Celebrating 75th Anniversary of the Halyard Mission: Serbs Acknowledged Descendants of US Pilots
Seventy-five years after the largest rescue mission in the history of warfare, an operation known as Halyard Mission, a celebration will take place at the Galovića field in Pranjani. The operation, also called Air Bridge, lasted from August 1944 to February 1945. Over 500 US pilots and airmen were saved, thanks to the courage of the Serbian people and the Yugoslav Royal Army, who risked their lives by hiding them and nursing their wounds. Ever since, the Halyard Mission is co
With Ted Byfield in Belgrade
Ted Byfield, from Arizona, came to Serbia to participate in theHalyard Mission's 75th anniversary. His father Floyd was a crew member of the B-24 "Big Noise from Kentucky", part of the 449th Bomb Group. The aircraft was shot down over Cuprija on May 5, 1944. The crew was rescued by members of the Yugoslav Army in the Homeland and local villagers, and evacuated on August 9, 1944.
