A Serbian hero: He defended the skies above Serbia and his native Valjevo alone against 16 NATO aircraft! Pilot Milenko Pavlović saved a young officer’s life

He took off on 4 May 1999 at exactly 12:10. He took off into eternity, defending the skies above Serbia, defending Valjevo and his homeland. Milenko Pavlović was posthumously promoted to the rank of colonel, awarded the Golden Piloting Badge, the Medal for Bravery, and the Order of Saint Bishop Nikolaj. A street in the centre of Osečina and the main street in Batajnica are named after him, as is the military airport in that Belgrade suburb, and in his honour a memorial complex has been erected in his birthplace of Gornje Crniljevo near Osečina, with a wing of his bullet-riddled MiG-29

In fact, the order to take to the skies had been given to a young officer, but Pavlović approached before take-off and said: “For heaven’s sake, lads, you won’t be the ones to die—I will!”

He sat in the cockpit and took off toward his homeland, took off toward glory, took off to heroically, alone, take on a fight against 16 NATO aircraft. At 12:45 he transmitted his last words: “They’ve got me!” He was hit by three missiles fired from Dutch F-16 Fighting Falcons west of Tuzla, which he did not detect—because his radar wasn’t working! The remains of the MiG fell in the village of Petnica near Valjevo.

He was buried two days later at the New Bežanija Cemetery.

In honour and remembrance of the Serbian hero, a memorial gathering with aerial displays and parachute jumps was held on Saturday at the sports airfield in Divci, and yesterday the Centre for Culture in Valjevo hosted the premiere of the film Hero Milenko – Flight into Eternity, which will be screened again today at 7 p.m. with free admission.

“He became eternal in the minds of his comrades-in-arms, in the stories we pass on to the young. In every flight above our country, he lives on. That’s why this gathering isn’t just a memorial—this is a vow not to forget,” emphasised Slobodan Andrić, president of the aero club “Valjevo”.

Colonel Vlada Glišić from the Air Force and Air Defence Command stressed that they will continue to support not only this, but all aviation events aimed at preserving aviation traditions:

“Especially the traditions that commemorate our heroes, such as Milenko Pavlović!”

General Milan Mojsilović, Chief of the General Staff of the Serbian Armed Forces, speaking earlier about the heroic feat, emphasised that “fate had it that Pavlović, on 4 May 1999, set out on his final mission towards his homeland, his Podgorina.”

“It was his final flight, a conscious sacrifice that was not in vain. His death, the fall of the commander of the legendary aviation regiment, one of the best pilots of the Yugoslav Army, marked the final combat flight of our fighter aviation until the end of the NATO aggression,” said Mojsilović.

Milenko Pavlović left behind his wife Slavica and sons Srđan and Nemanja. He was not declared a national hero.