President Milanović Receives Delegation of Association of Volunteers and Veterans of the 101st Croatian Defence Council’s Bosanski Brod Brigade
The President of the Republic Zoran Milanović received today a delegation of the Association of Volunteers and Veterans of the 101st Croatian Defence Council’s (HVO) Bosanski Brod Brigade. It is the first unit founded in the Bosnian Posavina region that defended Bosanski Brod and surrounding area from attacks of the Bosnian Serb army.
Representatives of the Association, former commanders and members of the brigade presented to President Milanović the war record of this unit which was founded on 3 March 1992 as the 1st Bosanski Brod Brigade, to be renamed the 101st Croatian Defence Council’s (HVO) Bosanski Brod Brigade in May 1992. According to them, the 101st Croatian Defence Council’s (HVO) Bosanski Brod Brigade fought on one of the harshest battlefields in Bosnia and Herzegovina, which is illustrated by the number of killed and wounded. From a total of 4,955 members of the brigade, 436 were killed, and more than 1,400 wounded.
The Association today assembles around 900 members who mostly live in Slavonski Brod, where the headquarters of the Association is located. Representatives of the Association announced the publication of a book featuring their brigade and its role in the war in BiH, and preparations are under way to celebrate their foundation on 3 March. They thanked President Milanović for recognizing the HVO’s role in the Homeland War as evidenced by earlier decorations awarded to HVO Guards Brigades, and they hope that the 1st Bosanski Brod Brigade will be decorated too.
In the delegation of the Association were president Ivo Đogaš who is former commander of the HVO Battalion, head of the 1st Bosanski Brod Brigade and commander of the 108th Company of the Croatian Army; Association member Mato Vidović, former commander of the 1st Bosanski Brod Brigade Armoured Battalion and head of the Area of Armour Operations; Association member Draženko Kopljar, former head of Armour of the 1st Bosanski Brod Brigade and Association secretary Luka Garić, former 1st Bosanski Brod Brigade Platoon.
Alongside President Milanović was the Special Adviser to the President for Homeland War Veterans Marijan Mareković.
PHOTO: Office of the President of the Republic of Croatia / Tomislav Bušljeta