3rd and 4th Guards Brigades mark their 35th anniversaries

Commemorations were held in Split and Osijek on Tuesday to mark the 35th anniversaries of the founding of the 3rd and 4th Guards Brigades. Both were primarily active in their respective operational zones, Dalmatia and Slavonia, but also served in operations throughout the country during the Homeland War.

The 4th Guards Brigade marked its 35th anniversary at its original barracks in Split. The brigade was active in numerous operations, from the liberation of southern Croatia to Maslenica, Storm and Southern Move. Among those on hand in Split was Deputy Prime Minister and Veterans Affairs Minister Tomo Medved: “Split, Dalmatia and Croatia remember the 4th Guards Brigade. Just as they remember all of our brigades, and all of the units of the Croatian Army and the Croatian Police. And 35 years later, here we here are again, in this chapel in Dračevac, looking at the faces of those who laid down their lives at the altar of the homeland.”

“This is a day of pride, celebration and sorrow for two hundred of our brothers who are no longer with us. But we are proud of them, because they gave the most valuable thing they had, their lives,” added the president of the 4th Guards Brigade Veterans Association, Boris Lapenda.

The 3rd Guards Brigade also marked their 35th anniversary today. The ceremony was held in Osijek, starting at the Osijek University Campus, where a commemoration was held for all of the unit’s fallen members. The 3rd Guards Brigade also played an integral part in numerous operations throughout the Homeland War. 390 of the brigade’s members were killed in combat, while many more are still listed as missing from the Serbian aggression of the 1990’s.

On hand for today’s commemoration was the war-time commander of the 3rd Guards Brigade, retired Brigadier Marko Leko: “In 1991 we primarily defended eastern Slavonia, but by 1993 we were in the Zadar hinterland, and in 1994 we were preparing for Operation Flash.”

The president of the 3rd Guards Brigade Veterans Association Mario Nađ emphasized the importance of preserving the memory of fallen comrades and the truth about the Homeland War: “We thank our fallen defenders. It is our duty to preserve the truth about the Homeland War, to honor it and to be there for the children of the fallen veterans and their parents. Because it is precisely the nurturing of memory and unity that is the foundation of the freedom that we have in Croatia today.”

Source: HRT