[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 163 (2017), Part 8]
[House]
[Page 11657]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




           THE SECRET SERBIAN RESCUE MISSION OF WORLD WAR II

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. The Chair recognizes the gentleman from 
Texas (Mr. Poe) for 5 minutes.
  Mr. POE of Texas. Mr. Speaker, during the long, dark, lamentable days 
of World War II, Serbians and Americans forged a bond in a secret 
mission that remained classified for almost 60 years.
  What was known as Operation Halyard became the largest rescue 
operation of American airmen in history. It would not have been 
possible without the courage of the Serbian people.
  In 1944, as the Allies advanced into fortress Europe, American 
bombers based in southern Italy began to strike Germany's vital oil 
supplies in Romania. The 15th Air Force launched nearly 20,000 sorties 
into Eastern Europe to degrade Hitler's war machine. To do this, they 
had to fly over Nazi-occupied Yugoslavia. As many as 1,500 pilots and 
airmen were shot down during these dangerous flights.
  Serbians who had been resisting German forces since 1941 risked their 
own lives to rescue American aircrews and hide them from patrolling 
Nazis. One of them was Serbian George Dudich, the father of Elaine 
Dudich, my chief of staff when I was a judge in Texas.
  For months, George Dudich and the other Serbians aided downed 
Americans, caring for and protecting the pilots, and then smuggling the 
aircrews back to Allied lines.
  By August 1944, hundreds of other downed aircrews were being 
sheltered by the Serbian guerillas. The OSS, the predecessor to the 
CIA, devised a plan to evacuate the Allied pilots in a daring mission 
coordinated with the Serbian resistance.
  On August 10, unarmed American C-47s flew numerous sorties deep into 
enemy territory and landed at an improvised airfield built and 
protected by local Serbians near the village of Pranjani. By the 18th, 
more than 500 Allied airmen had been secretly rescued and flown back to 
Italy.
  Here on this poster you see the Serbian resistance, along with 
American aircrews that had been downed, moving them to hiding from the 
Nazis that were patrolling the areas. For over 60 years, this bold, 
unbelievable secret operation was kept classified.
  Our alliance with Serbia and the Serbian people goes back even 
further to the First World War. One hundred years ago, Serbia stood up 
to the aggression from the larger Austrian-Hungarian empire. We should 
admire such defiance against overwhelming odds.
  Serbia's stand against tyranny also set events in motion that would 
lead the U.S. to take up the cause of freedom in Europe in World War I. 
That common devotion to liberty and the spirit of the Halyard mission 
still lives today with the close ties between the United States and 
Serbia.
  As was the case in both World Wars, Serbia and the United States 
still face shared threats. We work together now to preserve each 
others' security. Serbian soldiers serve along with U.S. forces in 
fighting terrorism in Afghanistan, and Serbia is a partner in keeping 
terrorism from spreading in Serbia and in Europe.
  However, Russian propaganda efforts in the country are particularly 
strong and anti-Western. We must be vigilant to thwart the Kremlin's 
efforts to poison our relationship with Serbia.
  Fortunately, Serbia's integration into the West has continued to move 
in spite of Russian disinformation. In 2006, Serbia joined NATO's 
Partnership for Peace and, in 2015, signed an Individual Partnership 
Action Plan with the alliance to strengthen cooperation.
  Serbia has no stronger supporter for increased integration with the 
EuroAtlantic community than the United States. So for more than 100 
years, we have been friends with the Serbian people. And as co-chair of 
the Serbian Caucus, along with the gentleman from Missouri (Mr. 
Cleaver), I want to welcome Serbian Ambassador Matkovic and his staff 
to the House Chamber today.
  With our shared events in Operation Halyard, our combined history, 
and our fight for freedom, the American people are forever grateful for 
those Serbs who came to America's rescue during those bleak days of 
World War II.
  And that is just the way it is.

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