Branko Pantelić

Branko Pantelić (Бранко Пантелић; 6 September 1957 – 4 September 1992) was a lieutenant colonel in the Army of Republika Srpska.

Biography
Branko Pantelić was born in Stubline near Obrenovac on 6 September 1957. He completed primary school in Stubline, and then frequented school in Belgrade, where he graduated in 1977. He continued his education in Belgrade, where he entered the Military Academy. He graduated in 1981 and got his first job in Niš, where he worked for six months, and then he was transferred to Knjaževac.

He married Valentina in 1988, when he received a military command in Zaječar. He had 2 daughters: Kristina and Maria. Between 1988 and 1989 he was reassigned to Pristina, where he worked in the "Marshal Tito" barracks, where he became a major. In 1989, he transferred to Prizren where he worked until 1991. In the same year, right before the start of the Bosnian War, he attended the Command and Staff Academy, which he did not manage to finish because he has to serve in Eastern Slavonia, which was home of most clashes troughout the beginning of the War in Croatia. After that, he went to Vukovar where he was the commander of the territorial defense. He remained in Vukovar until the beginning of the Bosnian War. First he went to Ugljevik, and then to Bijeljina with the task of reorganizing the formation of the SAO Semberija which, with him in command, achieved great results in the battles in a short time and saved a large number of lives, including both civilians and soldiers. Branko was famous for his most important action, the Smoluća Operation, where several thousand people were rescued from a hostile environment.

Shortly after Smoluća, Branko was killed in Rastošnica during an offensive on Priboj and Teočak on 4 September 1992, just two days before his birthday. After his death, the unit he was fighting for took the name "Garda Pantheri" as a sign of memory and respect for the fallen commander, and a stylized emblem with the image of a jumping panther was created. He was posthumously awarded the Star of Karađorđe with a silver sword for military merit in 1994. He was buried on September 9 in Stubline.