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) and (rarely) "War in Krajina" ( sr-Cyrl-Latn, Рат у Крајини, Rat u Krajini) are used. was an armed conflict fought in Croatia from 1991 to 1995 between Croats, Croat forces loyal to the Governmen ...

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 National Park, Plitvice Lakes. Rasto ...

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

Yugoslav Partisans The Yugoslav Partisans,Serbo-Croatian, Macedonian language, Macedonian, and Slovene language, Slovene: , officially the National Liberation Army and Partisan Detachments of Yugoslavia sh-Latn-Cyrl, Narodnooslobodilačka vojska i partizanski odr ...

while serving as a Nazi collaborationist 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 The "Dr Juraj Njavro" National Memorial Hospital (), commonly known as the Vukovar Hospital (, sr-Cyrl, Вуковарска болница), is a public hospital in Vukovar in eastern Croatia. It is the primary hospital in the town of Vukovar an ...

and her five sons were enlisted in the

Croatian Army The Croatian Army ( or HKoV) is the land force branch of the Croatian Armed Forces. It is numerically the largest of the three branches of the Croatian Armed Forces. The HKoV is the main force for the defense of the country against external threa ...

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

Slunj Slunj is a town in the mountainous part of Central Croatia, located along the important North-South route to the Adriatic Sea between Karlovac and Plitvice Lakes National Park, on the meeting of the rivers Korana and Slunjčica. Slunj has a popu ...

battalion of the

Karlovac Karlovac () is a city in central Croatia. In the 2021 census, its population was 49,377. Karlovac is the administrative centre of Karlovac County. The city is located southwest of Zagreb and northeast of Rijeka, and is connected to them via the ...

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 () 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 Croatian Council of Defence or in som ...

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 war 1945–1999 Women in European warfare