Introduction
In the annals of World War II history, some stories remain hidden for decades, only to emerge later as testament to the courage and resilience of those involved. "The Forgotten 500" by Gregory A. Freeman is one such tale, shedding light on a remarkable rescue mission that took place in Nazi-occupied Yugoslavia in 1944. This book uncovers the thrilling narrative of Operation Halyard, a daring endeavor that saved the lives of over 500 Allied airmen stranded behind enemy lines.
As the war raged on in Europe, Allied bombers conducted regular missions over Romania, targeting the country's vital oil fields that fueled the Nazi war machine. Many of these planes never made it back to base, shot down over enemy territory. The airmen who survived faced a perilous situation: parachuting into unknown lands, hoping to evade capture by German forces.
Freeman's account takes us on a journey through the experiences of these downed airmen, the local Serbians who risked everything to protect them, and the intelligence officers who orchestrated their rescue. It's a story of bravery, political intrigue, and against-all-odds success that remained classified for decades after the war's end.
Unexpected Allies in a Hostile Land
When Lieutenant Robert Wilson's B-17 bomber was shot down over Yugoslavia in July 1944, he expected the worst. Allied airmen had been warned to avoid the Chetniks, a Serbian nationalist guerrilla force suspected of collaborating with the Nazis. However, Wilson's experience would prove to be far different from what he had been led to believe.
Upon reaching a Serbian village, Wilson was surprised to find himself welcomed with open arms. Even more astonishing was the discovery that he wasn't alone – other Allied airmen were being hidden by the villagers, protected from the occupying German troops. This scene was repeated across numerous villages in the region, as hundreds of American airmen found themselves under the protection of the very people they had been warned against.
The Chetniks, led by Draža Mihailović, were not turning over Allied airmen to the Germans as feared. Instead, they were risking their own lives to escort Americans away from German-occupied areas to remote mountain villages. In the village of Pranjani, which served as Mihailović's headquarters, hundreds of airmen gathered under the protection of the Chetniks.
Mihailović himself was described by the Americans who met him as a quiet man of principle. He shared the same hardships as his men, eating the same food and participating in difficult tasks. His decision to shelter the Allied airmen put not only his own life at risk but also the lives of many Serbian civilians.
The Complex Political Landscape of Yugoslavia
To understand the situation fully, it's crucial to delve into the complex political landscape of Yugoslavia during World War II. The country was torn between two powerful anti-Nazi resistance groups: Mihailović's Chetniks and Marshal Tito's communist Partisans. Despite their shared enemy in the Nazis, these two factions harbored a deep hatred for each other, driven by conflicting visions for post-war Yugoslavia.
The Chetniks embraced the idea of restoring the pre-war monarchy, while the Partisans envisioned a new communist state under Tito's leadership. Their strategies for resisting the Nazi occupation also differed significantly. The Partisans adopted a more aggressive approach, actively engaging the Nazis even at the cost of civilian lives. In contrast, the Chetniks chose a more cautious strategy, biding their time until an Allied invasion could turn the tide of the war.
These differences led to a complex situation where the Allies, particularly the British and Americans, found themselves backing the Partisans while remaining suspicious of the Chetniks. Intelligence reports suggesting that Mihailović was collaborating with the Nazi occupiers further cemented this position.
Mihailović's decision to aid the Allied airmen was, in part, an attempt to demonstrate his allegiance to the Allied cause. He hoped that by helping these stranded soldiers, he could gain Allied support for his vision of post-war Yugoslavia. However, when intelligence sources in Yugoslavia reported Mihailović's efforts to gather and protect downed Allied airmen, their reports fell on deaf ears. The Allies assumed it was an elaborate ruse by Mihailović to trick them.
The Plight of the Stranded Airmen
As months passed, the situation for the hundreds of stranded Allied airmen grew increasingly dire. With no rescue in sight and German forces always a threat, the men found themselves in a precarious limbo. Food was scarce, and many were reduced to sleeping in barns. Depression became rampant among the soldiers as they grappled with the possibility that they had been forgotten by their own side.
Back home, the families of these airmen had received the dreaded "missing in action" notifications, which often implied that their loved ones were dead. The psychological toll on both the stranded airmen and their families was immense.
The airmen needed a miracle, and against all odds, that miracle was about to unfold.
A Glimmer of Hope: George Vujnovich and the OSS
Across the Adriatic Sea in Italy, rumors of the stranded airmen reached the desk of George Vujnovich, a high-ranking American intelligence official working for the Office of Strategic Services (OSS), the precursor to the CIA. Vujnovich, whose parents had emigrated to the US from Yugoslavia, had extensive connections to the region.
In May 1944, Vujnovich received a letter from his wife Mirjana, herself a native Yugoslav living in Washington, DC. Mirjana had attended a party with fellow Yugoslav immigrants where she heard first-hand accounts of the stranded airmen. This personal intelligence, coming from ordinary people on the ground in Yugoslavia, suggested that perhaps Mihailović wasn't trying to deceive the Allies after all.
Intrigued and moved by his wife's letter, Vujnovich made it his personal mission to investigate the situation and, if possible, orchestrate a rescue attempt. Little did the stranded airmen know that their fate had just taken a turn for the better.
Operation Halyard Takes Shape
Vujnovich wasted no time in putting together a plan. He assembled a team whose mission was to parachute behind enemy lines and make contact with Mihailović. To lead this three-man team, Vujnovich recruited fellow OSS agent and Serbian-American George Musulin, who had previously worked with Mihailović.
The plan, codenamed Operation Halyard, was audacious. If Musulin could confirm the presence of the stranded airmen, he would send an encrypted radio message back to Italy. Then, he would coordinate the secret construction of a landing strip for Allied evacuation planes. If successful, the airmen could be evacuated right under the noses of the occupying German forces.
Many OSS agents considered the plan crazy and doomed to fail. The risks were enormous, and so much could go wrong. But Vujnovich and Musulin were determined. With hundreds of American lives at stake, they had to try.
The Mission Begins
After three months of meticulous preparation and establishing initial contact with Mihailović, Musulin and his team were ready. They boarded a plane headed for Yugoslavia, uncertain if they would make it out alive.
The first two attempts to parachute into enemy territory were thwarted by stormy weather and faulty intelligence. But on August 2, 1944, it was third time lucky for Musulin and his team. They parachuted into Yugoslavia with relative ease, landing not far from a welcoming party of Chetniks and Allied airmen.
When the two groups met, Musulin was shocked to discover that the situation was far more significant than they had anticipated. Instead of the expected 100 airmen, there were more than 500 stranded Allied personnel. The scale of the operation had just increased dramatically, along with the risks involved.
Building a Runway Against All Odds
With the presence of the airmen confirmed, the most challenging and risky phase of the operation began – constructing an improvised runway from scratch, right under the Germans' noses, in mountainous terrain. The task seemed almost impossible, but the team wasted no time in getting started.
The Chetniks lacked proper tools and equipment, so they gathered whatever farm implements they could find – pitchforks, hoes, and oxcarts. The airmen and their Yugoslav hosts worked tirelessly, mostly by hand, to clear the land and create a viable landing strip. To avoid detection by German spy planes, they worked under the cover of darkness, further complicating an already difficult task.
Remarkably, just six days after Musulin's arrival, the runway was nearly complete. This information was radioed back to Italy, along with a request for six cargo planes to arrive the following night. So far, their audacious plan was proceeding better than anyone could have hoped.
The Day of Reckoning
As the day of the evacuation arrived, tension was high. The rescue planes were scheduled to land at night without lights, adding another layer of risk to the operation. But before the sun even set, the sound of approaching aircraft filled the air. To everyone's horror, it wasn't their rescuers but a German Stuka dive bomber accompanied by two Junker transport planes.
Panic ensued as everyone working on the landing strip ran for cover in the nearby forest. Had their plan been discovered? Were these enemy planes about to bomb the runway they had worked so hard to build? Had they come so close to rescue only to have it all fall apart at the last moment?
To their immense relief, the German planes simply passed overhead – it had been a random flight, unrelated to their secret operation. Their plan was still safe, at least for the moment. Musulin briefly considered postponing the first evacuations, but he knew it was now or never. The longer they waited, the greater the chance of discovery by the Germans.
The Rescue Begins
As night fell, the familiar drone of an American C-47 cargo plane was heard approaching. The stranded airmen were ecstatic – rescue was finally at hand. But the most challenging part was yet to come. Could the improvised airstrip support a landing? Was it long enough? And could the pilots manage to land in the dark on a mountainous plateau?
Against all odds, the answer to all these questions was yes. Over the next two days, 272 men were picked up and flown back to Italy. As they departed, the rescued airmen tossed their flight jackets and other gifts to the Yugoslav villagers who had risked so much to help them during their ordeal.
The Success of Operation Halyard
The success of the initial evacuation was just the beginning. Over the following months, more evacuations were planned and executed. Allied airmen continued to make their way to the airstrip from across the region, all with the help of Mihailović's Chetniks.
By the time Operation Halyard concluded, a total of 512 Allied personnel had been rescued, making it the largest successful air evacuation of World War II. It was a testament to the bravery and ingenuity of all involved – the stranded airmen, the Serbian villagers and Chetniks who protected them, and the OSS agents who orchestrated the rescue.
The Aftermath and a Bittersweet Victory
Upon arriving in Italy, all rescued soldiers were ordered to keep the mission a secret. The official reason given was to protect the Yugoslav civilians who had aided them from potential German reprisals. However, there was more to this secrecy than met the eye.
Despite Mihailović's demonstrated dedication to helping the Allies, the official Allied position on him remained unchanged. He was still considered a Nazi collaborator, while Tito's Partisans were seen as doing a much greater job fighting against the Germans. More evidence of previous Chetnik collaboration with the Nazis had also come to light, further complicating the situation.
Within months of the last evacuation plane departing Yugoslavia, World War II came to an end. In Yugoslavia, the Soviet-backed Partisans assumed leadership, and a communist state was established under Tito's rule. In 1946, Mihailović was arrested on charges of treason and Nazi collaboration.
The airmen who had been treated so well by Mihailović and his men were outraged upon learning of the charges. They petitioned the US State Department, pleading, "He saved our lives – now we'll save his." However, although they were granted permission to visit Mihailović in prison, they were not allowed to testify on his behalf in court.
In what the rescued airmen considered a sham trial, Mihailović was found guilty and sentenced to death. He was executed by firing squad on July 17, 1946.
A Legacy Remembered
After his death, Mihailović was largely forgotten by the world at large. However, the rescued airmen never gave up their crusade to prove his innocence and honor his memory. Their perseverance eventually bore fruit when, in 1948, President Harry Truman posthumously awarded Mihailović the Legion of Merit, the highest recognition a foreign national can receive from the United States.
Due to sensitive relations with Yugoslavia, this award was kept secret until 1967. But with the declassification of Operation Halyard, the world can now know of the heroism of Mihailović and the Yugoslav people who risked everything to save hundreds of American lives.
Conclusion
"The Forgotten 500" brings to light a remarkable chapter of World War II history that remained hidden for decades. It's a story of unlikely alliances, daring rescues, and the complex political landscape of wartime Yugoslavia. Gregory A. Freeman's account not only honors the bravery of the Allied airmen and their Serbian saviors but also serves as a reminder of the often-blurred lines between allies and enemies in times of war.
The success of Operation Halyard stands as a testament to human courage and ingenuity in the face of seemingly insurmountable odds. It demonstrates how individuals from different backgrounds can come together in times of crisis, risking everything for a common cause.
The book also highlights the sometimes tragic consequences of wartime politics and alliances. Despite his crucial role in saving Allied lives, Mihailović fell victim to the shifting political tides of post-war Yugoslavia. His story serves as a poignant reminder of the complexities of war and its aftermath, where heroes can be vilified and crucial contributions forgotten.
Ultimately, "The Forgotten 500" is more than just a thrilling war story. It's a tribute to the power of human compassion and the enduring bonds formed between people in the most challenging of circumstances. It reminds us that even in the darkest times, acts of kindness and bravery can shine through, leaving a lasting impact on history.
As we reflect on this incredible story, we're reminded of the importance of preserving and sharing such hidden chapters of history. It allows us to honor those who risked everything to do what was right, even when the world at large may have forgotten their sacrifices.
The legacy of Operation Halyard, Mihailović, and the brave Serbians who aided the Allied airmen lives on through this book. It stands as a powerful reminder that in war, as in life, things are rarely as simple as they seem, and that true heroism often comes from the most unexpected places.