This weekend was the regular memorial gathering to honor fallen veterans at Tango 23 Repetitor

5. srpna 2024

Every August, in the picturesque town of Rožmitál in the Šumava region near Český Krumlov, a group of men who share a special and deep bond gather together. They are soldiers who served in 1995 in the former Yugoslavia (today's Croatia) at the Tango 23 Repetitor observation post, the place where their comrades Luděk Zeman and Petr Valeš died tragically on August 5, 1995. This commemorative gathering on the 29th anniversary of their deaths started on Friday 2 August and ended on Sunday 4 August.

Observation Post Tango 23 was part of a long line of UNCRO observation and control posts between the hostile Croatia and the Republic of Srpska Krajina. In 1995, after a relatively long period of calm, Croatia launched Operation Bijesak (Lightning) in May and Operation Oluja (Storm) in August, which pushed the Serbs out of western Slavonia and liquidated Republika Srpska Krajina, from where all Serb inhabitants had been expelled.During Operation Oluja, a mortar shell landed on an observation post, killing two of our soldiers and injuring three others.

This year, everything started with the traditional commemoration at the cemetery in Rozmital, at the grave of Petar Vales, where wreaths were laid and Lieutenant General Jaromír Alan, who commanded Repetitor on that fateful day, spoke to those present. This year, the soldiers also welcomed Peter Vales' sister and her family among them. The act of remembrance then continued at the Rožmitál municipal facility, on the wall of which Petr Valeš has a memorial plaque, under which is placed a commemorative War Veterans' Bench in his name.

It also commemorates one of the promises made by the veterans of Tango 23 that if one of them died, the others would purchase a bench with his name on it in his memory. This year, this honorable, but sad, service was performed in České Budějovice at the St. Otilia Cemetery, in memory of Jiří Hubáček, who died on December 14, 2021.

The three-day gathering of war veterans from Repetitor, as well as families of survivors or veterans from other posts and missions, of course, has not only an official part, but is also full of informal and friendly conversations and sitting down for a drink. Mikov is honoured that thanks to the War Veteran Project its representatives can participate in similar events. And especially that the Repetitor knife can commemorate this tragic but profound story of our soldiers. At the same time, Mikov also produced a documentary about the story, which you can view here.

Repetitor veterans are also planning a reunion on the 30th anniversary of the tragic event. It will take place again next year in August, in Hodonín, at the grave of Luděk Zeman.