SPOMENKO’S OZREN DAYS TO BE HELD ON SATURDAY

PETROVO, AUGUST 11 /SRNA/ - The Spomenko’s Ozren Days event will be held in Petrovo on Saturday, August 15, with horsemen and carriage drivers from Republika Srpska and Serbia symbolically paying tribute to Spomenko Gostić, the youngest decorated fallen soldier of the Army of Republika Srpska, on the anniversary of his birth.

Event organiser Mile Savić told SRNA that around 40 horsemen had expressed a desire to pay tribute to the young hero, who, during the 1992–1995 Defensive-Patriotic War, transported the wounded by horse-drawn cart and delivered food along the front lines in the Maglaj area, where he was also wounded. “Horsemen are coming from Bijeljina, Derventa, Banja Luka, Modriča and other areas, and there are also participants registered from Serbia,” Savić said in Petrovo after a meeting with Petrovo Mayor Ozren Petković. He said he hoped that this spiritual and cultural event would become a tradition. Savić said that the gathering point would be the plateau in Kaluđerica, in the immediate vicinity of the Monastery of St. Nicholas on Mount Ozren. The program includes a memorial service for Spomenko Gostić at the monument in the churchyard of the Monastery of St. Nicholas at 10:00 a.m. At 11:00 a.m., the horsemen and carriage drivers will set off from the plateau in Kaluđerica for a ride and parade to the centre of Petrovo. Upon returning to the plateau in Kaluđerica, there will be a horse race, a folklore performance by the Milovan Gajić Cultural and Artistic Society from Petrovo, an exhibition of traditional handicrafts, and a screening of the documentary Spomenko on Eternal Watch, directed by Savić. A lunch will be organised for the participants, during which plaques and certificates of appreciation will be presented. Petrovo Mayor Ozren Petković thanked Savić for his efforts to preserve the memory of Spomenko Gostić and ensure that his sacrifice is not forgotten. He said that the municipal administration, together with the Tourism Organisation and the Centre for Culture, Information and Sport, was happy to take part in organising the event, which he hoped would attract a good turnout. Petković thanked the abbot of the Monastery of St. Nicholas on Mount Ozren, Father Gavrilo, for his support to date. Spomenko Gostić was born on August 15, 1978, in Doboj and, as a member of the Army of Republika Srpska, was killed by a shell on March 20, 1993, near his village of Jovići on Mount Ozren. Five other Serb soldiers were also killed in the attack. After being left alone during the war, Spomenko joined the army, initially serving as a courier and later delivering food to the soldiers. Several months before his death, he struck a mine while delivering food along the front line in a horse-drawn cart, suffering minor injuries. He later joined an artillery unit, where his young life came to an end. A bust of the young hero from Ozren was erected in Doboj and placed in the grounds of the Memorial Church of the Nativity of the Most Holy Mother of God on March 20, 2014. Members of the Nasljeđe Association of Children of Fallen Soldiers of Republika Srpska from Bijeljina restored the monument at the Gornji Ulišnjak local cemetery in 2017, while Doboj artist Deni Božić painted a mural depicting Gostić on Vojvode Stepe Street in Doboj. A memorial statue of Spomenko Gostić was erected on August 24, 2021, in the grounds of the Monastery of St. Nicholas in Petrovo. A 45-minute documentary film, Spomenko on Eternal Watch, was made about Spomenko, and a book titled Spomenko and Ozren was written by Mile Savić. The Deveta Dimenzija Association of Comic Book Authors and Fans of Republika Srpska from Banja Luka published a comic book album titled Spomenko – A Story of a Childhood. Spomenko was also posthumously awarded the Miloš Obilić Medal of Courage by Serbian President Aleksandar Vučić.