Departure

ĐORĐE MIHAILOVIĆ (1928–2023), KEEPER OF THE HOLY MOUNDS OF THESSALONIKI, WAS BURIED
Peace Under Serbian Soil
Since 1960, he has guarded the best of all Serbia, the heroic and patriotic one, the loyal and freedom-loving one, whose sons rest at Zejtinlik. He asked for nothing more than to rest there himself, at the Serbian warrior cemetery, next to his father and grandfather, the previous guardians. The official representative of Serbia, Minister Nikola Selaković, brought three jars of soil to the funeral. From Serbia, Montenegro, and Republika Srpska. He added them to the one in the grave of Đorđe Mihailović in Thessaloniki. Another wish of the old guardian, rarely spoken, has been fulfilled

By: Miodrag Radomirović
Photo: Milenko Vasilić, Nebojša Petrović

On July 6th, at the Serbian Military Cemetery in Thessaloniki, with military honors and the war anthem ”Tamo daleko” (There, Far Away), the most famous guardian of this memorial complex, Đorđe Mihajlović, was buried. With this act, his wish to rest beside his father Đura and grandfather Sava, the previous guardians of this military cemetery, has been fulfilled. The cemetery was established in 1916, next to a field hospital where Serbian warriors died from typhus and exhaustion, including the renowned poet Milutin Bojić, author of the poem of pain and pride, ”Plava grobnica” (The Blue Grave).
Đorđe Mihajlović was born on May 1st, 1928, in Thessaloniki. He grew up among the graves of Serbian soldiers in Thessaloniki, assisting his father Đura Mihajlović, the son and successor of the first guardian, Sava Mihajlović, a volunteer from Grblje. In 1960, Đorđe officially became the guardian of the cemetery and continued to visit the resting place of Serbian warriors every day until his retirement. Throughout his life, he deeply cherished their destinies and considered them his sworn comrades.
Twenty years ago, he was filled with joy when the Serbian authorities promised him that he would be buried next to his father Đura, and grandfather Sava at Zejtinlik. However, he was saddened by the fact that he didn’t have a male descendant to continue the missionary tradition of the Mihajlović family.
On behalf of the state of Serbia, Nikola Selaković, the Minister of Labor, Employment, Veteran and Social Affairs, bid farewell to Đorđe. He specifically acknowledged Đorđe Mihajlović’s dedication and humility.
–  How can the Serbian people repay a humble man who had no desires of his own? Đorđe had only one wish before the end of his life: to rest here where we will lay him today,” said Minister Selaković, among other things, emphasizing that Đorđe was not born in Serbia, but there were few people like him who loved Serbia and the Serbian people so much. ”Đorđe loved the ideal Serbia. How could he not, when he guarded the best of all for so long?”
Minister Selaković brought three jars of soil to Thessaloniki, from Serbia, Montenegro, and Republika Srpska. Serbian soil will also cover Đorđe Mihajlović at the Serbian warrior cemetery.
– When we look at the scattered graves of our people around the world, knowing that in the past century alone, more than half of the Serbs have suffered, we wonder how we managed to surpass and preserve everything from oblivion. It was precisely Đorđe Mihajlović who guarded the Serbian sufferings from oblivion – emphasized Milorad Dodik, the President of Republika Srpska, in his farewell speech.
Several hundred citizens from Serbia, Montenegro, Republika Srpska, and Greece attended the farewell of Đorđe Mihajlović. Also present were members of the Serbian Armed Forces, Metropolitan Antim Rusas of Thessaloniki, Vicar Bishop of the Serbian Patriarch Nektarije, Consul General of Serbia in Thessaloniki Jasmina Milačić, Member of Parliament Srđan Milivojević, legendary goalkeeper of ”Partizan” and ”PAOK” Mladen Furcula, Vojvoda Mileta Pavićević from Podgorica with his son, Vladimir Purković with his wife Duška and their sons from Belgrade. (...)
He has departed, but he will forever be among us, alongside the immortals whose shadows he guarded.

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On dead watch
”He tends to the mounds, preaches destinies like the Gospel. Thousands of dramas, planted in a sea of marble crosses on foreign soil, caress his soul. (...)
Đorđe prays daily for the warriors and martyrs of the recent wars in the land created by the bones of the immortals of Thessaloniki. He doesn’t understand, he says, these times of praising heroes and bowing down to those who bombed us. But here, he is certain, on the silent guard, with the comrades of his grandfather Sava, who for years collected and buried the scattered bones of his wartime friends at Zejtinlik. He believes they will never betray him. And for as long as he can, he will report to them every morning. (...)”
(From the article ”Keeper of the Sacred Mounds”, National Review, number 4, October 2007)

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Until death
On approximately 10,000 square meters at the Serbian Military Cemetery in Zejtinlik, once a suburb of Thessaloniki and now part of the city center, eternal peace has embraced the remains of 7,565 Serbian soldiers who died on the Thessaloniki Front from 1916 to 1918.
Đorđe Mihajlović took care of these graves from 1960 until his death. Even in his old age, when he could no longer visit every day, he resided with his daughter across the street from the cemetery on Lagkada Boulevard, overlooking his white marble army from the balcony. A Serbian tricolor flag was spread out on the railing of that balcony. Videos circulated on social networks: young people from Serbia who came to visit Zejtinlik gathered beneath Đorđe’s window, singing old songs from the Great War in his honor. And with fragile steps, he managed to reach the edge and wave to them, bidding them farewell.