On the 31st anniversary of Operation Storm, veterans Perica Prpić and Josip Bebek recount for RTL Danas the dramatic moments on Velebit, the capture of the key hilltop, and the entry into the nearly empty Knin.
Croatia today marks Victory and Homeland Thanksgiving Day, Croatian Veterans Day, and the 31st anniversary of the military-police operation Storm. Launched on August 4, 1995, the operation saw Croatian forces liberate occupied territories under the control of rebel Serbs, paving the way for the end of the Homeland War. Three decades later, participants in these events still recall with special emotion the days that fundamentally changed Croatia.
Perica Prpić, president of the Association of Special Police from the Homeland War "Sharks," told RTL Danas how he experienced the start of the operation at positions on Velebit. "I get goosebumps when I remember the call from the first Croatian president, Franjo Tuđman. Reading the proclamation... And in the distance, we heard the artillery preparation. It had begun... You cross yourself, embrace your comrade, and we start down Velebit. It's a special feeling when you know there's no turning back. It was all worth it, and we have no regrets," Prpić recalled.
Josip Bebek, a member of the 4th Guards Brigade, described to RTL Danas reporter Nikolina Radić the advance toward Knin from the direction of Bosansko Grahovo. The path was not easy. "We got about halfway there and then we stopped. We had quite strong resistance. The Chetniks held a peak called 'Igla.' We took it with difficulty. Once we took that 'Igla,' everything went smoothly," Bebek said last year. After that dominant hilltop fell, resistance was broken and the road to Knin was open.
The very next morning, after artillery preparation, came the entry into the city. Bebek describes that moment as almost surreal: "We literally walked into Knin." The city greeted them with an eerie silence. "It was more empty than it had people. The 7th and 4th Guards Brigades faced no resistance; there was no need for anything to happen," Bebek recalled. Still, one human encounter remained etched in his memory. "I personally brought an elderly gentleman and handed him over at the barracks. Later, he could decide whether to stay in Knin or go to Serbia. I don't know what he chose in the end, but later I met his brother, who told me their life story."
After the war, Bebek remained an active soldier, and in 2003 he moved from Split to Knin, where he still lives today. "I lead a normal life, just like anywhere else. Whether in Split or Knin, you have your friends and your job. There's no big difference. Whether a man is in Paris or Knin, it's the same," he concluded. Reflecting on the significance of the victory, Bebek summed up the feeling of an entire generation: "The dream of a Croatian soldier was to reach Knin. After every liberating operation, we were happy, but we knew that entering Knin would mean the end. It was the finish. Today, when I remember it, I feel happiness and pride. We have our own state; we fulfilled that dream. Thank God that this never happens to anyone again."
