Skip to main content (Press Enter).
 News
    
        Photos

    Week in Photos

    Air Force TV

    Commentaries

    Features

    Art

    About Us
    
        Air Force Senior Leaders
    
        SECAF

    CSAF

    CMSAF

    Biographies

    Fact Sheets

    SECAF Reading List

    CSAF Leadership Library
    
        CSAF Leadership Library 2022

    CSAF Leadership Library 2021

    CSAF Reading List Pre-2020 Archive
    
        2018 CSAF Reading List

    2017 CSAF Reading List

    2016 CSAF Reading List

    CSAF Leadership Library 2023

    CMSAF Leadership Library

    50 Years of the CMSAF

    Adjunct Professors

    Air Force Strategic Documents

    Arctic Strategy

    Empowered Airmen

    State Licensure Portability

    Careers

    AF Federal Advisory Committees

    AF 75th Anniversary

    Policy Updates

    AF Content Management

    Contact Us

    AF Sites
    
        Site RegistrationU.S. Air Force LogoAir Force

        Policy UpdatesNewsroomReoptimizationBIOGRAPHIESAF Senior Leaders      Brig. Gen. Randy Huston, 3rd Air Force mobilization assistant, speaks to his Serbian Armed Forces counterpart at the Operation Halyard memorial in Pranjani, Serbia, Nov. 17, 2016.  The U.S. State Department, U.S. Air Force, Royal Air Force and Serbian Armed Forces were in attendance to commemorate the event and the heroic actions of the Serbian people. Operation Halyard was the rescue mission to save more than 500 Allied Airmen who were shot down over Serbia during WWII. The local Serbians housed and fed the downed Airmen, while also keeping their presence a secret from the German forces searching for them. The operation was, and still is, the largest rescue of downed Americans. (U.S. Air Force photo by Tech. Sgt. Ryan Crane)Operation Halyard Commemoration in Serbia
                        
                        
                        Brig. Gen. Randy Huston, the Third Air Force mobilization assistant, speaks to his Serbian Armed Forces counterpart at the Operation Halyard memorial in Pranjani, Serbia, Nov. 17, 2016. The U.S. State Department, U.S. Air Force, Royal Air Force and Serbian Armed Forces were in attendance to commemorate the event and the heroic actions of the Serbian people. Operation Halyard was the rescue mission to save more than 500 Allied Airmen who were shot down over Serbia during World War II. The local Serbians housed and fed the downed Airmen, while also keeping their presence a secret from the German forces searching for them. (U.S. Air Force photo/Tech. Sgt. Ryan Crane)
                
                Photo Details /
                        Download Hi-Res
        


        A Serbian man, who was a child when his family cared for downed WWII Airmen, recounts the day in 1944 when the Airmen were shot down behind enemy lines at the Operation Halyard memorial in Pranjani, Serbia, Nov. 17, 2016.  The U.S. State Department, U.S. Air Force, Royal Air Force and Serbian Armed Forces were in attendance to commemorate the event and the heroic actions of the Serbian people. Operation Halyard was the rescue mission to save more than 500 Allied Airmen who were shot down over Serbia during WWII. The local Serbians housed and fed the downed Airmen, while also keeping their presence a secret from the German forces searching for them. The operation was, and still is, the largest rescue of downed Americans. (U.S. Air Force photo by Tech. Sgt. Ryan Crane)Operation Halyard Commemoration in Serbia
                        
                        
                        A Serbian man, who was a child when his family cared for downed World War II Airmen, recounts the day in 1944 when the Airmen were shot down behind enemy lines at the Operation Halyard memorial in Pranjani, Serbia, Nov. 17, 2016.  The U.S. State Department, U.S. Air Force, Royal Air Force and Serbian Armed Forces were in attendance to commemorate the event and the heroic actions of the Serbian people. Operation Halyard was the rescue mission to save more than 500 Allied Airmen who were shot down over Serbia during WWII. The local Serbians housed and fed the downed Airmen, while also keeping their presence a secret from the German forces searching for them. (U.S. Air Force photo/Tech. Sgt. Ryan Crane)
                
                Photo Details /
                        Download Hi-Res
        


        The U.S. and Serbian flags are displayed together at an historic marker, detailing a part of Operation Halyard at a ranch in Pranjani, Serbia, Nov. 17, 2016.  The U.S. State Department, U.S. Air Force, Royal Air Force and Serbian Armed Forces were in attendance to commemorate the event and the heroic actions of the Serbian people. Operation Halyard was the rescue mission to save more than 500 Allied Airmen who were shot down over Serbia during WWII. The local Serbians housed and fed the downed Airmen, while also keeping their presence a secret from the German forces searching for them. The operation was, and still is, the largest rescue of downed Americans. (U.S. Air Force photo by Tech. Sgt. Ryan Crane)Operation Halyard Commemoration in Serbia
                        
                        
                        The American and Serbian flags are displayed together at a historic marker, detailing a part of Operation Halyard at a ranch in Pranjani, Serbia, Nov. 17, 2016. The U.S. State Department, U.S. Air Force, Royal Air Force and Serbian Armed Forces were in attendance to commemorate the event and the heroic actions of the Serbian people. Operation Halyard was the rescue mission to save more than 500 Allied Airmen who were shot down over Serbia during World War II. The local Serbians housed and fed the downed Airmen, while also keeping their presence a secret from the German forces searching for them. (U.S. Air Force photo/Tech. Sgt. Ryan Crane)
                
                Photo Details /
                        Download Hi-Res

US commemorates Serbian support during WWIIPublished Nov. 21, 2016
                    
                    By Tech. Sgt. Ryan Crane
                    
                    
                    U.S. Air Forces in Europe and Air Forces Africa Public Affairs
            **PRANJANI, Serbia (AFNS)  --**The sky was black with the billowing smoke of the downed B-17 bombers and the canopies of Allied Airmen parachuting to an unknown fate behind Nazi lines in German-occupied Serbia. This is the sight the villagers of Pranjani remember from the late summer of 1944.Operation Halyard was an Office of Strategic Services (OSS) mission to rescue more than 500 Allied Airmen who were scattered around a mountainous region in Serbia after their bombers were shot down by the Germans in World War II. It remains the largest rescue operation of American Airmen in history. The U.S. State Department, U.S. Air Force, Royal Air Force, Serbian Armed Forces and local government officials attended a commemoration event in Pranjani Nov. 18, which honored the villagers who welcomed the downed Airmen with open arms.“As an Airman myself, I can only imagine the fear they felt as they escaped from a mortally wounded bomber and parachuted into a land they knew nothing about,” said Brig. Gen. Randy Huston, the Third Air Force mobilization assistant, during a speech where he addressed an audience at the historic makeshift airfield. After parachuting in, they were greeted by the villagers with food and drinks.“People who barely had enough food for their families shared all that they had with these Airmen,” Huston said.A local hospital was set up to help treat the wounded Airmen.“They cared for the injured Airmen, and every injured Airman who was taken care of, lived,” Huston said. “It was pretty amazing what these common people did to take care of people they didn’t even know.”Kyle Scott, the U.S. ambassador to Serbia, echoed the general’s sentiments toward the Serbians. Switching between English and Serbian, he explained the importance of the villager’s heroic actions.“Local villagers willingly placed their lives and the lives of their families at risk,” Scott said. “This event commemorates the incredibly strong friendship between our two nations. Through the course of two world wars, we have stood shoulder to shoulder.”During the event, the Halyard committee unveiled seven markers that help tell the story of the Halyard Operation, as well as identify important locations filled with history from the time.Delegations from the U.S., RAF and Serbia placed wreaths at the base of a monument that commemorates the bravery of the villagers and the organizations involved in the operation.The monument is permanently displayed on a hilltop field in Pranjani where the OSS and Serbian military arranged for C-47 transport aircraft to evacuate the Airmen. “With their bare hands, Americans and Serbs worked side by side on this landing field that would help those planes take them off to their rescue,” Scott said. Despite this being a military style operation, it wasn’t just the military officials who made the rescue possible.“Everyone in the village turned out to level the airfield and expand it to make the airlift possible,” Huston said. “Due to the courage and self-sacrifices of the Serbian people of this region, these Airmen survived.”Like walking in the footsteps of the downed Airmen, the group toured various sites throughout the region, getting a glimpse into the hospitality and treatment they received from the Serbians.One marker tells the story of an Airman who happened to parachute onto a family’s hilltop ranch. He stayed with them for two months, taking care of their small child while the family went out to tend to their ranch. The Airman and family remained in contact throughout their lifetimes.The event was fortunate enough to host the last surviving member of the Chetnik force, who assisted with the airlift of the Airmen. The story of the operation has been preserved by the family members of those involved, and the Serbian people as a whole regard this as one of their proudest moments of U.S. and Serbian relations.The ambassador closed the event by thanking the villagers and thanking the Serbian people for their heroism.“Some of our bombers had the fortune to parachute down on Serbian soil, because these men and women risked everything to save them,” Scott said. “The people of this region are the real heroes of this operation. They gave from their meager tables the last crumbs they had to save our soldiers and keep them alive. They risked everything. And for that, America will be forever, forever grateful.”USAFE 



AFAFRICA 



WWII 



B-17 



Pranjani 



C-47 



Third AF 



Serbia Featured News
        Senior Leader Priorities
                SecAF, CSAF, CMSAF begin Indo-Pacific trip focused on ACE
                    
                    DAF leaders talk budget, reoptimizing the force
                    
                    DAF leaders speak at National Character and Leadership Symposium
                    
                    DAF members recognized during BEYA STEM awards
                    
                    DAF senior enlisted advisors discuss Airmen, Guardians in the fightInnovation
                F-16s arrive to be modified for autonomous testing
                    
                    AFWERX director discusses role of tech startups, quick innovation in Great Power Competition
                    
                    DAF delivers lethality at the speed of data during Project Convergence Capstone 4
                    
                    DAF welcomes industry partners to HQ development program
                    
                    DAF announces Spark Tank 2024 finalistsMAJCOM News
                Safety enterprise announces new mission, vision, goals in 2024 strategic plan
                    
                    Air Combat Command welcomes new commander
                    
                    USAFE-AFAFRICA commander discusses Integrated Air, Missile Defense during Munich Security Conference
                    
                    Flosi to AFMC family: Embrace change, make every day count
                    
                    AMC rises to increasing global tension
 Quick Links
AccessibilityContact UsEqual OpportunityFOIA | Privacy | Section 508Information QualityInspector GeneralJAG Court-Martial DocketLink DisclaimerNo FEAR ActOpen GovernmentOSI Tip LinePlain LanguageQuestionsResilienceRSSSite MapVeterans Crisis LineCareers
Join the Air ForceAir Force BenefitsAir Force CareersAir Force ReserveAir National GuardCivilian ServiceConnect
            Get Social with Us
            
            Official United States Air Force Website
    Hosted by Defense Media Activity - WEB.mil