President Milanović Bestows Order of Duke Domagoj with Ribbon upon Danijel Borović for Bravery and Heroism in the Homeland War
The President of the Republic Zoran Milanović has bestowed the Order of Duke Domagoj with Ribbon upon Lieutenant Colonel Danijel Borović (retd) of the Croatian Armed Forces for bravery and heroism displayed in the Homeland War.
Presenting the decoration to Lieutenant Colonel Danijel Borović (retd), President Milanović said that his name is unjustifiably and without reason among those names that are not well known in the general public. “Danijel Borović, a Lieutenant Colonel of the Croatian Armed Forces and the Croatian Air Force, is the first man to bring into Croatia’s possession and under its ownership a supersonic fighter jet,” President Milanović recalled, also mentioning the pilot Rudolf Perešin, who had previously flown a fighter jet over the border.
“You landed at Pula Airport in the dark, after perilously, skilfully and heroically separating from a fighter jet formation. You landed that MIG on Croatian soil, in the darkness of a wintry Istria, with the light of several truck headlights, placing it under the ownership and functional use of the Croatian Armed Forces and the Croatian Air Force, which was only then being formed,” President Milanović told those present, emphasizing that this was a great heroic act.
Underscoring that Danijel Borović was risking his life to transport a fighter jet to Croatia, President Milanović concluded: “It was a very significant, visible and bold way of strengthening morale in Croatia, as well as the awareness, courage and conviction that we are all one and that there are people who are willing to take risks. They have congratulated you many times, and I thank you.”
Expressing his gratitude to President Milanović for the decoration, Lieutenant Colonel Danijel Borović said that in his opinion such awards should have been presented even earlier. He added that he and three other pilots, who handed over fighter jets from the former Yugoslav People’s Army, were also deprived of their ranks. “Many ask me why it was like that, why that was ignored, including the promotions. There were four pilots who took four supersonic MIG 21 fighter jets from the former Yugoslav Army. None of us became generals and at least one of us should have, if not two of us. That is a fact that will, I hope, be corrected one day,” said Lieutenant Colonel Borović.
“No matter how disappointed we were because of what was happening to us, my wife and I still managed to write this story as the authors of the book “Prelet za Hrvatsku” [Flyover for Croatia], which can serve as a historical document,” Lieutenant Colonel Borović said, expressing gratitude for the support of the Plitvice Lakes Veterans’ Association, Veterans’ Affairs Minister Tomo Medved and former Defence Minister Damir Krstičević, who, as he put it, encouraged him in 2017 to tell his story because it is about a significant event that should be marked.
President Milanović decorated Lieutenant Colonel Danijel Borović (retd) on the eve of the 30th anniversary of the “Flyover for Croatia,” which was undertaken by Lieutenant Colonel Borović on 4 February 1992 when he piloted a MIG 21 fighter jet from Bihać Airport to Pula, making himself available to the Croatian Armed Forces. As a result of his venture, Croatia acquired its first supersonic fighter jet.
Attending the ceremony at the Office of the President with Lieutenant Colonel Danijel Borović were his family members, wife Snježana and son Vanja, as well as Deputy Commander of the Croatian Air Force Colonel Marinko Galović and Commander of the 191st Fighter Squadron Lieutenant Colonel Zvonimir Milatović.
The Head of the Cabinet of the President of the Republic Bartol Šimunić, Adviser to the President of the Republic for Foreign and European Policy Neven Pelicarić and Special Adviser to the President of the Republic for Homeland War Veterans Marijan Mareković were at the ceremony alongside President Milanović.
PHOTO: Office of the President of the Republic of Croatia / Dario Andrišek