US-President ! Ronald Reagan: Draza Mihajlovic is a HERO
In telling about General Draza Mihailovic, Ronald Reagan said:

" I believe that the spirit in which you have gathered here to honor the memory of General Mihailovich, the faithful allied commander and the first anti-Nazis leader in Europe, is shared by the great majority of Americans

The ultimate tragedy of Draza Mihailovic cannot erase the memory of his heroic and often lonely struggle against the twin tyrannies that afflicted his people, Nazism and Communism He knew that totalitarianism, whatever name it might take, is the death of freedom He thus became a symbol of resistance to all those across the world who have had to fight a similar heroic and lonely struggle against totalitarianism Mihailovich belonged to Yugoslavia; his spirit now belongs to all those who are willing to fight for freedom

I wish that it could be said that this great hero was the last victim of confused and senseless policies of western governments in dealing with Communism The fact is that others have suffered a fate similar to his by being embraced and then abandoned by western governments in the hope that such abandonment will purchase peace or security

Thus, the fate of General Mihailovich is not simply of historic significance--it teaches us something today, as well No western nation, including the United States, can hope to win its own battle for freedom and survival by sacrificing brave comrades to the politics of international expediency

it has been demonstrated beyond doubt that both freedom and honor suffer when firm commitments become sacrificed to false hopes of appeasing aggressors by abandoning friends"

RONALD REAGAN

THE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA

IPresident Truman awarded Mihailovich the Legion of Merit, the highest combat award the US government can give to a foreign national, but it was kept secret for decades because of pressure from the State Department /
President Richard Nixon said about General Draza: General Draza Mihailovich was a patriot, a brave soldier and a gallant ally of the United States and every nation that went to war in the early forties to destroy the tyrannies that sought to enslave our world

BHundreds of American pilots owe their lives to General Mihailovich and his forces and, the American people will never forget that debt /B

As long as there are patriots in any nation, the name of General Mihailovich will be remembered and revered"


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