TRH Crown Prince Alexander and Crown Princess Katherine attended today the State Ceremony commemorating the Halyard Operation, and His Royal Highness laid a wreath at the monument on Galovica Field Airport near Pranjani.
Dr Milan Parivodic, member of the Crown Council, attended the anniversary of one of the largest secret rescue missions conducted behind enemy lines during World War II together with Their Royal Highnesses. After the commemoration at the old airport, a church service for the heroes of this mission was performed.
“On the wreath which I laid today, it was written: “To heroes of Halyard Mission, brave soldiers of Yugoslav Army in Homeland”. The heroism of our soldiers, members of the Royal Army, who risked their lives to save allied pilots is something that we must never forget. The airmen who were rescued in Serbia during the Halyard Mission were often referred to as “Forgotten 500”. It is because the truth about this magnificent operation was kept in darkness and forbidden to be revealed for so long. But the truth can never be hidden, and the fighting for its unveiling can be hard, but that struggle is always righteous.
That is why the pilots who were rescued are not actually forgotten. And neither are all those brave women and men, who, under the command of their fearless leader, General Dragoljub Mihailovic, and my father, HM King Peter II as Supreme Commander of the Army, started and successfully conducted the operation of saving their allies. Their bravery and determination to live in a free world are a milestone that reminds us who we are, and of the legacy we should all be proud of”, said Crown Prince Alexander on this occasion.
During Operation Halyard in 1944, over 500 United States and British pilots, together with aircrews from Russia, France, and other Allied countries, were taken to freedom from an improvised airstrip in the Village of Pranjani near Gornji Milanovac. This was one of the largest rescue missions conducted behind enemy lines. It was an operation led by the Royal Yugoslav Army in the Homeland and the American Office of Strategic Services (OSS). United States President Harry S. Truman posthumously decorated General Dragoljub Mihailovic with the Legion of Merit, one of the highest decorations of the United States, for his support to Allied forces and contribution to victory in World War II.
The ceremony in Pranjani was also attended by Mr. Milorad Veljovic, adviser and the emissary of the President of Serbia, HE Nemanja Starovic, Minister for European Integration of Serbia, Mr. Alexander Titolo, Chargé d’Affaires of the Embassy of the United States of America to Serbia, representatives of the armed forces of Serbia and the USA, Mr John Cappello, President of the Halyard Mission Foundation, descendants of the rescued airmen, and numerous citizens.
