Davor Grubač, son of fallen defender Ivica, was among the bearers of the Miraculous Image of Our Lady of Sinj in the procession for the Assumption, continuing a centuries-old friendship between the people of Sinj and Imotski.
The centuries-old ties between the people of Sinj and Imotski, further strengthened by their joint participation in the Homeland War, were once again evident at this year's celebration of the Assumption in Sinj. Among the bearers of the Miraculous Image of Our Lady of Sinj in the solemn procession was Davor Grubač, son of the late Croatian defender Ivica Grubač.
Ivica Grubač was one of six MUP officers who were killed on September 16, 1991, in Maljkovo, while resisting significantly superior Serbian aggressor forces. His son Davor was only 14 years old at the time. Today, Davor is a member of the Police Association of Sinj and the Cetina Region for the Homeland War and very often lights a candle at the memorial to his father and his fallen comrades in Maljkovo, regularly attending commemorations every September.
"As a member of the Police Association of Sinj and the Cetina Region for the Homeland War, they asked me if I would like to be one of the bearers of the image of Our Lady of Sinj in the procession for this year's Feast of the Assumption. They also mentioned my father's sacrifice. Of course, I immediately agreed and said it would be a great honor," Davor Grubač told Slobodna Dalmacija, whose article was relayed by Radio Imotski.
In the Battle of Maljkovo, a significant number of police officers from Imotski took part on the Croatian side, something their colleagues from Sinj and the citizens of the Cetina region will never forget. In his article for Slobodna Dalmacija, journalist Toni Paštar emphasizes that veterans from Imotski who served in volunteer police units during the Homeland War have been participating in the procession with the image of Our Lady through the streets of Sinj for many years.
The friendship between the people of Sinj and Imotski began more than three centuries ago, specifically in 1717. After Sinj successfully liberated itself from Ottoman rule in 1686, following 150 years of occupation, the Franciscans brought people from the area between Rama and Duvno to the depopulated region and settled them in the Cetina valley. The most famous battle for Sinj took place in August 1715, when a group of defenders, stationed at the old fortress, managed to defend the town under Kamičak from a massive Ottoman army.
Two years after the victory at Sinj, Alvise Mocenigo, the Venetian General Provveditore of Dalmatia and Albania, encouraged by the great victories of Habsburg Prince Eugene of Savoy against the Ottomans, launched the Morean War with the aim of liberating Imotski. The operation began in mid-July 1717, when cavalry advanced to the outskirts of Mostar, while Ottoman forces in Topana were simultaneously besieged. Completely cut off, the Ottomans agreed to surrender, and on August 2, Venetian and Croatian soldiers entered the town.
In this operation, the people of Sinj played a crucial military and logistical role. Among the warriors, the most prominent were the fighters from Sinj, including the already legendary Don Ivan Filipović Grčić and harambaša Antun Grabovac. A special role was played by Ante Vrdoljak and Ivan Šimić from the Sinj company. When Venetian artillery pushed the Ottoman soldiers off the outer wall of Topana, a charge ensued in which Vrdoljak and Šimić, helping each other, managed to climb over the dangerous walls and tear down the Ottoman flag, after which Vrdoljak unfurled and raised the Venetian flag of St. Mark.
Thanks to this assistance and the bravery of the people of Sinj in liberating Imotski, an unbroken friendship developed between the residents of the two towns that continues to this day, expressed through the participation of the people of Imotski in the Sinj procession and carrying the image of the Miraculous Our Lady of Sinj through the streets of the Alka town.
