28.10.2010.
Memories of Halyard operation
A former U.S. pilot Milton Friend held today a press conference where he evoked memories of the Operation Halyard. It is the largest rescue mission of American pilots in World War II when more than 500 American pilots trapped behind enemy’s lines in Serbia were rescuedAfter returning from Romania, on 6 June 1944, the American plane was shot down near Pozarevac. Of the eleven crew members, ten survived, including Friend, who then served as navigator.
In Pranjani, where pilots were taken, improvised airplane runways were built by the residents of this village in Šumadija (central part of Serbia) After 66 days spent with Serbian farmers, who provided them with refuge, young airman Milton Friend was joyous to welcome the plane that took him to Bari. After 66 years he came to Belgrade to once again express his gratitude to the Serbian people for being courageous and hospitable to American pilots.Milton Friend arrived from the United States to testify at the hearing on the request for the rehabilitation of general Dragoljub - Draza Mihajlovic, a general of the then Kingdom of Yugoslavia Army.
