The Serb member of the BiH Presidency, Željka Cvijanović, will attend today’s commemoration in Boljanić near Doboj marking 81 years since Operation “Halyard” and the rescue of Allied pilots carried out by the Yugoslav Army in the Homeland.
The commemoration will begin at 4:00 p.m. with the laying of wreaths at the memorial site, followed by official addresses.
In Operation “Halyard” a total of 500 Allied pilots were rescued, and from the improvised airfield in Boljanić, 60 American airmen were evacuated.
For this action, the commander of the Yugoslav Army in the Homeland, General Dragoljub Draža Mihailović, was posthumously awarded the highest U.S. military decoration – the Legion of Merit.
The “Airlift” operation was the largest rescue mission of American soldiers behind enemy lines in 1944 and 1945.
The commemoration of this historic event of republican importance is organized by the Government of Republika Srpska’s Committee for Fostering the Tradition of Liberation Wars.
Source: RTRS
