civilian reprisal deaths and were far more active in their operations. The Allies put their resources where they saw results that held down Axis units away from other theaters of operation.
Posted by: Procopius2k   2010-10-16 09:21  

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