Part 14 (1/2)
Page 213 ”He was playing it safe by a.s.signing only twelve men to each C-47 . . .” Some reports, including Felman's recollections, indicate that Musulin a.s.signed twenty men per plane, but Musulin's report of the initial rescues indicate that he selected seventy-two men for six planes. It is likely that he increased the number of men per plane after the first night, once he had more confidence that the C-47s could safely use the improvised landing strip.
Page 217 ”The cows waddled up into the field . . .” Martin, The Web of Disinformation: Churchill's Yugoslav Blunder, The Web of Disinformation: Churchill's Yugoslav Blunder, p. 237. p. 237.
Page 221 ”Then, at exactly ten p.m., they heard the drone of a plane” Ford, Corey, p. 211. Other reports state that the planes arrived at eleven p.m. or midnight, but all state that the planes arrived exactly when they were expected. Musulin's report after the rescue includes a direct quote saying they arrived at ten p.m.
Page 222 ”This time he used the lamp to blink a predetermined code word: -. .-. Nan Nan” Ford, Corey, p. 211.
Chapter 16.
Page 227 ”The planes were on the ground, and now he had to get back in the air” Some accounts describe the four planes landing one at a time, loading up with airmen, and then taking off before the next plane landed. That was Musulin's intention, to avoid the planes crowding each other on the small airstrip and possibly colliding, but the C-47 pilots apparently were eager to land and get back up again because they were carrying a minimal fuel load. Musulin's report indicates that the planes were on the ground together and then took off again.
Page 235 ” 'is LaGuardia airfield anything like this?' ” Martin, The Web of Disinformation: Churchill's Yugoslav Blunder, The Web of Disinformation: Churchill's Yugoslav Blunder, p. 237. p. 237.
Page 236 ”He had overindulged in plum brandy during the night and almost missed his flight” Martin, The Web of Disinformation: Churchill's Yugoslav Blunder The Web of Disinformation: Churchill's Yugoslav Blunder, p. 237.
Page 237 ”Musulin soon had orders to get on one of the rescue planes and return to Italy” Some partic.i.p.ants recall that Musulin was ordered back to Italy on the same day, returning on one of the last flights out of Pranjane on August 10. Though that version of events makes a better anecdote, Musulin actually stayed in Pranjane for more than two weeks after sending the Serbian men to Italy. The rebuke from Bari did come on the same day, but Musulin spent two weeks arguing with his superiors and insisting that he be allowed to stay. When he saw that the dispute was holding up any further rescue flights and nearly one hundred more men were ready to leave Pranjane, he relented and angrily returned to Bari.
Page 239 ”the most successful rescue ever of downed airmen behind enemy lines and one of the largest rescue missions of any type in World War II or since” In fact, by just one man the Operation Halyard mission was the largest rescue behind enemy lines in World War II-if the multiple rescues over several months are counted as a single mission. A total of 512 American airmen and Allied personnel were rescued in Operation Halyard from August 19, 1944, to December 27, 1944. A month later on January 30, 1945, United States Army Rangers and Filipino guerillas liberated 511 American and Allied personnel from a prisoner-of-war camp near Cabanatuan in the Philippines. (King, M. J. Leavenworth Papers No. 11, Rangers: Selected Combat Operations in World War II. U.S. Army Command General Staff College.) The number of prisoners thought to be at the camp was higher by at least two or three, but 511 were successfully rescued. It should be noted that unlike Operation Halyard, the Cabanatuan rescue took place all at once and under enemy fire. A full account of the Cabanatuan rescue can be found in Ghost Soldiers Ghost Soldiers by Hampton Sides (Doubleday, 2001). by Hampton Sides (Doubleday, 2001).
Readers also may be familiar with the story of Royal Air Force officers who escaped from Stalag-Luft III, Germany's most secure prisoner-of-war camp, in March 1944. The story is told in The Great Escape The Great Escape by Anton Gill (Review, 2002) and other books, as well as the 1963 movie by the same name. By comparison to the 512 rescued in Operation Halyard, the Stalag-Luft III escape involved seventy-six men, of which seventy-three were recaptured. by Anton Gill (Review, 2002) and other books, as well as the 1963 movie by the same name. By comparison to the 512 rescued in Operation Halyard, the Stalag-Luft III escape involved seventy-six men, of which seventy-three were recaptured.
Chapter 17.
Page 249 ”The first hint in the press of the remarkable success of the rescue mission came” ”Radio Signal Aids Rescue of 250 Fliers.” The Was.h.i.+ngton Post The Was.h.i.+ngton Post, February 20, 1945, p. 2.
Page 250 ”Two days later the newspaper ran a lengthy letter to the editor from Konstantin Foti . . .” Letters to the Editor: Credit Where Due. The Was.h.i.+ngton Post The Was.h.i.+ngton Post, February 22, 1945, p. 6.
Page 251 ” 'rather depressed, thinking of the possibilities of Russia one day turning against us . . .' ” Gilbert, Martin. Churchill: A Life Churchill: A Life. New York: Henry Holt and Company, 1991.
Page 252 ”Reading the Was.h.i.+ngton Post Was.h.i.+ngton Post on the morning of March 25, 1946, he found a small article . . .” ”Mihailovich Under Arrest, Belgrade Says.” on the morning of March 25, 1946, he found a small article . . .” ”Mihailovich Under Arrest, Belgrade Says.” The Was.h.i.+ngton Post The Was.h.i.+ngton Post, March 25, 1946, p. 2.
Page 254 ”It does not matter that Draza Mihailovich will live or die” Pesic, p. 122.
Page 255 ”The headline in the Press Press in Cleveland, Ohio, was CLEVELANDER AIDS GEN. MIHAILOVICH.” National Committee of American Airmen to Aid Gen. Draza Mihailovich and the Serbian People. Press Clippings, Book II. Chicago, 1946. in Cleveland, Ohio, was CLEVELANDER AIDS GEN. MIHAILOVICH.” National Committee of American Airmen to Aid Gen. Draza Mihailovich and the Serbian People. Press Clippings, Book II. Chicago, 1946.
Page 255 ”In the Telegraph Telegraph of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, the headline read STATE TROOPERS HAIL MIHAILOVICH AS FRIEND” Ibid. of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, the headline read STATE TROOPERS HAIL MIHAILOVICH AS FRIEND” Ibid.
Page 255 ”The New York Journal American New York Journal American quoted former OSS agent Eli Popovich . . .” Ibid. quoted former OSS agent Eli Popovich . . .” Ibid.
Page 256 ”The headline in the Times Times in Detroit, Michigan, read DRAZA BETRAYED, CLAIMS DETROITER.” Ibid. in Detroit, Michigan, read DRAZA BETRAYED, CLAIMS DETROITER.” Ibid.
Page 256 ”In an article he wrote for the New York Journal American New York Journal American . . .” Ibid. . . .” Ibid.
Page 257 ”In one article Nick Lalich delivered a copy of his own Legion of Merit citation to the Was.h.i.+ngton Post Was.h.i.+ngton Post . . .” ”Ex-OSS Agent Uses Citation in Effort to Aid Mihailovich.” . . .” ”Ex-OSS Agent Uses Citation in Effort to Aid Mihailovich.” The Was.h.i.+ngton Post The Was.h.i.+ngton Post, May 1, 1946, p. 14.
Page 261 ”In the New York World-Telegram New York World-Telegram on April 19, 1946, a headline read CHURCHILL WAS TAKEN IN BY t.i.tO, WRITER CLAIMS” Ibid. on April 19, 1946, a headline read CHURCHILL WAS TAKEN IN BY t.i.tO, WRITER CLAIMS” Ibid.
Page 262 ”The trial of General Draza Mihailovich began on June 10, 1946, in a makes.h.i.+ft courtroom . . .” ”Draza Aided Reich, Italy, Court Told.” The Was.h.i.+ngton Post The Was.h.i.+ngton Post, June 11, 1946, p. 2.
Page 264 ”In an editorial on June 17, 1946, the Was.h.i.+ngton Post Was.h.i.+ngton Post acknowledged that t.i.to was railroading Mihailovich . . .” ”Mihailovitch Trial.” acknowledged that t.i.to was railroading Mihailovich . . .” ”Mihailovitch Trial.” The Was.h.i.+ngton Post The Was.h.i.+ngton Post, June 17, 1946, p. 6.
Page 265 ”MIHAILOVICH EXECUTED BY FIRING SQUAD, the headline read” ”Mihailovitch Executed by Firing Squad.” The Was.h.i.+ngton Post The Was.h.i.+ngton Post, July 18, 1946, p. 6.
Chapter 18.