27.06.2025.
Minister Gašić: By building the Veterans House, we are building ourselves
Defence Minister Bratislav Gašić has laid today the foundation stone for the construction of the Veterans House in Kruševac, together with Milica Đurđević Stamenkovski, Minister of Labour, Employment, Veterans and Social Affairs and Bojan Tomić, President of the Union of Associations of Fighters of the National Liberation Wars of Serbia (SUBNOR) of the City of Kruševac.
The foundation stone laying ceremony, that included representatives of veterans’ associations, was attended by General Milan Mojsilović, Chief of the Serbian Armed Forces General Staff.In his address to those present, Minister Gašić said that, standing at the place where “with God’s help and our efforts” the Veterans’ House will be built, he felt both pride and sadness.
- All of you, brothers and sisters, who have gathered here today, understand and deeply appreciate the value of the sacrifice that our fellow citizens - fathers, brothers, relatives, friends, neighbours - made in defending this country and this people. You are aware of the courage with which they took up arms, as active or reserve members of our army, to defend their homeland, home and family, opposing force and injustice. I am proud that we have come together and shown the fortitude and determination to build a facility that will serve as the headquarters for many veterans’ organisations and associations for the disabled in a respectable and dignified manner. I acknowledge that I regret that we did not take this action much earlier - the defence minister underlined.
“May those who fell defending freedom, and then those who bled, but survived the horrors of war, forgive us for not having previously ensured that the associations that preserve the memory of their exploits were given the space they deserve”, he said.
- With this undertaking, this construction, we will build ourselves up. Thanks to previous generations, we may now approach future generations with a message: the freedom we enjoy today was not free. It was defended, deserved, preserved. All these known and unknown heroes did not take freedom with them to the grave, but left it to us. And just as most of us are unaware of the value of health until we become ill, many people are unaware of the value of freedom, until it is taken away from them. Therefore, it is our responsibility as elders, who have primarily learned the value of health, to teach our children and grandchildren the value of freedom. They must know that every wish, hope and ambition - personal and professional, can be realised only if Serbia is free and independent - Minister Gašić said.As he pointed out, young people should understand that these values, which are based on the laws of nature and time, have been passed down to them, and that they must be prepared to defend and protect it, for the benefit of their children.
- I am confident that the younger generation will embrace our advice and build the bulwark of defence even bigger and stronger, so that no force can ever defeat it. By building the Veterans House, we are doing what we believe in. And whenever we did so, God blessed our efforts. On the eve of our great St. Vitus Day, let us pray to the Lord to support us in all righteous and good undertakings in His name and for the glory of our one and only Serbia. Long live Serbia - the defence minister concluded.
The Veterans House, a new functional and multipurpose building, will be adapted to meet the needs of veterans’ organisations and associations of the disabled from the territory of Kruševac. The new building, which will adorn the upper part of Majke Jugovića Street, will be built on the site of the former Art Studio, which brought together artists from the Rasina District and Kruševac, but whose reconstruction was not possible due to the devastation.Today’s foundation stone laying ceremony was attended by Colonel Boris Stojković, Head of CHOD’s Private Office, Colonel Nikola Matović, Deputy Head of Defence Minister’s Private Office, Ivan Manojlović, Mayor of Kruševac, and representatives of local government, representatives of veterans’ organisations and associations of the disabled, and numerous citizens of Kruševac.
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