September 2, 2025 • 43 mins
You are now listening to World War 2 Stories. I'm your host Steve Matthews. Today, we delve into one of the most remarkable yet least-known rescue operations of the Second World War—a mission so politically sensitive that it remained classified for decades after the war ended. This is the story of Operation Halyard, an extraordinary behind-enemy-lines rescue that saved over 500 Allied airmen with the help of Serbian villagers and resistance fighters who risked everything to protect strangers from a distant land.
Imagine yourself as an American airman in 1944, your B-24 Liberator bomber riddled with flak and falling from the sky over Nazi-occupied Yugoslavia. If you survive the parachute jump, you find yourself in a foreign land, unable to speak the language, hunted by German troops, with almost no chance of getting home. Now imagine the astonishment when local villagers—people who had every reason to turn you in to avoid brutal reprisals—instead welcome you into their homes, hide you from the enemy, and share their meager wartime rations to keep you alive.
This was the experience of hundreds of Allied airmen shot down over Serbia during the strategic bombing campaign against Hitler's oil refineries in Romania. Their unlikely salvation came through Operation Halyard, a daring rescue mission that represents one of the greatest untold stories of World War II.
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(00:00):
You are now listening to World War Two stories.
I'm your host, Steve Matthews. Today we delve into one of the
most remarkable yet least known rescue operations of the Second
World War, a mission so politically sensitive that it
remained classified for decades after the war ended.
This is the story of Operation Halliard, an extraordinary
(00:22):
behind enemy lines rescue that saved over 500 Allied airmen
with the help of Serbian villagers and resistance
fighters who risked everything to protect strangers from a
distant land. Imagine yourself as an American
airman in 1944, your B24 Liberator bomber riddled with
flak and falling from the sky over Nazi occupied Yugoslavia.
(00:45):
If you survive the parachute jump, you find yourself in a
foreign land, unable to speak the language, haunted by German
troops, with almost no chance ofgetting home.
Now imagine the astonishment when local villagers, people who
had every reason to turn you in to avoid brutal reprisals,
instead welcome you into their homes, hide you from the enemy,
(01:06):
and share their meager wartime rations to keep you alive.
This was the experience of hundreds of Allied airmen shot
down over Serbia during the strategic bombing campaign
against Hitler's oil refineries in Romania.
They're unlikely salvation came through Operation Halliard, A
daring rescue mission that represents one of the greatest
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untold stories of World War 2, the strategic bombing campaign.
Why airmen were falling from thesky To understand Operation
Halliard, we must first recognize why so many Allied
airmen found themselves parachuting into Serbian
territory in 1944. The answer lies in one word,
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oil. By 1943, the Allied strategic
bombing campaign against Nazi Germany had expanded to target
the vital resource that powered the German war machine oil.
The most crucial oil facility inNazi controlled Europe was the
Plosti oil complex in Romania, which provided approximately 60%
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of Germany's petroleum. Without this fuel, German tanks,
planes and vehicles would grind to a halt.
Plosti became the most heavily defended target in Europe
outside of Germany itself. The first major attack on
Plosti, Operation Tidal Wave, was launched on August 1st,
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1940. Three 177 B 24 Liberator bombers
flying from bases in Libya conducted a daring low level
attack on the refineries. The mission was a disaster.
Only 88 planes returned, with 53shot down and 310 airmen killed.
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The refineries were damaged but quickly repaired.
Undeterred, the Allies launched a sustained bombing campaign
against Pelosi beginning in April 1944.
This time the bombers flew from bases in southern Italy,
crossing the Adriatic Sea and then flying over Yugoslavia to
reach their Romanian targets. The route took them directly
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over Serbia, where they faced intense anti aircraft fire and
attacks from German fighter planes.
Hundreds of bombers were shot down during these missions.
While many air crews perished, those who successfully
parachuted found themselves in Nazi occupied Yugoslavia,
specifically in regions controlled by various resistance
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groups. Between April and October 1944,
an estimated 1500 American airmen were shot down over
Yugoslavia, with most landing inareas controlled by two
competing resistance forces, theroyalist Chetniks led by General
Drasa Mihalovic, in the Communist Partisans led by Jasa
Bras Tito, And here we encounterthe complex political situation
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that would shape the rescue operation in its subsequent
classification. By 1944, Allied policy had
officially shifted support from Mihalovic S Chetniks to Tito's
Partisans, based partly on intelligence, later proven
partially incorrect that Mihailovic was collaborating
with the Germans. Despite this policy shift,
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hundreds of downed airmen found themselves in Chetnik controlled
territory where local villagers and Mihailovic S forces
protected and gathered them. The stage was set for one of the
war's most remarkable rescue operations, a mission
complicated not just by the presence of thousands of German
troops, but by the thorny politics of Yugoslavia's
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internal conflict and shifting Allied allegiances.
The downed airmen survival and Serbian hospitality.
For the Allied airmen who survived being shot down over
Serbia, the initial moments of their ordeal were terrifying.
Many had never parachuted before, literally learning on
the way down. They landed an unfamiliar
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mountainous terrain, often injured, with limited supplies
and no knowledge of the local language.
German patrols actively haunted downed airmen and the penalty
for locals caught helping Alliedpersonnel with summary
execution, often of entire families or villages.
Richard Feldman, a navigator on AB24 Liberator, later recalled
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his experience. I had no idea where I was.
I knew I was somewhere in Yugoslavia, but that was it.
I was completely alone. My ankle was badly twisted from
the jump and I could hear Germanvehicles in the distance.
I thought I was done for. Feldman's experience was
typical. Most airmen initially tried to
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hide, unsure who they could trust in this foreign landscape.
But soon many encountered an unexpected reception from the
local Serbian villagers and Chetnik fighters, who controlled
much of the rural Serbian territory.
Claire Musgrove, another downed airman, described his first
encounter. I was hiding in some bushes when
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I saw three men approaching withrifles.
I thought they were Germans, butthen I noticed they wore
different uniforms and had beards.
They found me and one of them said the only English word he
knew, American. When I nodded, they smiled,
hugged me and started passing around a bottle of homemade plum
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Brandy called Slivovitz. I knew then I might actually
survive this. The Serbian villagers,
predominantly in the rural areasaround Pranjani and central
Serbia, embrace the responsibility of protecting
these foreign airmen. Despite the enormous risk.
Families took airmen into their homes, hiding them in attics,
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barns and sometimes special chambers built beneath floors or
behind walls. When German patrols came through
villages, the airmen would be quickly moved into nearby
forests or caves. Most remarkable was the
sacrifice these villagers made for people they had never met
before. Serbia in 1944 was already
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suffering severe food shortages due to the German occupation and
the demands of war. Yet family shared what little
they had with the airmen. In many cases, villagers went
hungry so their American guests could eat, Mike Mccool, a gunner
from a down B24, later wrote. These people had nothing,
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absolutely nothing, yet they gave us everything.
I watched children go without food so that we could eat.
When I tried to refuse, the father of the house insisted,
saying You are our allies. You fight for our freedom, too.
The villagers and local chetniksorganized the Grass Roots Rescue
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Network. When airmen parachuted into the
region, word would spread quickly through the resistance
network. Local fighters would race to
reach the landing sites before German patrols, often engaging
in skirmishes to protect the downed airmen.
Once secured, the airmen would be moved through a series of
safe houses, gradually making their way to central collection
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points where larger groups formed.
By late July 1944 / 250 airmen had been gathered in the area
around Pranjani, a small mountain village that would
become the center of the rescue operation.
This growing concentration of personnel created a dilemma.
The larger the group became, themore difficult it was to hide
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and feed them in, the greater the risk of discovery by German
forces. Some airmen had been in hiding
for months, their health deteriorating due to injuries,
inadequate medical care and limited nutrition.
The situation was becoming increasingly precarious.
German reprisals against Serbians suspected of helping
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Allied personnel were brutal. In the nearby town of Khrgyzvac,
Germans had previously executed over 2700 civilians in
retaliation for resistance activities.
Everyone involved knew the stakes involved in harboring
hundreds of Allied airmen. As the number of downed airmen
grew, General Mihailovic recognized that a large scale
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evacuation would be necessary. Through clandestine radio
communications, word of the stranded airmen reached Allied
headquarters in Bari, Italy. Despite the official policy
shift away from supporting Myhalovic, the opportunity to
rescue hundreds of trained air crews, representing a
significant investment in training and experience, was too
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valuable to ignore. The Office of Strategic Services
OSS, America's wartime intelligence agency and
predecessor to the CIA, began planning what would become
Operation Halliard, one of the most remarkable rescue missions
in military history. The OSS team planning the
impossible the challenge of rescuing hundreds of airmen from
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behind enemy lines, fell to the OSS, which specialized in
unconventional warfare and clandestine operations.
Planning such a mission presented extraordinary
difficulties. The airmen were scattered across
a mountainous region controlled by Mihailovic S forces but
regularly patrolled by German troops.
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Any large scale evacuation wouldrequire an airfield, something
that didn't exist in the remote Serbian mountains, and the
entire operation would need to remain hidden from German
observation. The mission was assigned to
Lieutenant George Musilin, a Pittsburgh native of Serbian
descent who had previously served as an OSS liaison with
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Myheilovic before Allied supportshifted to Tito.
Musilan's background made him ideally suited for the
operation. He spoke Serbian, understood the
culture, and had established relationships with Chetnik
leaders. He would lead a small team
including Lieutenant Michael Rajasic, another Serbian
American who would serve as translator, and Arthur Jibi
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Jibilian, a radio operator of Armenian descent.
Their mission, codenamed Halliard, referring to the rope
used to raise and lower a flag, was straightforward and concept,
but dauntingly complex And execution.
Infiltrate Nazi occupied Serbia,locate the downed airmen,
establish a temporary airfield and coordinate evacuation
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flights, all while avoiding German detection and navigating
the complicated internal politics of Yugoslavia's
competing resistance groups. The political complications were
substantial. By this time, Allied support had
officially shifted to Tito's partisans, with Myhalovic S
Chetniks no longer receiving Allied assistance.
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Working with Myhalovic S forces essential for the rescue
required special authorization that bypassed normal channels.
The mission would need to be kept secret, not just from the
Germans, but for much of the Allied command structure as
well. After receiving approval,
Musilin and his team prepared for insertion into Serbia.
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Their first attempt in June 1944, failed when poor weather
forced their aircraft to turn back.
A second attempt ended when theywere dropped mistakenly into
partisan territory, forcing themto escape to Italy before German
forces could capture them. The third attempt succeeded on
August 2nd, 1944, when Nusilan, Rajasik and Jubilian parachuted
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into a clearing near Pranjani. They were met by Chetnik
fighters who escorted them to Myhalovic S headquarters.
Despite the official shift in Allied policy, Myhalovic warmly
welcomed the Americans and pledged his full support for the
rescue operation. What Muslin discovered upon
arrival exceeded expectations, but also presented a greater
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challenge. Rather than the approximately
100 airmen he had expected to evacuate, there were now over
250 gathered in the area around Pranjani.
The scope of the mission had more than doubled, requiring a
much larger evacuation effort than originally planned.
Muslin immediately began scouting for a suitable landing
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site. The mountainous terrain offered
few options, but a relatively flat plateau near Pranjani
showed potential. It was far from ideal, sloping,
studded with rocks and trees, and much shorter than a standard
runway, but it represented the best available option.
With my Halo Vacas authorization, local villagers
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and Chetnik fighters began the Herculean task of converting the
plateau into a makeshift airstrip.
Working primarily with hand tools, shovels, picks, and axes,
hundreds of volunteers, including many of the airmen
themselves, labored to clear thefield.
Trees were felled, rocks removed, and the ground leveled
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as much as possible. The work proceeded only at night
to avoid German observation. During daylight hours, hay
wagons and farm activities wouldcover the construction site,
making it appear to aerial reconnaissance as nothing more
than normal agricultural activity.
The volunteers eventually created a strip approximately
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700 feet long, less than 1/3 thelength of a standard runway, but
just barely adequate for the C47cargo planes that would attempt
to land. While the airstrip was being
prepared, Jibilian established radio contact with OSS
headquarters in Bari, providing details about the number of
airmen, their condition, and thecoordinates of the improvised
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airfield. The response from Bari was both
encouraging and daunting, and evacuation would be attempted,
but the landing strip described seemed impossibly short and
dangerous. Air Force personnel in Italy
were skeptical about the feasibility of landing large
aircraft on such a short, improvised runway in hostile
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territory. The margin for error would be
virtually 0, with mountain surrounding the plateau and the
constant threat of German interception.
After considerable debate, a compromise was reached.
The first evacuation would be attempted with a small number of
aircraft as a proof of concept. If successful, additional
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flights would follow. The date for the first
evacuation was set for August 9th, 1944.
The airmen to be rescued could scarcely believe evacuation was
possible. Many had been in hiding for
months and some had begun to accept they might remain in
Serbia until the end of the war,if they survive that long,
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Robert Wilson, AB 24 pilot who had been shot down in May, later
recalled. When they told us planes would
land to pick us up, I thought itwas a joke.
We were in the middle of nowhere, surrounded by Germans
with no runway. It seemed impossible.
But those OSS boys in the Serbs,they made the impossible happen.
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As the date approached, tension mounted.
German patrols had increased in the region, suggesting they
might have received intelligenceabout the growing concentration
of Allied personnel. The success of the mission and
the lives of hundreds of airmen and their Serbian protectors now
depended on the skill of transport pilots attempting to
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land on an impossibly short, crude airstrip far behind enemy
lines. With no room for error, the
rescue begins. The first flights from Field of
Mercy Dawn broke on August 9th, 1944 with clear skies over the
makeshift airstrip near Pranjani, now dubbed the Field
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of Mercy by the airmen awaiting rescue.
The weather was ideal for flying, but this blessing
carried a curse. Clear conditions also meant
greater visibility for German reconnaissance planes and anti
aircraft batteries that might detect the incoming rescue
aircraft. Throughout the day, the airmen
and their Serbian protectors anxiously scan the skies,
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awaiting the arrival of the evacuation plane scheduled for
late afternoon. Chetnik fighters had established
defensive perimeters around the field, prepared to engage any
German patrols that might approach.
Local villagers gathered food and water for the airmen, most
of whom had been without proper nutrition for weeks or months.
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As the afternoon waned, radio operator Arthur Jebelian
received confirmation. 4C47 transport planes had departed
Brindisi, Italy, and we're on route to the improvised
airfield. The mission was codenamed
Operation Halliard, but to the airmen awaiting rescue, it
represented something more immediate.
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The difference between captivityand freedom, possibly between
life and death. The OSS team now face their next
challenge, how to guide the transport planes to the hidden
airstrip and signal that it was safe to land.
They had arranged A rudimentary but effective solution.
As dusk approached, villagers would light bonfires along the
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edges of the landing strip, creating a primitive runway
lighting system visible from theair.
Three additional bonfires in a triangular pattern would
indicate it was safe to land with no German forces in the
immediate vicinity. Around 8:00 PM, the distant
drone of aircraft engines echoedthrough the mountain valley.
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Jibilian made radio contact withthe approaching planes,
providing last minute guidance as the aircraft appeared over
the horizon. The bonfires were lit,
transforming the mountain plateau into an illuminated
landing zone. The 1st C47, piloted by Captain
George Gunn, made a low Passoverthe field to assess conditions.
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What he saw must have been both inspiring and terrifying.
A short sloping runway line withfires, surrounded by mountains,
with hundreds of people gatheredaround the perimeter.
After circling once, Gunn committed to the landing attempt
with remarkable skill. He brought the C47 down on the
crude runway, using every foot of available space to slow the
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aircraft before it reached the end of the clearing.
The transport plane came to a stop just yards from the edge of
the plateau, where the ground dropped away sharply into a
valley below. Cheers erupted from the gathered
airmen and Serbians. Within minutes, the rescue
operation was in full swing. The most severely injured airmen
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were prioritized for the first evacuation.
The loading process was conducted with disciplined
urgency. Each aircraft could only remain
on the ground for a minimal timeto reduce the risk of German
detection. As the first plane was loaded,
the 2nd C47 made its approach inlanding 1 by 1.
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All four transports successfullynavigated the treacherous
conditions to land at the improvised airfield.
The scenes that unfolded during this first evacuation night were
emotionally charged. Many airmen openly wept as they
boarded the aircraft that would return them to Allied territory.
They embrace the Serbian villagers who had protected
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them, knowing these civilians would face potential reprisals
after their departure. Throughout the loading process,
Chetnik fighters maintain vigilant security prepared to
defend the operation if German forces appeared.
Local children served as lookouts positioned on
surrounding hillsides to provideearly warning of any approaching
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enemy patrols. By the end of that first night,
approximately 70 airmen had beenevacuated to Bari, Italy.
The success of this initial mission demonstrated that the
concept was viable despite the extraordinary challenges.
However, with nearly 200 airmen still awaiting rescue in the
Pranjani area and reports of more shot down air crews
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arriving daily, the operation was far from complete.
The next evacuation was scheduled for August 12th, with
more C40 sevens committed to themission now that the viability
of the landing zone had been proven.
On that night, 6 transport planes landed, successfully
evacuating another 80 airmen. Additional flights on August
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18th and 26th rescued another 100 personnel.
Robert Wilson described boardinghis evacuation flight.
As I climbed into that C47, I looked back at the Serbian
family that had hidden me in their barn for six weeks.
They were risking execution to save my life.
A stranger from a country they'dnever seen.
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The mother pressed a small wooden cross into my hand.
I couldn't speak Serbian and shecouldn't speak English, but no
words were needed. I've kept that cross for the
rest of my life. Each successful evacuation
boosted morale, but the operation faced constant
challenges. German activity in the region
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intensified as rumors spread about Allied personnel being
harbored by local populations. Several times, evacuation
flights had to be canceled at the last minute when German
patrols came too close to the Pranjani area.
The OSS team on the ground continually adapted to changing
circumstances when it became clear that more airmen were
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scattered across Serbian territory than originally
estimated, Muessel and established collection points
where Chetnik fighters would bring down air crews for
eventual transport to the primary evacuation site.
By late August, the Germans had become increasingly suspicious
of activities around Pranjani. The OSS team decided to
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establish a second evacuation airstrip near the town of
Baljanic, approximately 40 milesaway, to continue operations if
the primary site was compromised.
Throughout September and into October 1944, evacuation flights
continued from both locations, rescuing additional airmen as
they were located and gathered by Mihailovic as forces.
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By the time Operation Halliard officially concluded in December
1944 with a final evacuation from 1/3 airstrip near
Kosaljiva, the mission had successfully rescued 512 Allied
airmen, 432 Americans, 80 British, French and Italians,
without losing a single man during the evacuation process.
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This remarkable achievement represented the largest rescue
of Allied airmen from behind enemy lines in the entire war.
Yet even as the airmen returned to safety, the political
complications surrounding Operation Halliard were about to
cast a long shadow over this extraordinary mission and the
Serbian people who had made it possible.
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The politics why the mission wasburied.
As the rescued airmen returned to Allied control in Italy, they
expected their experiences wouldbe celebrated, a rare piece of
unambiguously good news amid thebrutal realities of war.
Instead, many were surprised to find themselves sworn to secrecy
about the details of their rescue, particularly regarding
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the role played by Mihailovic and his Chetnik forces.
This secrecy stemmed from one ofthe most complicated political
situations in the European theater.
By 1944, Allied policy had firmly shifted to support Tito's
Communist Partisans as the primary resistance movement in
Yugoslavia. This decision, influenced
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significantly by British intelligence and diplomatic
considerations, was based partlyon reports that Mihailovic S
Chetniks were collaborating withGerman forces against Tito's
Partisans. The reality on the ground was
far more complex. While some Chetnik units and
indeed made localized tactical arrangements with Germans to
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fight Communist Partisans whom they viewed as the greater long
term threat to Yugoslavia's future, Mylovic himself
maintained his fundamental opposition to the Nazi
occupation. The rescue of hundreds of Allied
airmen provided compelling evidence of this anti German
stance. However, by the time Operation
Halliard began, Allied policy was firmly established.
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Supporting Tito offered strategic advantages.
The Partisans controlled more territory, conducted more active
resistance against German forcesand represented what appeared to
be the likely post war power in Yugoslavia.
Changing this policy based on Myhalovicus assistance with the
rescue operation would have required admitting a possible
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error in judgement at the highest levels of Allied
leadership. The political implications
extended beyond wartime strategyto post war planning.
As the European conflict moved toward its conclusion, attention
increasingly focused on the shape of post war Europe in the
emerging tensions with the Soviet Union.
Yugoslavia, positioned at the crossroads between East and
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West, represented a significant peace in this geopolitical chess
game. Despite these political
calculations, many of the rescued airmen felt a profound
debt of gratitude to Mihailovic in the Serbian villagers who had
risked everything to save them. Several officers, including OSS
personnel involved in the operation, advocated for public
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recognition of their contributions and a
reconsideration of Allied policy.
In December 1944, a group of rescued airmen led by Lieutenant
Richard Feldman drafted a heartfelt statement praising
Mihailovic in requesting permission to publicly express
their gratitude. Military authorities denied this
request. When some airmen persisted, they
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reportedly faced transfers to distant posts or other forms of
professional discouragement. Lieutenant Colonel Robert
McDowell, an OSS officer who hadspent significant time with
Mihailovic during this period, prepared an extensive report
documenting the General's anti German activities in his crucial
role in saving Allied lives. This report was classified and
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effectively buried within intelligence archives.
As the war in Europe ended in May 1945, Yugoslavia's internal
conflict continued. Tito's partisans, now supported
with Soviet backing, emerged victorious in the struggle for
control of the country. Mihailovic was forced into
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hiding, declared A traitor by the new communist government,
and haunted by partisan forces. In March 1946, Mihailovic was
captured by Tito's regime. Despite appeals from rescued
airmen and some American officials for US intervention on
his behalf, the Truman administration maintained
official neutrality regarding his fate.
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After a show trial widely condemned by international
observers as lacking basic procedural fairness, Maya Lovic
was convicted of treason in collaboration with the enemy on
July 17th, 1946. He was executed by firing squad.
The airmen rescued during Operation Halliard were
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outraged. Many had personally witnessed
Myhailovic S anti German activities and owed their lives
to his protection. In a final ironic twist that
epitomized the political contradiction surrounding the
operation, on March 29th, 1948, nearly two years after his
execution, President Truman posthumously awarded Mihailovic
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the Legion of Merit, America's highest honor for a foreign
military officer, in recognitionof his contribution to the
Allied costs. However, in an unprecedented
move, this award was kept classified at the request of the
State Department to avoid damaging relations with Tito's
Yugoslavia, which had by then begun to distance itself from
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Soviet influence. Myheilovic S family would not
learn of this honor until 1967, when the award was declassified
20 years after his death. For decades following the war,
Operation Halliard remained largely unknown to the public.
The rescued airmen were prevented from telling their
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stories in full official histories minimized or omitted
the mission, and the extraordinary courage of the
Serbian villagers went unrecognized in the West.
This silence served various political interests.
It avoided embarrassing questions about the abandonment
of Mihalovic, it preserved the narrative of Tito as a heroic
resistance leader. And it simplified the emerging
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Cold War paradigm where Yugoslavia, after Tito's break
with Stalin in 1948, occupied a useful position as a non aligned
communist state willing to work with the West.
Only in the 1970s did the full story of Operation Halliard
begin to emerge as aging airmen,freed from military secrecy
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obligations started sharing their experiences.
Books like The Forgotten 500 by Gregory Freeman, published in
2007, finally brought comprehensive public attention
to this remarkable rescue mission in the political
complications that had kept it hidden for so long.
The story of Operation Halliard thus stands not just as a tale
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of extraordinary courage and successful military
improvisation, but as a soberingreminder of how political
calculations can obscure historical truth and human
heroism when they become inconvenient to prevailing
narratives. The human dimension, Serbian
sacrifice and Airman's gratitudeBeyond the operational details
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and political complexities of Operation Halliard lies a deeply
human story 1 of extraordinary sacrifice by Serbian villagers
and the profound gratitude of the airmen whose lives they
saved. The Serbian civilians who
protected downed Allied airmen faced risks that are difficult
to comprehend from our contemporary perspective.
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The German occupation forces operated under brutal reprisal
policies in the Balkans. The standard punishment for
harboring Allied personnel was execution, often not just of
individuals found providing assistance, but of entire
families and sometimes whole villages.
In the nearby town of Khrgyevak,in October 1941, Germans had
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executed approximately 2700 civilians, including school
children taken directly from their classrooms in reprisal for
resistance activities that had killed 10 German soldiers.
This massacre established the calculated German reprisal ratio
in Serbia, 100 civilians executed for each German soldier
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killed, 50 for each wounded. Despite knowing these horrific
consequences, Serbian villagers around Print Johnny and other
areas under Chetnik control unhesitatingly took down airmen
into their homes. They shared their meter food
supplies during a time of severewartime shortages and rationing.
Some families went hungry so that the Allied guests could
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eat. They donated clothing, provided
medical care with limited supplies, and maintain vigilant
security to protect their dangerous secret, Mike Zawaya, A
Bombardier rescue during Operation Halliard, later
recalled. The family that had me slept on
the floor so I could have their bed.
The mother gave me her son's only extra shirt when mine was
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worn out. These people had nothing, but
they gave me everything. When I tried to thank them.
The father just shook his head and said through an interpreter.
To fight evil is the duty of allmen.
For many airmen, the relationships formed during this
period left lifelong impressions.
Claire Musgrove, A gunner from adown B24, described being hidden
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in a hay loft for three weeks. Each night, the farmer would
bring him food and sometimes sitwith him, neither speaking the
other's language but communicating through gestures
and shared humanity. Decades later, Musgrove would
return to Serbia to find the family and express his
gratitude, only to discover thatthe farmer had been executed by
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Communist authorities after the war for his association with
Myhalovicus forces. The airmen themselves showed
remarkable resilience during their ordeal.
Many had survived violent crashes or bailouts, suffered
injuries, and endured weeks or months of hardship while
awaiting rescue. They adapted to unfamiliar food,
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learned basic Serbian phrases, and in many cases, participated
in village life as much as security concerns allowed.
Some airmen recalled being invited to Serbian Orthodox
religious ceremonies, village celebrations or family meals.
Despite the risk these gatherings entailed.
The Serbian tradition of hospitality, maintaining warmth
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and generosity even in the darkest times left an indelible
impression on these young Americans far from home.
Nick Lalik, who replaced George Muslin as the OSS team leader
during the latter part of Operation Halliard, described
watching airman board evacuationflights.
These tough bombardiers and Gunners, hardened by combat,
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were crying like babies as they said goodbye to the Serbian
families. They were promising to come back
after the war, to bring them to America, to never forget what
had been done for them. It was like leaving family.
The gratitude of the rescued airmen found expression in
numerous ways. Despite official discouragement.
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Many saved photographs, handmadegifts or simple objects given to
them by their Serbian protectors.
They carried these mementos throughout their lives as
tangible reminders of the debt they owed.
More significantly, when many ofthe airmen learned of Myhailovic
S capture and show trial in 1946, they organized an
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unprecedented campaign to save him.
Led by Richard Feldman, they formed the National Committee of
American Airmen Rescued by General Myhailovic.
This group gathered hundreds of signatures from rescued airmen,
submitted testimony about Myhalovic S aid to the Allies,
and petition President Truman tointervene.
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Several airmen, including Feldman, even volunteered to
travel to Belgrade to testify inMihailovic S defense.
The Yugoslav government refused this offer.
In the US State Department, prioritizing diplomatic
relations with Tito's regime, declined to formally intervene.
Despite their efforts, the airmen were unable to save the
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man who had saved them. This failure left a permanent
mark on many of the Operation Halliard veterans.
They felt their government had abandoned a loyal ally for
political expediency, and they carried this sense of unresolved
debt throughout their lives for decades.
Many work to gain recognition for the Serbian contribution to
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the Allied cause, often facing official indifference or active
discouragement. As the Cold War progressed and
Yugoslavia occupied a unique position as a communist state
independent of Soviet control, American strategic interests
continued to favor good relations with Tito's
government. The story of Mihailovic and the
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Serbian villagers who rescued Allied airmen remained
politically inconvenient, a complication in the simpler Cold
War narrative. Only after the collapse of
communist Yugoslavia in the 1990s did space finally open for
full public recognition of Operation Halliard.
In 2004, a monument was dedicated in Print Johnny near
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the site of the makeshift airfield where so many had been
rescued 60 years earlier. The dedication ceremony was
attended by Serbian officials, US diplomats and several aged
veterans of the operation, both rescued airmen and local
villagers who had protected them.
Perhaps the most moving aspects of this belated recognition came
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through personal reunions. Several Operation Halliard
veterans, now in their 70s and 80s, returned to Serbia to find
the families who had protected them.
Though many of the original participants had died, their
children and grandchildren welcomed the Americans as
honored guests, completing a circle of friendship that had
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endured through decades of political complexity.
Arthur Jebelian, the radio operator from the original OSS
team, made his first return visit to Prin Johnny in 2004.
Then 80 years old, he was greeted by Serbs of all ages,
who treated him as a returning hero.
In an emotional speech, Jabiliansaid, I'm not the hero.
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The heroes were the Serbian people who hid these airmen.
They knew that if they were caught, the Germans would shoot
them, their families, their neighbors and burn their homes
and their villages. But they did it anyway.
This human legacy of Operation Hallyard, the bonds formed
between people of different nations through shared danger
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and sacrifice, stands as the operations most meaningful
achievement, transcending the military significance and
political complications that surrounded it.
The Legacy Lessons from a classified Operation Operation
Halliard may have remained classified for decades, but its
legacy extends far beyond military history.
(39:20):
As the full story has emerged, this remarkable mission offers
powerful lessons about courage, gratitude, politics, and
historical memory that remain relevant today.
The most obvious military legacylies in the realm of special
operations and rescue missions. Operation Hallier demonstrated
that with proper coordination between ground elements, air
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assets, and indigenous support, even the most challenging rescue
operations could succeed under wartime conditions.
Modern military evacuation doctrines, particularly for
personnel recovery from hostile territory, incorporate many
lessons first demonstrated during this mission.
The operation also highlighted the crucial role of language
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skills and cultural understanding and special
operations. The success of the OSS team
stemmed partly from the fact that Musilin and other team
members spoke Serbian and understood local customs.
Their ability to work effectively with Mihailovic S
forces and the local population proved essential.
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Today's special operations forces place similar emphasis on
language, training and cultural expertise precisely because
operations like Halliard demonstrated their critical
importance. Beyond military lessons,
Operation Halliard offers profound insights into the
relationship between politics and historical truth.
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The operation remained classified not because of
ongoing military sensitivity, but because acknowledging it
would have raised uncomfortable questions about Allied policy
decisions regarding Yugoslavia. This political inconvenience led
to a historical injustice, the failure to recognize the
extraordinary courage of Mihailovic in the Serbian
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villagers who risked everything to save Allied lives.
This pattern, where historical truth becomes subordinated to
political narratives, has repeated throughout history.
Operation Halliard stands as a reminder of the importance of
separating historical fact from political convenience,
especially when acknowledging the sacrifices made by others on
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our behalf. The personal legacy of Operation
Halliard lived on through the rescued airmen who never forgot
what had been done for them. Many spent decades advocating
for recognition of their Serbiansaviors, maintaining connections
with the families who had protected them, and ensuring the
story would eventually be told. Richard Feldman, perhaps the
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most vocal of the rescued airmen, dedicated much of his
post war life to gaining recognition for Mihailovic in
the Serbian villagers until his death in 1999.
Feldman spoke at events, wrote articles and lobbied government
officials to acknowledge the debt owed to those who had saved
him and his fellow airmen. He kept the small wooden cross
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given to him by a Serbian grandmother as his most
treasured possession. In 1995, half a century after
the rescue, a group of OperationHalliard veterans established
the Halliard Mission Foundation to preserve the history of the
operation and honor both the airmen and the Serbians who
saved them. Through this foundation, they
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funded educational initiatives, supported monuments in Serbia
and collected oral histories from surviving participants
before they were lost the time. The foundation's work gained
momentum after the publication of The Forgotten 500 in 2007,
which brought the full story to public attention and inspired
renewed interest in this remarkable operation.
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Documentary films followed, including The Forgotten 502,011
and Halliard Mission 2014, further spreading awareness.
You are now listening to World War Two stories.
I'm your host, Steve Matthews. Today we delve into one of the
most remarkable yet least known rescue operations of the Second
World War, a mission so politically sensitive that it
remained classified for decades after the war ended.
This is the story of Operation Halliard, an extraordinary
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behind enemy lines rescue that saved over 500 Allied airmen
with the help of Serbian villagers and resistance
fighters who risked everything to protect strangers from a
distant land. Imagine yourself as an American
airman in 1944, your B24 Liberator bomber riddled with
flak and falling from the sky over Nazi occupied Yugoslavia.
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If you survive the parachute jump, you find yourself in a
foreign land, unable to speak the language, haunted by German
troops, with almost no chance ofgetting home.
Now imagine the astonishment when local villagers, people who
had every reason to turn you in to avoid brutal reprisals,
instead welcome you into their homes, hide you from the enemy,
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and share their meager wartime rations to keep you alive.
This was the experience of hundreds of Allied airmen shot
down over Serbia during the strategic bombing campaign
against Hitler's oil refineries in Romania.
They're unlikely salvation came through Operation Halliard, A
daring rescue mission that represents one of the greatest
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untold stories of World War 2, the strategic bombing campaign.
Why airmen were falling from thesky To understand Operation
Halliard, we must first recognize why so many Allied
airmen found themselves parachuting into Serbian
territory in 1944. The answer lies in one word,
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oil. By 1943, the Allied strategic
bombing campaign against Nazi Germany had expanded to target
the vital resource that powered the German war machine oil.
The most crucial oil facility inNazi controlled Europe was the
Plosti oil complex in Romania, which provided approximately 60%
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of Germany's petroleum. Without this fuel, German tanks,
planes and vehicles would grind to a halt.
Plosti became the most heavily defended target in Europe
outside of Germany itself. The first major attack on
Plosti, Operation Tidal Wave, was launched on August 1st,
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1940. Three 177 B 24 Liberator bombers
flying from bases in Libya conducted a daring low level
attack on the refineries. The mission was a disaster.
Only 88 planes returned, with 53shot down and 310 airmen killed.
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The refineries were damaged but quickly repaired.
Undeterred, the Allies launched a sustained bombing campaign
against Pelosi beginning in April 1944.
This time the bombers flew from bases in southern Italy,
crossing the Adriatic Sea and then flying over Yugoslavia to
reach their Romanian targets. The route took them directly
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over Serbia, where they faced intense anti aircraft fire and
attacks from German fighter planes.
Hundreds of bombers were shot down during these missions.
While many air crews perished, those who successfully
parachuted found themselves in Nazi occupied Yugoslavia,
specifically in regions controlled by various resistance
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groups. Between April and October 1944,
an estimated 1500 American airmen were shot down over
Yugoslavia, with most landing inareas controlled by two
competing resistance forces, theroyalist Chetniks led by General
Drasa Mihalovic, in the Communist Partisans led by Jasa
Bras Tito, And here we encounterthe complex political situation
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that would shape the rescue operation in its subsequent
classification. By 1944, Allied policy had
officially shifted support from Mihalovic S Chetniks to Tito's
Partisans, based partly on intelligence, later proven
partially incorrect that Mihailovic was collaborating
with the Germans. Despite this policy shift,
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hundreds of downed airmen found themselves in Chetnik controlled
territory where local villagers and Mihailovic S forces
protected and gathered them. The stage was set for one of the
war's most remarkable rescue operations, a mission
complicated not just by the presence of thousands of German
troops, but by the thorny politics of Yugoslavia's
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internal conflict and shifting Allied allegiances.
The downed airmen survival and Serbian hospitality.
For the Allied airmen who survived being shot down over
Serbia, the initial moments of their ordeal were terrifying.
Many had never parachuted before, literally learning on
the way down. They landed an unfamiliar
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mountainous terrain, often injured, with limited supplies
and no knowledge of the local language.
German patrols actively haunted downed airmen and the penalty
for locals caught helping Alliedpersonnel with summary
execution, often of entire families or villages.
Richard Feldman, a navigator on AB24 Liberator, later recalled
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his experience. I had no idea where I was.
I knew I was somewhere in Yugoslavia, but that was it.
I was completely alone. My ankle was badly twisted from
the jump and I could hear Germanvehicles in the distance.
I thought I was done for. Feldman's experience was
typical. Most airmen initially tried to
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hide, unsure who they could trust in this foreign landscape.
But soon many encountered an unexpected reception from the
local Serbian villagers and Chetnik fighters, who controlled
much of the rural Serbian territory.
Claire Musgrove, another downed airman, described his first
encounter. I was hiding in some bushes when
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I saw three men approaching withrifles.
I thought they were Germans, butthen I noticed they wore
different uniforms and had beards.
They found me and one of them said the only English word he
knew, American. When I nodded, they smiled,
hugged me and started passing around a bottle of homemade plum
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Brandy called Slivovitz. I knew then I might actually
survive this. The Serbian villagers,
predominantly in the rural areasaround Pranjani and central
Serbia, embrace the responsibility of protecting
these foreign airmen. Despite the enormous risk.
Families took airmen into their homes, hiding them in attics,
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barns and sometimes special chambers built beneath floors or
behind walls. When German patrols came through
villages, the airmen would be quickly moved into nearby
forests or caves. Most remarkable was the
sacrifice these villagers made for people they had never met
before. Serbia in 1944 was already
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suffering severe food shortages due to the German occupation and
the demands of war. Yet family shared what little
they had with the airmen. In many cases, villagers went
hungry so their American guests could eat, Mike Mccool, a gunner
from a down B24, later wrote. These people had nothing,
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absolutely nothing, yet they gave us everything.
I watched children go without food so that we could eat.
When I tried to refuse, the father of the house insisted,
saying You are our allies. You fight for our freedom, too.
The villagers and local chetniksorganized the Grass Roots Rescue
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Network. When airmen parachuted into the
region, word would spread quickly through the resistance
network. Local fighters would race to
reach the landing sites before German patrols, often engaging
in skirmishes to protect the downed airmen.
Once secured, the airmen would be moved through a series of
safe houses, gradually making their way to central collection
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points where larger groups formed.
By late July 1944 / 250 airmen had been gathered in the area
around Pranjani, a small mountain village that would
become the center of the rescue operation.
This growing concentration of personnel created a dilemma.
The larger the group became, themore difficult it was to hide
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and feed them in, the greater the risk of discovery by German
forces. Some airmen had been in hiding
for months, their health deteriorating due to injuries,
inadequate medical care and limited nutrition.
The situation was becoming increasingly precarious.
German reprisals against Serbians suspected of helping
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Allied personnel were brutal. In the nearby town of Khrgyzvac,
Germans had previously executed over 2700 civilians in
retaliation for resistance activities.
Everyone involved knew the stakes involved in harboring
hundreds of Allied airmen. As the number of downed airmen
grew, General Mihailovic recognized that a large scale
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evacuation would be necessary. Through clandestine radio
communications, word of the stranded airmen reached Allied
headquarters in Bari, Italy. Despite the official policy
shift away from supporting Myhalovic, the opportunity to
rescue hundreds of trained air crews, representing a
significant investment in training and experience, was too
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valuable to ignore. The Office of Strategic Services
OSS, America's wartime intelligence agency and
predecessor to the CIA, began planning what would become
Operation Halliard, one of the most remarkable rescue missions
in military history. The OSS team planning the
impossible the challenge of rescuing hundreds of airmen from
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behind enemy lines, fell to the OSS, which specialized in
unconventional warfare and clandestine operations.
Planning such a mission presented extraordinary
difficulties. The airmen were scattered across
a mountainous region controlled by Mihailovic S forces but
regularly patrolled by German troops.
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Any large scale evacuation wouldrequire an airfield, something
that didn't exist in the remote Serbian mountains, and the
entire operation would need to remain hidden from German
observation. The mission was assigned to
Lieutenant George Musilin, a Pittsburgh native of Serbian
descent who had previously served as an OSS liaison with
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Myheilovic before Allied supportshifted to Tito.
Musilan's background made him ideally suited for the
operation. He spoke Serbian, understood the
culture, and had established relationships with Chetnik
leaders. He would lead a small team
including Lieutenant Michael Rajasic, another Serbian
American who would serve as translator, and Arthur Jibi
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Jibilian, a radio operator of Armenian descent.
Their mission, codenamed Halliard, referring to the rope
used to raise and lower a flag, was straightforward and concept,
but dauntingly complex And execution.
Infiltrate Nazi occupied Serbia,locate the downed airmen,
establish a temporary airfield and coordinate evacuation
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flights, all while avoiding German detection and navigating
the complicated internal politics of Yugoslavia's
competing resistance groups. The political complications were
substantial. By this time, Allied support had
officially shifted to Tito's partisans, with Myhalovic S
Chetniks no longer receiving Allied assistance.
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Working with Myhalovic S forces essential for the rescue
required special authorization that bypassed normal channels.
The mission would need to be kept secret, not just from the
Germans, but for much of the Allied command structure as
well. After receiving approval,
Musilin and his team prepared for insertion into Serbia.
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Their first attempt in June 1944, failed when poor weather
forced their aircraft to turn back.
A second attempt ended when theywere dropped mistakenly into
partisan territory, forcing themto escape to Italy before German
forces could capture them. The third attempt succeeded on
August 2nd, 1944, when Nusilan, Rajasik and Jubilian parachuted
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into a clearing near Pranjani. They were met by Chetnik
fighters who escorted them to Myhalovic S headquarters.
Despite the official shift in Allied policy, Myhalovic warmly
welcomed the Americans and pledged his full support for the
rescue operation. What Muslin discovered upon
arrival exceeded expectations, but also presented a greater
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challenge. Rather than the approximately
100 airmen he had expected to evacuate, there were now over
250 gathered in the area around Pranjani.
The scope of the mission had more than doubled, requiring a
much larger evacuation effort than originally planned.
Muslin immediately began scouting for a suitable landing
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site. The mountainous terrain offered
few options, but a relatively flat plateau near Pranjani
showed potential. It was far from ideal, sloping,
studded with rocks and trees, and much shorter than a standard
runway, but it represented the best available option.
With my Halo Vacas authorization, local villagers
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and Chetnik fighters began the Herculean task of converting the
plateau into a makeshift airstrip.
Working primarily with hand tools, shovels, picks, and axes,
hundreds of volunteers, including many of the airmen
themselves, labored to clear thefield.
Trees were felled, rocks removed, and the ground leveled
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as much as possible. The work proceeded only at night
to avoid German observation. During daylight hours, hay
wagons and farm activities wouldcover the construction site,
making it appear to aerial reconnaissance as nothing more
than normal agricultural activity.
The volunteers eventually created a strip approximately
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700 feet long, less than 1/3 thelength of a standard runway, but
just barely adequate for the C47cargo planes that would attempt
to land. While the airstrip was being
prepared, Jibilian established radio contact with OSS
headquarters in Bari, providing details about the number of
airmen, their condition, and thecoordinates of the improvised
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airfield. The response from Bari was both
encouraging and daunting, and evacuation would be attempted,
but the landing strip described seemed impossibly short and
dangerous. Air Force personnel in Italy
were skeptical about the feasibility of landing large
aircraft on such a short, improvised runway in hostile
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territory. The margin for error would be
virtually 0, with mountain surrounding the plateau and the
constant threat of German interception.
After considerable debate, a compromise was reached.
The first evacuation would be attempted with a small number of
aircraft as a proof of concept. If successful, additional
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flights would follow. The date for the first
evacuation was set for August 9th, 1944.
The airmen to be rescued could scarcely believe evacuation was
possible. Many had been in hiding for
months and some had begun to accept they might remain in
Serbia until the end of the war,if they survive that long,
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Robert Wilson, AB 24 pilot who had been shot down in May, later
recalled. When they told us planes would
land to pick us up, I thought itwas a joke.
We were in the middle of nowhere, surrounded by Germans
with no runway. It seemed impossible.
But those OSS boys in the Serbs,they made the impossible happen.
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As the date approached, tension mounted.
German patrols had increased in the region, suggesting they
might have received intelligenceabout the growing concentration
of Allied personnel. The success of the mission and
the lives of hundreds of airmen and their Serbian protectors now
depended on the skill of transport pilots attempting to
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land on an impossibly short, crude airstrip far behind enemy
lines. With no room for error, the
rescue begins. The first flights from Field of
Mercy Dawn broke on August 9th, 1944 with clear skies over the
makeshift airstrip near Pranjani, now dubbed the Field
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of Mercy by the airmen awaiting rescue.
The weather was ideal for flying, but this blessing
carried a curse. Clear conditions also meant
greater visibility for German reconnaissance planes and anti
aircraft batteries that might detect the incoming rescue
aircraft. Throughout the day, the airmen
and their Serbian protectors anxiously scan the skies,
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awaiting the arrival of the evacuation plane scheduled for
late afternoon. Chetnik fighters had established
defensive perimeters around the field, prepared to engage any
German patrols that might approach.
Local villagers gathered food and water for the airmen, most
of whom had been without proper nutrition for weeks or months.
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As the afternoon waned, radio operator Arthur Jebelian
received confirmation. 4C47 transport planes had departed
Brindisi, Italy, and we're on route to the improvised
airfield. The mission was codenamed
Operation Halliard, but to the airmen awaiting rescue, it
represented something more immediate.
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The difference between captivityand freedom, possibly between
life and death. The OSS team now face their next
challenge, how to guide the transport planes to the hidden
airstrip and signal that it was safe to land.
They had arranged A rudimentary but effective solution.
As dusk approached, villagers would light bonfires along the
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edges of the landing strip, creating a primitive runway
lighting system visible from theair.
Three additional bonfires in a triangular pattern would
indicate it was safe to land with no German forces in the
immediate vicinity. Around 8:00 PM, the distant
drone of aircraft engines echoedthrough the mountain valley.
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Jibilian made radio contact withthe approaching planes,
providing last minute guidance as the aircraft appeared over
the horizon. The bonfires were lit,
transforming the mountain plateau into an illuminated
landing zone. The 1st C47, piloted by Captain
George Gunn, made a low Passoverthe field to assess conditions.
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What he saw must have been both inspiring and terrifying.
A short sloping runway line withfires, surrounded by mountains,
with hundreds of people gatheredaround the perimeter.
After circling once, Gunn committed to the landing attempt
with remarkable skill. He brought the C47 down on the
crude runway, using every foot of available space to slow the
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aircraft before it reached the end of the clearing.
The transport plane came to a stop just yards from the edge of
the plateau, where the ground dropped away sharply into a
valley below. Cheers erupted from the gathered
airmen and Serbians. Within minutes, the rescue
operation was in full swing. The most severely injured airmen
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were prioritized for the first evacuation.
The loading process was conducted with disciplined
urgency. Each aircraft could only remain
on the ground for a minimal timeto reduce the risk of German
detection. As the first plane was loaded,
the 2nd C47 made its approach inlanding 1 by 1.
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All four transports successfullynavigated the treacherous
conditions to land at the improvised airfield.
The scenes that unfolded during this first evacuation night were
emotionally charged. Many airmen openly wept as they
boarded the aircraft that would return them to Allied territory.
They embrace the Serbian villagers who had protected
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them, knowing these civilians would face potential reprisals
after their departure. Throughout the loading process,
Chetnik fighters maintain vigilant security prepared to
defend the operation if German forces appeared.
Local children served as lookouts positioned on
surrounding hillsides to provideearly warning of any approaching
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enemy patrols. By the end of that first night,
approximately 70 airmen had beenevacuated to Bari, Italy.
The success of this initial mission demonstrated that the
concept was viable despite the extraordinary challenges.
However, with nearly 200 airmen still awaiting rescue in the
Pranjani area and reports of more shot down air crews
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arriving daily, the operation was far from complete.
The next evacuation was scheduled for August 12th, with
more C40 sevens committed to themission now that the viability
of the landing zone had been proven.
On that night, 6 transport planes landed, successfully
evacuating another 80 airmen. Additional flights on August
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18th and 26th rescued another 100 personnel.
Robert Wilson described boardinghis evacuation flight.
As I climbed into that C47, I looked back at the Serbian
family that had hidden me in their barn for six weeks.
They were risking execution to save my life.
A stranger from a country they'dnever seen.
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The mother pressed a small wooden cross into my hand.
I couldn't speak Serbian and shecouldn't speak English, but no
words were needed. I've kept that cross for the
rest of my life. Each successful evacuation
boosted morale, but the operation faced constant
challenges. German activity in the region
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intensified as rumors spread about Allied personnel being
harbored by local populations. Several times, evacuation
flights had to be canceled at the last minute when German
patrols came too close to the Pranjani area.
The OSS team on the ground continually adapted to changing
circumstances when it became clear that more airmen were
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scattered across Serbian territory than originally
estimated, Muessel and established collection points
where Chetnik fighters would bring down air crews for
eventual transport to the primary evacuation site.
By late August, the Germans had become increasingly suspicious
of activities around Pranjani. The OSS team decided to
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establish a second evacuation airstrip near the town of
Baljanic, approximately 40 milesaway, to continue operations if
the primary site was compromised.
Throughout September and into October 1944, evacuation flights
continued from both locations, rescuing additional airmen as
they were located and gathered by Mihailovic as forces.
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By the time Operation Halliard officially concluded in December
1944 with a final evacuation from 1/3 airstrip near
Kosaljiva, the mission had successfully rescued 512 Allied
airmen, 432 Americans, 80 British, French and Italians,
without losing a single man during the evacuation process.
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This remarkable achievement represented the largest rescue
of Allied airmen from behind enemy lines in the entire war.
Yet even as the airmen returned to safety, the political
complications surrounding Operation Halliard were about to
cast a long shadow over this extraordinary mission and the
Serbian people who had made it possible.
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The politics why the mission wasburied.
As the rescued airmen returned to Allied control in Italy, they
expected their experiences wouldbe celebrated, a rare piece of
unambiguously good news amid thebrutal realities of war.
Instead, many were surprised to find themselves sworn to secrecy
about the details of their rescue, particularly regarding
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the role played by Mihailovic and his Chetnik forces.
This secrecy stemmed from one ofthe most complicated political
situations in the European theater.
By 1944, Allied policy had firmly shifted to support Tito's
Communist Partisans as the primary resistance movement in
Yugoslavia. This decision, influenced
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significantly by British intelligence and diplomatic
considerations, was based partlyon reports that Mihailovic S
Chetniks were collaborating withGerman forces against Tito's
Partisans. The reality on the ground was
far more complex. While some Chetnik units and
indeed made localized tactical arrangements with Germans to
(25:30):
fight Communist Partisans whom they viewed as the greater long
term threat to Yugoslavia's future, Mylovic himself
maintained his fundamental opposition to the Nazi
occupation. The rescue of hundreds of Allied
airmen provided compelling evidence of this anti German
stance. However, by the time Operation
Halliard began, Allied policy was firmly established.
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Supporting Tito offered strategic advantages.
The Partisans controlled more territory, conducted more active
resistance against German forcesand represented what appeared to
be the likely post war power in Yugoslavia.
Changing this policy based on Myhalovicus assistance with the
rescue operation would have required admitting a possible
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error in judgement at the highest levels of Allied
leadership. The political implications
extended beyond wartime strategyto post war planning.
As the European conflict moved toward its conclusion, attention
increasingly focused on the shape of post war Europe in the
emerging tensions with the Soviet Union.
Yugoslavia, positioned at the crossroads between East and
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West, represented a significant peace in this geopolitical chess
game. Despite these political
calculations, many of the rescued airmen felt a profound
debt of gratitude to Mihailovic in the Serbian villagers who had
risked everything to save them. Several officers, including OSS
personnel involved in the operation, advocated for public
(27:01):
recognition of their contributions and a
reconsideration of Allied policy.
In December 1944, a group of rescued airmen led by Lieutenant
Richard Feldman drafted a heartfelt statement praising
Mihailovic in requesting permission to publicly express
their gratitude. Military authorities denied this
request. When some airmen persisted, they
(27:25):
reportedly faced transfers to distant posts or other forms of
professional discouragement. Lieutenant Colonel Robert
McDowell, an OSS officer who hadspent significant time with
Mihailovic during this period, prepared an extensive report
documenting the General's anti German activities in his crucial
role in saving Allied lives. This report was classified and
(27:48):
effectively buried within intelligence archives.
As the war in Europe ended in May 1945, Yugoslavia's internal
conflict continued. Tito's partisans, now supported
with Soviet backing, emerged victorious in the struggle for
control of the country. Mihailovic was forced into
(28:08):
hiding, declared A traitor by the new communist government,
and haunted by partisan forces. In March 1946, Mihailovic was
captured by Tito's regime. Despite appeals from rescued
airmen and some American officials for US intervention on
his behalf, the Truman administration maintained
official neutrality regarding his fate.
(28:31):
After a show trial widely condemned by international
observers as lacking basic procedural fairness, Maya Lovic
was convicted of treason in collaboration with the enemy on
July 17th, 1946. He was executed by firing squad.
The airmen rescued during Operation Halliard were
(28:52):
outraged. Many had personally witnessed
Myhailovic S anti German activities and owed their lives
to his protection. In a final ironic twist that
epitomized the political contradiction surrounding the
operation, on March 29th, 1948, nearly two years after his
execution, President Truman posthumously awarded Mihailovic
(29:15):
the Legion of Merit, America's highest honor for a foreign
military officer, in recognitionof his contribution to the
Allied costs. However, in an unprecedented
move, this award was kept classified at the request of the
State Department to avoid damaging relations with Tito's
Yugoslavia, which had by then begun to distance itself from
(29:36):
Soviet influence. Myheilovic S family would not
learn of this honor until 1967, when the award was declassified
20 years after his death. For decades following the war,
Operation Halliard remained largely unknown to the public.
The rescued airmen were prevented from telling their
(29:56):
stories in full official histories minimized or omitted
the mission, and the extraordinary courage of the
Serbian villagers went unrecognized in the West.
This silence served various political interests.
It avoided embarrassing questions about the abandonment
of Mihalovic, it preserved the narrative of Tito as a heroic
resistance leader. And it simplified the emerging
(30:19):
Cold War paradigm where Yugoslavia, after Tito's break
with Stalin in 1948, occupied a useful position as a non aligned
communist state willing to work with the West.
Only in the 1970s did the full story of Operation Halliard
begin to emerge as aging airmen,freed from military secrecy
(30:39):
obligations started sharing their experiences.
Books like The Forgotten 500 by Gregory Freeman, published in
2007, finally brought comprehensive public attention
to this remarkable rescue mission in the political
complications that had kept it hidden for so long.
The story of Operation Halliard thus stands not just as a tale
(31:01):
of extraordinary courage and successful military
improvisation, but as a soberingreminder of how political
calculations can obscure historical truth and human
heroism when they become inconvenient to prevailing
narratives. The human dimension, Serbian
sacrifice and Airman's gratitudeBeyond the operational details
(31:22):
and political complexities of Operation Halliard lies a deeply
human story 1 of extraordinary sacrifice by Serbian villagers
and the profound gratitude of the airmen whose lives they
saved. The Serbian civilians who
protected downed Allied airmen faced risks that are difficult
to comprehend from our contemporary perspective.
(31:42):
The German occupation forces operated under brutal reprisal
policies in the Balkans. The standard punishment for
harboring Allied personnel was execution, often not just of
individuals found providing assistance, but of entire
families and sometimes whole villages.
In the nearby town of Khrgyevak,in October 1941, Germans had
(32:05):
executed approximately 2700 civilians, including school
children taken directly from their classrooms in reprisal for
resistance activities that had killed 10 German soldiers.
This massacre established the calculated German reprisal ratio
in Serbia, 100 civilians executed for each German soldier
(32:26):
killed, 50 for each wounded. Despite knowing these horrific
consequences, Serbian villagers around Print Johnny and other
areas under Chetnik control unhesitatingly took down airmen
into their homes. They shared their meter food
supplies during a time of severewartime shortages and rationing.
Some families went hungry so that the Allied guests could
(32:49):
eat. They donated clothing, provided
medical care with limited supplies, and maintain vigilant
security to protect their dangerous secret, Mike Zawaya, A
Bombardier rescue during Operation Halliard, later
recalled. The family that had me slept on
the floor so I could have their bed.
The mother gave me her son's only extra shirt when mine was
(33:12):
worn out. These people had nothing, but
they gave me everything. When I tried to thank them.
The father just shook his head and said through an interpreter.
To fight evil is the duty of allmen.
For many airmen, the relationships formed during this
period left lifelong impressions.
Claire Musgrove, A gunner from adown B24, described being hidden
(33:36):
in a hay loft for three weeks. Each night, the farmer would
bring him food and sometimes sitwith him, neither speaking the
other's language but communicating through gestures
and shared humanity. Decades later, Musgrove would
return to Serbia to find the family and express his
gratitude, only to discover thatthe farmer had been executed by
(33:57):
Communist authorities after the war for his association with
Myhalovicus forces. The airmen themselves showed
remarkable resilience during their ordeal.
Many had survived violent crashes or bailouts, suffered
injuries, and endured weeks or months of hardship while
awaiting rescue. They adapted to unfamiliar food,
(34:19):
learned basic Serbian phrases, and in many cases, participated
in village life as much as security concerns allowed.
Some airmen recalled being invited to Serbian Orthodox
religious ceremonies, village celebrations or family meals.
Despite the risk these gatherings entailed.
The Serbian tradition of hospitality, maintaining warmth
(34:41):
and generosity even in the darkest times left an indelible
impression on these young Americans far from home.
Nick Lalik, who replaced George Muslin as the OSS team leader
during the latter part of Operation Halliard, described
watching airman board evacuationflights.
These tough bombardiers and Gunners, hardened by combat,
(35:02):
were crying like babies as they said goodbye to the Serbian
families. They were promising to come back
after the war, to bring them to America, to never forget what
had been done for them. It was like leaving family.
The gratitude of the rescued airmen found expression in
numerous ways. Despite official discouragement.
(35:23):
Many saved photographs, handmadegifts or simple objects given to
them by their Serbian protectors.
They carried these mementos throughout their lives as
tangible reminders of the debt they owed.
More significantly, when many ofthe airmen learned of Myhailovic
S capture and show trial in 1946, they organized an
(35:44):
unprecedented campaign to save him.
Led by Richard Feldman, they formed the National Committee of
American Airmen Rescued by General Myhailovic.
This group gathered hundreds of signatures from rescued airmen,
submitted testimony about Myhalovic S aid to the Allies,
and petition President Truman tointervene.
(36:05):
Several airmen, including Feldman, even volunteered to
travel to Belgrade to testify inMihailovic S defense.
The Yugoslav government refused this offer.
In the US State Department, prioritizing diplomatic
relations with Tito's regime, declined to formally intervene.
Despite their efforts, the airmen were unable to save the
(36:28):
man who had saved them. This failure left a permanent
mark on many of the Operation Halliard veterans.
They felt their government had abandoned a loyal ally for
political expediency, and they carried this sense of unresolved
debt throughout their lives for decades.
Many work to gain recognition for the Serbian contribution to
(36:49):
the Allied cause, often facing official indifference or active
discouragement. As the Cold War progressed and
Yugoslavia occupied a unique position as a communist state
independent of Soviet control, American strategic interests
continued to favor good relations with Tito's
government. The story of Mihailovic and the
(37:09):
Serbian villagers who rescued Allied airmen remained
politically inconvenient, a complication in the simpler Cold
War narrative. Only after the collapse of
communist Yugoslavia in the 1990s did space finally open for
full public recognition of Operation Halliard.
In 2004, a monument was dedicated in Print Johnny near
(37:31):
the site of the makeshift airfield where so many had been
rescued 60 years earlier. The dedication ceremony was
attended by Serbian officials, US diplomats and several aged
veterans of the operation, both rescued airmen and local
villagers who had protected them.
Perhaps the most moving aspects of this belated recognition came
(37:53):
through personal reunions. Several Operation Halliard
veterans, now in their 70s and 80s, returned to Serbia to find
the families who had protected them.
Though many of the original participants had died, their
children and grandchildren welcomed the Americans as
honored guests, completing a circle of friendship that had
(38:14):
endured through decades of political complexity.
Arthur Jebelian, the radio operator from the original OSS
team, made his first return visit to Prin Johnny in 2004.
Then 80 years old, he was greeted by Serbs of all ages,
who treated him as a returning hero.
In an emotional speech, Jabiliansaid, I'm not the hero.
(38:37):
The heroes were the Serbian people who hid these airmen.
They knew that if they were caught, the Germans would shoot
them, their families, their neighbors and burn their homes
and their villages. But they did it anyway.
This human legacy of Operation Hallyard, the bonds formed
between people of different nations through shared danger
(38:58):
and sacrifice, stands as the operations most meaningful
achievement, transcending the military significance and
political complications that surrounded it.
The Legacy Lessons from a classified Operation Operation
Halliard may have remained classified for decades, but its
legacy extends far beyond military history.
(39:20):
As the full story has emerged, this remarkable mission offers
powerful lessons about courage, gratitude, politics, and
historical memory that remain relevant today.
The most obvious military legacylies in the realm of special
operations and rescue missions. Operation Hallier demonstrated
that with proper coordination between ground elements, air
(39:43):
assets, and indigenous support, even the most challenging rescue
operations could succeed under wartime conditions.
Modern military evacuation doctrines, particularly for
personnel recovery from hostile territory, incorporate many
lessons first demonstrated during this mission.
The operation also highlighted the crucial role of language
(40:06):
skills and cultural understanding and special
operations. The success of the OSS team
stemmed partly from the fact that Musilin and other team
members spoke Serbian and understood local customs.
Their ability to work effectively with Mihailovic S
forces and the local population proved essential.
(40:26):
Today's special operations forces place similar emphasis on
language, training and cultural expertise precisely because
operations like Halliard demonstrated their critical
importance. Beyond military lessons,
Operation Halliard offers profound insights into the
relationship between politics and historical truth.
(40:46):
The operation remained classified not because of
ongoing military sensitivity, but because acknowledging it
would have raised uncomfortable questions about Allied policy
decisions regarding Yugoslavia. This political inconvenience led
to a historical injustice, the failure to recognize the
extraordinary courage of Mihailovic in the Serbian
(41:06):
villagers who risked everything to save Allied lives.
This pattern, where historical truth becomes subordinated to
political narratives, has repeated throughout history.
Operation Halliard stands as a reminder of the importance of
separating historical fact from political convenience,
especially when acknowledging the sacrifices made by others on
(41:28):
our behalf. The personal legacy of Operation
Halliard lived on through the rescued airmen who never forgot
what had been done for them. Many spent decades advocating
for recognition of their Serbiansaviors, maintaining connections
with the families who had protected them, and ensuring the
story would eventually be told. Richard Feldman, perhaps the
(41:50):
most vocal of the rescued airmen, dedicated much of his
post war life to gaining recognition for Mihailovic in
the Serbian villagers until his death in 1999.
Feldman spoke at events, wrote articles and lobbied government
officials to acknowledge the debt owed to those who had saved
him and his fellow airmen. He kept the small wooden cross
(42:13):
given to him by a Serbian grandmother as his most
treasured possession. In 1995, half a century after
the rescue, a group of OperationHalliard veterans established
the Halliard Mission Foundation to preserve the history of the
operation and honor both the airmen and the Serbians who
saved them. Through this foundation, they
(42:33):
funded educational initiatives, supported monuments in Serbia
and collected oral histories from surviving participants
before they were lost the time. The foundation's work gained
momentum after the publication of The Forgotten 500 in 2007,
which brought the full story to public attention and inspired
renewed interest in this remarkable operation.
(42:56):
Documentary films followed, including The Forgotten 502,011
and Halliard Mission 2014, further spreading awareness.
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