25.09.2012.

Gym in elementary school in Pranjani completed

State Secretary of Defense Aleksandar Nikolic and U.S. Ambassador Michael Kirby today, with the formal ribbon-cutting ceremony, celebrated the completion of the elementary school "Ivo Andric" in Pranjani. The opening ceremony was attended by the School Principal Stanojevic Gorica and the Mayor of Gornji Milanovac Milisav Mirkovic.

Addressing those gathered, Secretary of State Nikolic said he was pleased, to have had the opportunity on his and MoD’s behalf, to attend the ceremony which showed mutual desire to improve friendly relations between the two countries in cooperation with representatives of the Embassy of the United States and the US European Command.

I want to thank you on behalf of the Serbian people for not forgetting what happened more than half a century. The "Humanitarian Assistance project" will give these children and the neighbouring villages modern school premises, and also will serve as a memorial to remind us of all the heroic deeds of Serbian citizens, as State Secretary Nikolic remarked, adding that the Serbian people in this area, and throughout Sumadija, demonstrated their outstanding greatness, courage and sacrifice.

The U.S. Ambassador thanked everyone who participated in this project.

- Though I am the only one present here today, there are many of them who made this project successful. Especially the US European whose staff worked on the project and which had allocated money and invested time for this project. I hereby thank the Serbian people who helped our pilots during the war, but I would like the children to remember their ancestors, as Ambassador Kirby stated.

Building a school gym and the renovation of several classrooms was carried out with the donation of the US forces European Command in the amount of 640,000 USD.

Pranjani is the place where during the Second World War the biggest rescue operation was organized to evacuate Allied pilots from the enemy lines. The mission was named “Halyard” during which more than 500 Airmen were rescue with the generous help of the local population who built a temporary runway to allow U.S. planes to land and rescue the pilots. Because of this historical event the U.S. Embassy continues to forge friendly relations with the village of Pranjani.