The Serbs from northern Kosovo saved the US aviators from German captivity near Banjska

Today is the 79th anniversary of the day when the Serbs from northern Kosovo attacked a German convoy near the village of Banjska, liberating 11 US aviators, 3 British officers, and other prisoners of war.

Written for Kosovo Online by Dragisa Mijacic

The downing of two B-24 Liberators near Thessaloniki

In the autumn of 1944, the US Air Forces stationed in southern Italy actively participated in bombing of the German positions and major transportation routes in the Balkans, mainly in Greece and Yugoslavia. On September 24, 1944, four US B-24 Liberator bombers took off from the Venosa military airfield in Italy, each with a ten-member crew. The mission's objective was to bomb a rail station west of Thessaloniki in Greece. The first aircraft in formation was piloted by Lieutenant Robert Catlin, the second by Lieutenant Robert Hegeman, the third by Second Lieutenant James Cameron, and the fourth by Lieutenant Charles Mincher.

The formation flew over southern Italy, across the Ionian Sea, and southern Albania to northern Greece, where the target that needed to be destroyed was located. Shortly after dropping their bombs, the aircraft was attacked by German anti-aircraft defenses, which managed to hit and down two of the four bombers. First, Hegeman's plane was hit, and it quickly exploded in the air. Pilot Lieutenant Cameron attempted to evade Hegeman's burning plane with a maneuver, but his plane was hit in the side and subsequently downed. The remaining two planes managed to return to Italy without major consequences.

The crew members of the B-24 Liberator piloted by Lieutenant Hegman included a co-pilot Second Lieutenant Braysen Watts, a navigator Second Lieutenant Everett Latam, a navigator Lieutenant Marvin Viner, a bombardier Lieutenant Joe Hackler, a technical engineer Sergeant Walter Stone, a radio operator technical sergeant Thomas White, a ball turret gunner staff sergeant Cecil Smith, a top turret gunner staff sergeant Joseph Callan, and a tail gunner staff sergeant Dale Morrison. Second Lieutenant Latam was a substitute for Edgar Christian, who was a part of Hegman's regular crew but couldn't join this mission. This plane exploded first, and only Lieutenant Hackler and Sergeant Morrison managed to parachute out before the explosion, surviving the fall.

15th Air Force, 485th Bomb Group, 829th Squadron – Richard Hegman's pilot crew

The positions of each individual in this photo are not determined, but the crew consisted of: Richard Hegman (a pilot), Braysen Watts (a co-pilot), Edgar Christian, Joe Hackler, Walter Stone, Thomas White, Joseph Callan, Dale Morrison, Edward Oliveira, and Cecil Smith. Christian was not on the mission, and he was replaced by Marvin Viner, who died, as well as Hegman, Watts, Callan, Smith, Stone, and White. Everett Latam also flew with this crew and perished.

In the second B-24 Liberator bomber piloted by Second Lieutenant James Cameron, the crew included a co-pilot Alexander Wroblewski, a navigator Second Lieutenant William Mix Jr., a bombardier Second Lieutenant William McLean, an engineer/gunner in the fuselage Staff Sergeant Robert Burling, a radio operator Corporal Homer Jones, a top turret gunner Staff Sergeant Wilson Leon, a tail gunner Corporal Reginald Lyons, a nose turret gunner Corporal Orville Kingsberg, and a ball turret gunner Corporal Edward Chakochi. Staff Sergeant Burling flew as a substitute for James Dixon, the engineer who was a regular member of Cameron's crew. All crew members managed to parachute out before the plane exploded, and all survived the landing.

15th Air Force, 485th Bomb Group, 829th Squadron – James Cameron's pilot crew 

Front row, left to right: Wilson Leon, Homer Jones, Orville Kingsberg, Edward Chakochi, Reginald Lyons, and James Dixon, who was replaced by Robert Burling on this mission. Back row left to right: James Cameron (a pilot), Alex Wroblewski (a co-pilot), William McLean, and William Mix.

Pilot, Second Lieutenant Cameron, managed to evade German capture because he immediately went into hiding after landing. Later, he made contact with the Greek resistance movement and, with their help, succeeded in returning to Italy. The Germans, however, captured the other nine members of his crew, as well as the two surviving members from Hegman's plane, i.e., Lieutenant Hackler and Staff Sergeant Morrison.

Transporting Captured Aviators to Berlin

After their capture, the US aviators were transferred to a prison located in the German barracks in Lagkadas near Thessaloniki. At least two of them received medical treatment at a military hospital because they had suffered burns during the plane explosion that needed immediate attention.

During their brief stay in this prison, the Germans first conducted a thorough search of the aviators' clothing in search of hidden weapons, maps, compasses, personal documents, and sharp objects. They were then individually interrogated about the purpose of their mission. According to the aviators' testimonies given to US authorities upon their return to the United States, none of them provided the Germans with any valuable information other than their names, ranks, and serial numbers.

Two days after their time in the Lagkadas prison, the German High Command requested that the US aviators be urgently transported to Berlin. The transport of these prisoners of war coincided with the beginning of the mass withdrawal of German Army Group E from Greece through Yugoslavia. The planned main withdrawal route was the railway that ran through the Vardar-Morava Valley from Thessaloniki through Skopje and further to Vranje, Leskovac, and Nis, all the way to Belgrade. As a part of Operation Ratweek, this strategic route was cut off in early September by the Allied bombing of the railway tracks and bridges near Leskovac, causing the German forces and prisoners to be redirected from Skopje via Kosovo.

The US prisoners of war traveled in military transport wagons together with an unknown number of British, Russian, Italian, and Bulgarian prisoners. During the journey, they made several stops due to track interruptions or the German military's need for the wagons they were traveling in. Throughout the journey, they often went hungry because regular food supplies were not provided to them.

In the end of October or the beginning of November 1944, this group of prisoners of war arrived in Kosovska Mitrovica, where they were imprisoned in a temporary facility set up in a nearby school building. During those days, the Allies destroyed railway bridges in the Ibar Valley, making it impossible for the train to continue toward Kraljevo. Therefore, it was necessary to continue the journey on foot, crossing the Rogozna Mountain to Novi Pazar, and then to Sjenica and Uzice, which was the route taken by the withdrawing German Army Group E.

The Liberation of Americans near the village of Banjska

Throughout the entire World War II, the Second Kosovo Corps of the Yugoslav Army in the Fatherland, commanded by Major Zivojin (Zika) Markovic, operated in the Rogozna Mountain area. The corps was composed of former soldiers of the Royal Yugoslav Army who had managed to avoid German captivity after the Yugoslav surrender in April 1941. It also included local Serbs from surrounding areas, primarily from Ibarski Kolasin (Zubin Potok), Leposavic, Zvecan, Kosovska Mitrovica, Istok, and Peja.

A column of several dozen German soldiers, around 30-35 prisoners of war, and 60-70 horse-drawn wagons with various cargo set off from Kosovska Mitrovica towards Novi Pazar on November 5, 1944. After two days of walking, the column stopped for the night in the village of Banjska, located beneath the medieval Banjska Monastery. Shortly after their arrival in Banjska, local villagers informed Major Markovic about the large German column containing prisoners of war. Upon receiving this information, Major Markovic immediately began preparations for the liberation of the prisoners.

In the early morning hours of November 8, 1944, the German column departed from Banjska towards Novi Pazar. At the front of the column was a German scout on a motorcycle, who would ride a few hundred meters ahead of the others and then wait for the rest of the column to catch up.

An ambush was set up a few kilometers from Banjska towards Rudine. Major Markovic issued orders that no one should open fire until the entire German column entered the kilometer-long ambush set up by his fighters on both sides of the road. He also ordered strict care to be taken to ensure that the prisoners of war were not harmed during the attack on the Germans.

When the entire column entered the ambush, Major Markovic went in front of the Germans and demanded their unconditional surrender. As the Germans did not want to comply with Markovic's request, he gave the order for his fighters to attack, and a barrage of gunfire began from both sides of the road.

The Germans were completely encircled and could not escape certain death. One of them thought they were being attacked by partisans and asked for mercy, claiming to be a German communist. Known for his strong dislike of communists, upon hearing the plea of the German soldier, Major Markovic ordered, "Shoot him twice". This German soldier was the only one buried by Markovic's fighters at the site still known today as the "German's grave", while the bodies of the other deceased German soldiers were merely piled together.

In this operation in the Rogozna region, fighters of the Second Kosovo Corps under Major Markovic's command managed to liberate all eleven US airmen, at least three British officers, dozens of Russians (including at least one pilot), Italians, and Bulgarians. No one was injured during the operation. Among the British officers was John Alan Patrick Lodwick, a special operations officer who later became one of the most prominent British authors of war novels. In his book "Twenty East of Greenwich", Lodwick described the liberation from German captivity by Yugoslav Royalists in the end of the war in Yugoslavia.

The aviators are returning home

After their liberation in Rogozna, US airmen and the British were taken to the village of Popovce near Leposavic, where Major Markovic's headquarters were located. Local Serbs took care of them, providing food and ensuring their safety. Until the end of November, intense fighting occurred in Rogozna with members of the withdrawing German Army Group E. During those days, the Allies also bombed Kosovska Mitrovica and all other settlements in the Ibar Valley, so the aviators felt safer staying in Popovce than attempting to travel home.

After the Germans left the area, Major Markovic escorted the US aviators and British officers to Leposavic, where Bulgarian troops were stationed on November 24, 1944. British officer John Lodwick later wrote that during this occasion, Major Markovic provided them with two hundred thousand dinars to use during their journey home. From Leposavic, this group of Allied soldiers first traveled to Nis and then to Sofia, where they arrived on December 4, 1944.

In Sofia, the US aviators stayed at the US College for several weeks while waiting for transport to Bari in Italy, where they arrived on Catholic Christmas, December 24, 1944. This group of 11 US aviators, liberated by the Serbs from northern Kosovo, concluded their wartime adventure on January 5, 1945, when they returned home to the United States.

*This text is based on extensive research of historical facts related to the liberation of US pilots from German captivity near the village of Banjska on November 8, 1944. The research used archival materials from the 15th Air Force, 485th Bomb Group of the United States, statements from rescued aviators, and British officer John Lodwick's accounts, as well as memoirs from the fighters of the Second Kosovo Corps of the Yugoslav Army in the Fatherland. The text was published on November 8, 2023, 79 years after the liberation of the US aviators.