STANA LELIĆ, MOTHER OF FALLEN SOLDIER: DETERMINTION IN PRESERVING SRPSKA REQUIRED

BROD, MARCH 6 /SRNA/ – Stana Lelić from Gornji Klakar, the mother of 22-year-old Goran Lelić who was killed on the Bihać battlefield in 1995, has said today in Brod that one must remain firm and determined in preserving Republika Srpska, for which her son gave his life.

At a ceremonial reception organised on the occasion of International Women's Day for mothers of fallen soldiers from the municipality of Brod, an event organised for 19 years by the War Veterans Organisation together with the municipality, Lelić recalled the moment when she was informed that Goran had been killed.

"I was knitting and the knitting fell from my hands. It took time to understand what had happened. My husband reacted badly, tearing the clothes off himself. It was extremely difficult," said Lelić, whose husband later passed away, constantly saying that he "wanted to join his Goran".

She said that it took three to four weeks before Goran's body could be brought home, which was the period very difficult for her.

"It is hard and painful. He was handsome and hardworking. I miss him and look at his picture. At night I cry," said Lelić, who still regrets not seeing his body because she was advised against it, as his brother could barely recognize him.

Also attending the reception for mothers of fallen soldiers in Brod on the occasion of International Women’s Day was Ana Nenadić from the village of Grk, who lost her 25-year-old son Drago Nenadić during the war.

Nenadić said that the reception meant a lot to her and explained that three of her sons were at the front during the war, one of whom was killed while another was wounded.

"I cannot step out of this skin into another," Nenadić said, recalling that Drago worked as a stonemason and used to tell her he would make her the most beautiful gravestone, but unfortunately she lived to bury him.