R. Knowlton
G. G. Koch
F. S. Koffel
Vladimir Komiskalov
(R)
Peter Kovacovich
Petar Krikun (R)
D. E. LaBissioniere
A. F. LaCom
John Lane
O. H. Larson
Bernard J. Larvin
A. LeBoulie (F)
Clarence R. Ledford
William Lee
R. Leger
W. T. Leslie
John Lindstrom
Donald E. Loehndorf
T. O. Looney
C. S. Lovitt
C. Luciano (I)
F. Lukas
E. D. Lynch
Al Maas
Nikolaj Mahinjko (R)
Konstantin
Mamasuk (R)
K. B. Manley
W. K. Mann
F. Mario (I)
H. Marker
Robert L. Marshall
D. Y. Martin
Frederick Martin
J. P. Martin
R. A. Martin
C. Masellis (I)
Frank Mathews
Paul F. Mato
B. V. Mazzara
Lee McAlister
Michael E. McDonnell
Dale L. McEhaney
Thomas McElroy
W. O. McGinn
G. N. McGuire
Mike P. McKool
R. P. McLaughlin
O. Menaker
G. F. Messick
S. J. Methvin
L. Meyer
G. Mitchell
Robert D. Molina
R.D. Moore
J. Morris
J. Mortimer
Simeon Moskalemko (R)
H. Muckow
J. F. Mueller
K. Munn
Irving S. Muny
L. K. Murray
Clare M. Musgrove
M. Nierman
F. Nino (I)
Lawrence T. Norton
Robert J. Norwood
O. Nouska
D. O’Connell
Michael O’Keefe
J. T. Oliver
Thomas K. Oliver
J. F. O’Grady
G. O’Neal
Anthony J. Orsini
D. B. Osborne
J. D. Owens
K. L. Owens
John W. Pace
D. Parkerson
K. Patten
D. T. Patterson
T. F. Paul
L. Pavlovich
A. L. Pearce
F. Pederson
L. W. Peller
S. N. Pensabena
A. E. Peterson
T. Pettigrew
K. A. Pfister
D. Pierino (I)
Aleksander Plahotnikov
(R)
Robert L. Powers
Leonard. E. Pritchett
D. D. Radabaugh
C. G. Rechtin
N. C. Reid (B)
Norman Reid
P. L. Reinhardt
Joe Renkowitz
D. F. Rice
T. C. Richards
H. J. Ripper
Howard Robert
Hupert Robert
Paksmur Robert
Dale F. Rodgers
A. D. Romans
Anthony Russo
W. C. Rye
George Salapa
Delbert F. Salmon
A. Saucer
J. H. Scharnitsky
Baxter C. Scott
J. E. Scroggs
Floyd F. Shanley
R. S. Sheehy
J. Sickels
Donald Siegfried
S. Sika
E. E. Simon
A. Simone (I)
D. J. Smith
L. L. Smith
Philip Smith
W. R. Smith
H. J. Snyder
R. Somers (B)
H. Souter
R. L. Spence
P. A. Stearns
C. L. Stevenson
H. R. Stillman
R. Straub
Edward E. Stringham
M. Sucharida
D. W. Sullivan
Joseph P. Sullivan
Frank Sutton
Georgij Taminsin (R)
W. Taylor (B)
M. A. Tennison
Anthony P. Thalmann
John H. Thibodeau
R. J. Thies
G. Thomas
J. Thomas
Rodger Thomas
C. H. Townsend
Kenneth M. Turnquist
Sergije Valar (R)
G. Vandervall (F)
M. Vasquez
A. P. Verdi
Joe Verecher, Jr.
F. Vernon
R. N. Vlachos
R. C. Volk
V. A. Volrath
A. P. Waldschmidt
James A. Walker
M. W. Walker
C. J. Walpusk
R. M. Walton
R. J. Weber
Robert Weiss
R. L. Wellborn
N. C. Werner
W. Whelan
Richard P. White
Glenmore R. Wickum
R. R. Wiese
R. W. Williams
Robert I. Wilson
W. Wink
Robert E. Winmill
Harvey C. Witman
Leslie Wolfe
W. E. Wright
D. Yaun
A. Zion
F. A. Zuerchet
Acknowledgments
Writers always owe a huge debt of gratitude to people who were willing to share their intensely personal stories with a stranger. I must thank the veterans involved in Operation Halyard for sharing their stories with me and allowing me to craft their memories into a singular narrative that portrays a bigger picture. George Vujnovich, in particular, was extremely helpful in walking me through the history of the OSS and Operation Halyard, not to mention the fascinating story of his own adventure in Yugoslavia with Mirjana. My thanks also go out to Arthur Jibilian, Tony Orsini, Robert Wilson, Clare Musgrove, and Nick Petrovich for taking the time to share their stories and for trusting that I would treat them with respect.
My research assistant, Drew Mosley, must be credited with much of the leg-work and background studies that help frame the stories of the men involved in Operation Halyard. Drew was a terrific asset, and I appreciate his dedication to researching this story.
Mel Berger is exactly what every writer wants in an agent. Thank you, Mel. Thank you, Mark Chait, my editor, for your thoughtful input. My appreciation also goes out to the research assistants and staff at the Library of Congress, National Archives, and the Air Force Academy. My good friend Wes Hardegree made a significant contribution with his review of an early version of the book and by suggesting the title.
Thank you, Caroline and Nicholas, for being at my side throughout this project. When I think of why stories like this matter, and why men and women throughout history have been willing to risk everything for those they love, I think of you.
—GAF
Notes
A note about the Mihailovich name: Because of the vagaries of translating Balkan names to English, the name of Draza Mihailovich is found under various spellings, sometimes varying even within the same government document or press report. The most common usage is Mihailovich, but Mihailovitch, Mich hailovic, Michailovich, Michailovitch, Mikhailovic, Mikhailovich, Mikhailo vitch, Mahailovic, Mihajlovic, and Mihajlovich also have been used. For consistency, this book uses Mihailovich regardless of how the original source document spelled the name.
Chapter 2
Page 11 “Soviet advances from the Ukraine” Baker, Addison Earl, Lloyd Herbert Hughes, John Louis Jerstad, Leon William Johnson, John Riley Kane. “Ploesti: When Heroes Filled the Sky.” www.homeofheroes.com/wings/part2/09_ploesti.html
Page 11 “seven major refineries, storage tanks, and related structures covering nineteen square miles” “Ploesti Oil Raid: Operation Tidal Wave.” www.ww
2guide.com/oil.shtml
Page 11 “accounting for 40 percent of Romania’s total exports” Ibid.
Page 16 “an ingenious piece of machinery” Kennedy, Joseph. “Sperry Ball Turret.” freepages.military.rootsweb.com/~josephkennedy/sperry_ball_turret. htm
Chapter 4
Page 46 “not just to herd the flock but also to keep the wolves away” Pesic, Miodrag D. Operation Air Bridge: Serbian Chetniks and the Rescued American Airmen in World War II [English translation from the original Serbian]. Belgrade, Yugoslavia: Serbian Masters’ Society, 2002, p. 171.
Page 48 “they had bailed out much later and farther away than the other crew” The pilot and copilot of Wilson’s B-17 were aided by a separate group of Chetniks but never joined up with the other crew. They made it out of Yugoslavia safely.
Page 48 “was a machine gunner on a B-17 when he bailed out over Yugoslavia on July 4, 1944” Pesic, p. 164. Mike McKool’s story is a summary of the account he provided in Operation Air Bridge, along with newspaper articles from 1946, in which he described his experience while campaigning to save Mihailovich.
Page 49 “was flying a borrowed plane” Oliver, Thomas. Unintended Visit to Yugoslavia. Unpublished manuscript donated to the United States Air Force Academy, 1990, p. 1. Thomas Oliver’s story is a summary of the account he provided in his unpublished manuscript.
Page 50 “Another pilot blamed Dinah Shore when he found himself in trouble over Yugoslavia” Pesic, p. 164. Richard Felman’s story is a summary of the account he provided in Operation Air Bridge, along with multiple speeches he gave about his account, and various newspaper and magazine articles in which he described his experience.
Page 53 “Felman was immediately struck by Vasić’s appearance” Ibid.
Chapter 5
Page 63 “known as Captain Milankovic, spoke English” Pesic, p. 166.
Page 65 “afternoon on horseback, accompanied by three soldiers” Oliver, p. 2.
Page 74 “joined Mihailovich’s forces in conducting sabotage against the Germans” Felman, Richard. “Mihailovich and I.” Serbian Democratic Forum, October 1972.
Chapter 6
Page 80 “Please advise the American Air Ministry that there are more than one hundred American aviators in our midst” Martin, David. The Web of Disinformation : Churchill’s Yugoslav Blunder. Orlando, Florida: Harcourt Brace Jovanovich, 1990, p. 232.
Page 83 “Are you involved in trying to get them out?” These are not the exact words from Mirjana’s letter, which is no longer available, but George Vujnovich recounts this version as the gist of what she wrote to him.
Page 83 “One agent reported finding a half-starved B-24 tail gunner who had been shot down in the first raid on Ploesti” Ford, Corey. Donovan of OSS. Boston: Little, Brown and Company, 1970, p. 205.
Page 94 “When Hitler first heard of the coup d’état and the country’s attempt to withdraw from the Axis, he thought it was a joke.” Testimony of Her mann Goering at Nuremburg Military Tribunals, Proceedings of the International Military Tribunals at Nuremburg, p. 344.
Page 94 “Winston Churchill described what happened next” Winston Churchill, The Second World War, Volume 3: The Grand Alliance. Boston: Mariner Books, 1986, p. 175.
Chapter 7
Page 110 “ ‘It’s Mrs. Goebbels!’ ” There is no way to verify that it actually was Magda Goebbels on the plane, but George and Mirjana Vujnovich both thought it was her and said that she acted as one would expect the powerful wife of a top Nazi officer to act. George and Mirjana responded accordingly at the time and remained confident after the war that Magda Goebbels had saved them from a likely arrest.
Chapter 8
Page 123 “individual commanders who were accustomed to working independently” Ford, Kirk, Jr. OSS and the Yugoslav Resistance 1943-1945. College Station, TX: Texas A&M Press, 1992, p. 6.
Page 124 “Mihailovich took a firm position that he could not expose the people of Yugoslavia to such risk unless the outcome was great enough to justify the inevitable deaths . . .” Ford, Kirk, Jr., p. 7.
Page 125 “chief of the Yugoslav prime minister’s military cabinet and the former Yugoslav military and air attache in Washington” Knezevic, Zivan. Why the Allies Abandoned the Yugoslav Army of General Mihailovich, with Official Memoranda and Documents, First Part. Unpublished manuscript donated to the United States Library of Congress, 1945, p. 4.
Page 126 “the deaths of seventy-eight thousand Serbians between the ages of sixteen and fifty” Ibid.
Page 127 “many of those joining the Partisan movement had no such dreams” Ford, Kirk, Jr., p. 8.
Chapter 9
Page 130 “ ‘grand finale against the Axis’ ” Deakin, F. W. Embattled Mountain. New York: Oxford University Press, 1971, p. 152.
Page 131 “he announced that for every German soldier killed by Mihailovich, one hundred Serbs would be shot” Martin, p. 34.
Page 131 “In a telegram sent from Mihailovich on March 2, 1943 . . .” Knezevic, First Part: p. 7.
Page 134 “The English are now fighting to the last Serb in Yugoslavia” Knezevic, Second Part: p. 2.
Page 134 “ ‘I appreciate that words spoken in heat may not express a considered judgment. . .’ ” Knezevic, Second Part: p. 5.
Page 135 “ ‘much worse things would be heard than that speech by General Mihailovich,’ he told Churchill” Knezevic, Second Part: p. 6.
Page 135 “ ‘I avoid battle with the Communists in the country and fight only when attacked’ ” Knezevic, Second Part: p. 9.
Page 135 “detailing an ‘operational decision’ concerning Mihailovich” Knezevic, Second Part: p. 10.
Page 136 “ ‘who was killing the most Germans and suggesting means by which we could help to kill more’ ” Ford, Corey, p. 206.
Page 137 “If Hitler invaded Hell, I would make at least a favorable reference to the Devil in the House of Commons!” Churchill, Winston S. Never Give In: The Best of Winston Churchill’s Speeches. New York: Hyperion, 2003, p. 289.
Page 138 “Some OSS agents felt that the British were every bit their enemy as the Germans, at least when it came to their intelligence activities” Tompkins, Peter. Italy Betrayed. New York: Simon and Schuster, 1966, p. 253.
Page 139 “the heaviest American soldier to make a successful parachute jump in World War II” Ford, Kirk, Jr., p. 29.
Page 139 “could mobilize more than four hundred thousand if he had arms for them” Musulin, George. “Report on the Michailovic’s Cetnik army; suggestions of some Allied support.” Central Intelligence Agency 1944. Reproduced in Declassified Documents Reference System, Farmington Hills, Michigan: Gale Group, 2006.
Page 139 “ ‘a fairly well-organized army’ ” Interestingly, an American woman was one of Mihailovich’s better-known fighters. Ruth Mitchell, the sister of William (Billy) Mitchell, the outspoken Army Air Forces general who was court-martialed in 1925 for accusing superiors of incompetence in not focusing more on air power. His red-haired, headstrong sister volunteered to serve with Mihailovich, acting as liaison officer of the Chetniks with the British army. She was captured by the Gestapo after several months and spent thirteen months in German prisons. She was finally released in 1942 as a result of pressure from the Swiss government and returned to the United States, where she helped report on German atrocities and torture.
Page 141 “virtually all communications in and out of Yugoslavia had to go through British channels” Ford, Kirk, Jr., p. 14. George Vujnovich also confirmed in personal interviews that the British were difficult to work with and sometimes seemed to intentionally interfere with OSS operations.
Page 141 “We can’t fight Jerry with bare feet, brave hearts, and Radio London” Ford, Kirk, Jr., p. 31.
Page 142 “The documents included transcripts . . .” Brown, Colin, and John Crossland. “How a Soviet Mole United Tito and Churchill.” The Independent, June 28, 1997: 1A.
Page 143 “that the time should be called the ‘Klugmann period’ ” Martin, The W
eb of Disinformation: Churchill’s Yugoslav Blunder, p. 94.
Page 144 “ ‘Klugmann was a mole whose great accomplishment . . .’ ” Martin, The Web of Disinformation: Churchill’s Yugoslav Blunder, p. xix.
Page 144 “ ‘the pure intellectual of the Party’ ” Woodward, E. L. British Foreign Policy in the Second World War. London: Her Majesty’s Stationery Office, 1962, p. 346.
Chapter 10
Page 148 “by October 1944 that number would reach forty” O’Donnell, Patrick K. Operatives, Spies, and Saboteurs: The Unknown Story of the Men and Women of WWII’s OSS. New York: Free Press, 2004, p. 86.
Page 149 “ ‘Listen, you bastards! You think I went in and risked my life for almost a year for nothing?’ ” Ford, Kirk, Jr., p. 51.
Page 149 “I came to Bari and saw Partisans all over the damn town” Ford, Kirk, Jr., p. 51.
Page 150 “Yugoslav refugee girls working as waitresses who made no effort to conceal their pro-Communist politics, even wearing Partisan uniforms around Bari on their off hours.” Martin, The Web of Disinformation: Churchill’s Yugoslav Blunder, p. 107.
Page 153 “they hadn’t completely vacated the premises by the time the OSS moved in” Ford, Corey, p. 122.
Page 154 “ ‘absolute discretion, sobriety, devotion to duty, languages, and wide experience,’ Ian advised” McLachlan, Donald. Room 39. London: Weidenfeld and Nicolson: 1968, p. 233.
Page 154 “ ‘calculatingly reckless’ and trained for ‘aggressive action’ ” Smith, Richard Harris. OSS: The Secret History of America’s First Central Intelligence Agency. Guilford, Connecticut: The Lyons Press, 1973, p. 31.
Page 154 “The most important qualification, Donovan declared, was strength of character” Ford, Corey, 1970, p. 134.
Page 155 “A columnist for the Washington Times wrote of the new OSS . . .” Brown, Anthony Cave. The Last Hero: Wild Bill Donovan. New York: Vintage Books, 1984, p. 301.
Page 156 “and a Catholic missionary who had lived with the Kachin tribesmen in northern Burma” Ford, Corey, p. 135.
Page 157 “ ‘The major part of our intelligence was the result of good old-fashioned intellectual sweat’ ” Ford, Corey, p. 148.
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