The DVDay was organised by the U.S. Ambassador jointly with the U.S. Department of Defense’s POW\/MIA Accounting Agency in charge of the search for the missing and killed U.S. soldiers. <\/p>\n
The Republic of Croatia is assisting with the search of the remains of the crew of the aircraft crashing into the sea following a combat\u00a0 mission.
The Deputy Prime Minister and Defence Minister Damir Krsti\u010devi\u0107 said the support by the Republic\u00a0 of Croatia showed the honour paid to the American veterans and their families. <\/p>\n
\u201cI wish to express appreciation to the Ministry of the Homeland War Veterans and to Minister Medved\u00a0 and other institutions included into this partner project between the United States and the Republic of Croatia which demonstrates the exemplary attitude towards the victims and all due respect for the national heroes\u201c. <\/p>\n
Minister Tomo Medved said that his Ministry has engaged in the activity at the request from the United States,has obtained all necessary permits and invested other required steps towards its realisation. <\/p>\n
\u201cThe co-operation with our partners is very important, we plan to intensify it and to sign the bilateral agreement defining the joint searching for 200 more unnaccounted persons to recover their remains. Our Ministry continues to search intensively for the victims of the Homeland War, we must not forget\u00a0 our\u00a0 fallen citizens , said the Minister.<\/p>\n
The U.S. Ambassador extended appreciation to the Croatian Ministry of Homeland War Veterans and to the Ministry of Defence\u00a0 for the support and assistance in planning, co-ordination and the support provided in searching for the pilots lost 73 years ago. \u201cOver\u00a0 28,000 Americans are unaccounted for Europe during the two world wars and it is our obligation to take care and do whatever necessary to recover them where they belong to\u201c, said Ambassador Valls Noyes.<\/p>\n
The Ministry of Homeland War Veterans is the responsible authority in the activity, in compliance with the Act on Search, Preservation and Maintenance of Military Cemeteries, the Cemeteries of WWII and the Post-war Period. <\/p>\n
The Ministry of Homeland War Veterans\u00a0 (the POW and Missing Directorate) exercises control\u00a0 and takes part in the search,\u00a0 alongside the member of the Recce Company of the Croatian Armed Forces’ Guards Armoured\u00a0 Mechanised Brigade. <\/p>\n
The Ministry of Defence was the first institution addressed by the U.S. Department of Defense’s Defense POW\/MIA Accounting Agency searching for the missing and killed U.S. soldiers, and having accepted its request the Ministry included other relevant state administration bodies, headed by the Ministry of the Homeland War Veterans.<\/p>\n
The Croatian Ministry of Defence is providing the support engaging the Croatian Navy’s landing craft-minelayer \u201cKrka\u201c serving as diver platform, the divers assisting the U.S. Navy colleagues, the medical personnel of the Support Command and the sonar employed in the search.
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The support to the United States demonstrates the honour\u00a0 paid to the U.S. WW II veterans and their families.\u00a0 <\/p>\n
The Ministry of the Homeland War Veterans has been developing the Croatian Model for the Search of Missing Persons, incorporating the positive experiences of the international organisations dealing with or encountering the issue.\u00a0 The Croatian model is applicable both to war situations and to the situations resulting in a number of missing persons (e.g. natural\u00a0 disasters, terrorist actions). It is primarily characterised by an integrative and co-ordinative approach to all search campaigns. <\/p>\n
Some segments of the model have been adopted by the intenational organisations and countries dealing with the missing persons. The Croatian Ministry of the Homeland War Veterans has conveyed the lessons and experiences learned to the countries in need, through the development\u00a0 and humanitarian assistance.\u00a0<\/p>\n[nggallery id=2479]\n