Lieutenant Mirko Jove Milanović, Partisan Machinegunner/Commissar/State Security.

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Here is a group to Lieutenant Mirko Milanović. I don't know if he lost his Partisan Commemorative or it was sold off but this is just how the group came.

Order For Merit To The Nation 2nd Class #4270 awarded 29th April 1946. Stamped on the reverse.

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Order For Merit To The Nation 2nd Class #4270. 39,534 awarded in total.

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Order Brotherhood And Unity 2nd Class awarded 20th April 1948. Also stamped on the reverse.

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Order Brotherhood And Unity 2nd Class #12575. 55,675 awarded in total.

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Order Of Labour With Silver Wreath awarded 25th November 1966. Also stamped on the reverse.

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Order Of Labour With Silver Wreath. 182,910 awarded.

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I was fortunate enough to find Mirko's obituary in the 15th October 2007 issue of Glas - Anti-Fascist Democratic Croatia.

MIRKO MILANOVIĆ
1921-2007.
Born in Prijedor. Immediately after the uprising of 1941 joined the partisans. In summer 1942 the war lead him to join the Second Slavonian Detachment and later the Department Of The Protection Of The People in the Slavonian Region where he saw in the end of the war. In the meantime he was wounded and treated in Italy. After the liberation he continued to work for the OZN in Osijek, Vukovar and Nałice. After demobilisation in 1949 worked at "Autoreparaturi" and later became director of "Poljotehnike". Holder of the "Partisan Commemorative 1941" and was awarded many decorations for achievements during war and peace. He was active in the Association Of Anti-Fascist Soldiers And Anti-Fascists in Osijek.


So that will explain not only why I can't find the decrees for his State Security period awards but why he was awarded the Labour award in 1966.

I found the decree for his Order For Merits To the Nation 2nd Class. It was difficult to pinpoint him (as they misspelled his surname) but the Lieutenant is on the list. The Decree is "For special merits to the nation during the national liberation struggle". One of only 16 Lieutenants awarded the 2nd Class by the Decree (hundreds awarded the 3rd Class).

I've also found reference to Mirko in a Serbian book on the partisan activities during the war.

"June 1942, dawned on Durmitor covered with fog with temperatures below freezing. During the night of 1st-2nd moved into position the 1st Platoon of the 1st Company of the 3rd Šumadinac Battalion. That night the Chetniks started the attack. Led by locals, they were silent closing in on the position of the Šumadinac. Positioned fighters of the 2nd Platoon nervously and hopefully waited for reinforcement that is late. It was daylight but visibility was poor due to fog. The platoon commander said that no-one would dare attack in the fog over the rough mountains before the arrival of the reinforcement. When the 1st Platoon arrived on the right the Chetniks had already been on it and ready to fight. They were welcomed at the head of the platoon quickly with fire and bombs. The Šumadinac platoon found itself in an extremely difficult position. The Chetniks had developed a wide position that dwarfed the narrow hair the Šumadinacs found themselves in. These were no conditions for the development and organisation of fire. The 1st Platoon spontaneously accepted the fight. Machinegunner Mirko Milanović, favourite fighter of the first company and one of the best machinegunners in the battalion, managed to catch a good shelter and cover from the Chetnik machinegun bursts. This to some extent helped in the organisation of the platoon for battle. But the first Chetnik bursts killed the deputy commander of 1st Company, Milan Živić Company Deputy Political Commissar, Sveta Đorđević, member of the District Committee of the Communist Party for Upper Morava and three others. The unequal struggle continued. Chetniks artillery and bombs fell on the ridge. Many of them exploding in ravines at one side or the other of the ridge but some of them hit their target and inflicted losses. The Chetniks performed an assault. In close combat both sides used bombs and suffered heavy losses. The Šumadinacs persistently defended and perished. Machinegunner Mirko Milanović fired a final burst at the Chetniks. He had no more ammunition. With him were three others. Chetniks cut off their retreat. There was no salvation. Surrender or jump into the ravine. Mirko chose the latter. Threw his machinegun off the cliff, pulled out a pistol, fired the magazine at the Chetniks and then threw himself into the snowy ravine. The other three: Živko Matejić, Milutin Zečević and Mandil Benjamin surrendered. On that rugged Durmitor rubble remain on eternal watch 17 fighters of the 3rd Battalion Šumadia Second Proletarian brigade. In the company of 178 only 5 fighters had survived the disaster. Most of the comrades who fell were members of the party."
He is listed in the footnotes as "Mirko Milanović, peasant labourer, born 1921."

I think this is a very good explanation of where those wounds came from and how he ended up being treated in Italy.

I've also found another reference to him that states he was the Political Commissar for the 2nd Brigade on 17th October 1943 (6 weeks after Italian surrender). I'm sure those who had heard of his story would have been very inspired by this Commissar.

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On page 15 of issue #88 of Year 2 of the Service List Of The Federative People's Republic Of Yugoslavia of 1st November 1946 is the full text of the decree. The Macedonian online archive is very useful!

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On pages 12, 13 and 14 (big list of recipients) of the Service List Year 4 Issue 93 of 28th October 1948.

"For demonstrating bravery, skill in commanding, providing labour in obtaining brotherhood and unity amongst our peoples and for their merits for the nation during the national-liberation struggle".