In Honor of Legendary Commander Nanić: March from Bužim to Ćorkovača

More than 700 participants from Krajina and cities across Bosnia and Herzegovina set off today at 1:00 PM on a 15-kilometer march towards Ćorkovača, the place where in 1995 Izet Nanić, the legendary commander of the 505th Bužim Knight Brigade of the 5th Corps of the Army of the Republic of Bosnia and Herzegovina, lost his life, reports the Bosnian news agency Patria (NAP). The people of Bužim also call this march a youth hiking trip.

Until 1992, he worked as an active military officer in the Yugoslav People's Army (JNA), and Nanić would become a true legend of his people after joining the defense of his country at the beginning of the Serbian aggression against Bosnia and Herzegovina. Krajina today remembers him as one of the best fighters of the Army of the Republic of Bosnia and Herzegovina, the founder of many units that fought within the Army of the Republic of Bosnia and Herzegovina.

Until 1992, he was a lieutenant in the JNA in Kragujevac. At the beginning of 1992, he left the JNA and returned to Bužim. There, he formed the Territorial Defense Staff (ŠTO), and on August 1, 1992, he was appointed commander of the ŠTO Bužim. He is the founder of the 105th Bužim Krajina Shock Brigade (later 105th BUMB - 505th Knight mtbr). He formed special units ČSN-BSN "Hamza" and DIV "Gazije".

He was killed on August 5, 1995, at Ćorkovača. That day, the Croatian Army launched Operation "Storm" with the aim of liberating the territory of the Republic of Croatia.

The strategic goal of all units of the 5th Corps of the Army of the Republic of Bosnia and Herzegovina was to link up with units of the Croatian Army. The 505th Knight Brigade broke through Serbian lines at Ćorkovača and moved towards Dvor na Uni. A few hours before the final breakthrough, Nanić was killed in combat.

The night before, in his war diary, he wrote: "God willing, our BiH will be. I feel I can do what I have planned. The power went out. Good luck!"

He was posthumously awarded the "Order of the Hero of the Liberation War" in 1998 and promoted to the rank of Brigadier General.

The hiking trip from Bužim to Ćorkovača in honor of Nanić is held as part of the event "Freedom Days of the Knight City of Bužim", which began on August 4 and lasts until August 15, writes NAP.