16.09.2026.
Exhibition dedicated to allied relations between Kingdom of Serbia and United States of America in Great War opens
An exhibition titled Allied Relations between the Kingdom of Serbia and the United States of America in the First World War, which illustrates the development of the Serbia-U.S. relations between 1914 and 1919, opened today at the Central Military Club in Belgrade.
Acting Assistant Minister for Budget and Finance Goran Momčilović welcomed the guests on behalf of Minister of Defence Bratislav Gašić, emphasising that “this gathering of Serbs and Americans is not only significant because of their shared historical memory of the alliance, but also from the perspective of the current moment”.- A strategic dialogue has recently been established between the Republic of Serbia and the United States, raising our bilateral ties to their highest level in decades. I am confident that the exhibition we are opening today sends a message to both Belgrade and Washington of a shared commitment to restore our ties to their traditional, historical standing – Assistant Minister Momčilović stressed.
He said that “the ordeal suffered by the Kingdom of Serbia, its people and its army deserves even greater respect given that the small Serbian state, exhausted by the prior Wars of the Balkan Liberation, managed to reorganise and ensure the functioning of key state institutions throughout the First World War”.The exhibition dedicated to the Serbia-U.S. relations opens in the year marking two decades of partnership between the Serbian Armed Forces and the Ohio National Guard, an elite U.S. unit that played a monumental role in strategically crucial allied operations on the European front toward the end of the Great War - in the autumn of 1918.
The Adjutant General of the Ohio National Guard, Major General Matthew Woodruff, noted that “Serbs and Americans stood shoulder to shoulder during the First World War, not only as military partners, but also through humanitarian efforts that brought hope in those difficult times”.- As we reflect on those historical moments, we are reminded that the strongest partnerships are built upon shared values: courage, compassion, service and the willingness to help others. This year is particularly important as it marks 145 years of diplomatic ties between the United States and Serbia and 20 years of the State Partnership Program between Ohio and Serbia. These important events remind us of the friendship between our nations, built on a strong foundation and a long history of mutual respect – said Major General Woodruff, adding that what matters is that these ties did not end with the Great War, but continued into the Second World War and are reflected in the magnificent Operation Halyard.
Speaking about the exhibition, the Head of the Central Military Club Gallery, Jelena Knežević, emphasised that following the offensive by the Central Powers, American Red Cross representatives stayed behind to organise hospitals and food distribution for the Serbian population. She singled out Dr Earl Bishop Downer, a surgeon who treated Serbian patients for nine months.The exhibition opening was attended by Acting Assistant Minister for Defence Policy Predrag Bandić, Head of the Operations Department, Serbian Armed Forces General Staff, Brigadier General Vladan Milosavljević, Director of the Military Archive Colonel Petar Ivanović, State Secretary in the Ministry of Labour, Employment, Veteran and Social Affairs Zoran Antić, along with representatives from the Ministry of Defence, the Serbian Armed Forces, and the Ohio National Guard.
The exhibition Allied Relations between the Kingdom of Serbia and the United States of America in the First World War comprises archival documents, photographs, military records, and museum artefacts illustrating the development of Serbia-U.S. relations between 1914 and 1919. The curatorial team from the Military Archive, led by Marijana Mraović, Ph.D., presented the work of Serbia’s diplomatic mission in Washington and an important role of Professor Mihajlo Pupin in developing ties between the two countries, U.S. President Woodrow Wilson’s 1918 proclamation of Serbia Day marked by the flying of the Serbian flag over the White House as a unique act of friendship and alliance, humanitarian initiatives of the American Red Cross, numerous charitable organisations, and prominent female philanthropists, and the stories of thousands of volunteers of Serbian origin who travelled from the United States to join the ranks of the Serbian army.
The exhibition is open until October 10.
PHOTOGALLERY
VIDEOGALLERY16.09.2026
mp4 (365,1 MB)The exhibition
