Traveling to Osijek, Croatia, near the Serbian border we received some training for our assignments as mission assistant auditors. While we were there, we visited the port city of Vukovar on the Danube River. Vukovar was heavily damaged during the Croatian War of Independence. Approximately 2,000 self-organized defenders defended the city for 87 days against approximately 36,000 Yugoslavian troops supplemented with 110 vehicles and tanks and dozens of planes. The city suffered heavy damage during the siege and was eventually overrun. It is estimated that 2,000 defenders of Vukovar and civilians were killed, 800 went missing and 22,000 civilians were forced into exile.
The city's water tower, was riddled with bullets and bombshells. Under dangerous conditions, two young men climbed the tower at night repeatedly, to make sure the Croatian flag continued to fly. They are considered Heros! The water tower in it's damaged condition has been retained by city planners to serve as a testimony to the events of the early 1990s.
All wars are terrible and sad that they happen. Since we don't see much news from that area we don't understand how much destruction occurred there. Great pictures and information. Hope you are all doing well.
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