Roza Miletić (born 1934), better known as Teta Roza (lit. Aunt Roza), is a veteran of the

Croatian War of Independence The Croatian War of Independence was fought from 1991 to 1995 between Croat forces loyal to the Government of Croatia—which had declared independence from the Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia (SFRY)—and the Serb-controlled Yugosl ...

known for capturing a tank and a Yugoslav pilot. Miletić was born in

Rastoke Rastoke () is a village, located in the Town of Slunj, known for the Slunjčica River, which flows into the Korana River at Rastoke. At Rastoke, similar natural phenomena are occurring as at the Plitvice Lakes. Rastoke is sometimes known as '' ...

near Slunj. Her mother left her and her father was killed by the

Yugoslav Partisans The Yugoslav Partisans,Serbo-Croatian, Macedonian, Slovene: , or the National Liberation Army, sh-Latn-Cyrl, Narodnooslobodilačka vojska (NOV), Народноослободилачка војска (НОВ); mk, Народноослобод ...

while serving as a Croatian Home Guard during World War II. Her husband was an alcoholic and she had a difficult time raising her six children. When the Croatian War of Independence broke out her daughter worked as an army nurse in Vukovar hospital and her five sons were enlisted in the

Croatian Army The Croatian Army ( hr, Hrvatska kopnena vojska or HKoV) is the largest and most significant component of the Croatian Armed Forces (CAF). Role and deployment The fundamental role and purpose of the Croatian Army is to protect vital national i ...

scattered around Croatian fronts. Roza also joined the Croatian Army soon after the war started, as a member of the 110th

Slunj Slunj ( Hungarian ''Szluin'', old German ''Sluin'', Latin ''Slovin'', archaic Croatian ''Slovin grad'') is a town in the mountainous part of Central Croatia, located along the important North-South route to the Adriatic Sea between Karlovac and ...

battalion of the

Karlovac Karlovac () is a city in central Croatia. According to the 2011 census, its population was 55,705. Karlovac is the administrative centre of Karlovac County. The city is located on the Zagreb- Rijeka highway and railway line, south-west of Zagre ...

brigade, as she lived in the village of Kamenica at the front lines. On 8 November 1991 she captured a colonel of the

Yugoslav Air Force The Air Force and Air Defence ( sh-Cyrl-Latn, Ратно ваздухопловство и противваздушна одбрана, Ratno vazduhoplovstvo i protivvazdušna odbrana ; abbr. sh-Cyrl-Latn, label=none, separator=/, РВ и ПВ� ...

, Stevan Janjanin. Janjanin ejected from his plane that was shot down, and as he was approached by Croatian soldiers on the ground, wounded and unarmed, Roza Miletić intervened by treating him as her prisoner of war, saving his life. She later said that her own father's war-time death influenced her to do so. In another incident, Miletić's actions enabled the capture of a Yugoslav tank. After failing to counter the tank with rifle fire, she found a large barrel and banged on it, which produced a loud sound similar to artillery fire, scaring the tank crew and causing them to flee. Miletić has been decorated twice, with the

Homeland War Memorial Medal The Homeland War Memorial ( hr, Spomenica Domovinskog rata) is a Croatian state medal awarded to both Croatian and foreign citizens who participated in the nation's Croatian War of Independence as a volunteer, part of the Croatian Army and Croat ...

and the Medal for Participation in Operation "Storm". In 2001, a Croatian author wrote a book about her adventures, titled ''Žena koja je zarobila neprijateljski tenk'' (A woman who captured an enemy tank).

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Miletic, Roza Living people 1934 births Croatian soldiers People from Slunj Military personnel of the Croatian War of Independence Women in warfare post-1945 Women in European warfare