City of Heroes

Have you heard of the City of Heroes?

Where war was their soundtrack

Bombs and missiles

rang like evil whistles

A city under attack,

complete despair

Boys made into men overnight,

no time to learn to fight

20 thousand people

left without a home

Rubble beneath their feet

bodies dead in the street

There stood a water tower

with the flag waving above

A symbol of independence

a hope for transcendence

Out of the suffering

rose a young man

Who pushed fear aside

who wanted his people dignified

Ivica Ivanika,

watched the water tower

Bombed more than 600 times

He had enough of the crimes

Each time the flag was bombed

he would climb at night to replace it

Risking his life in the dark

to reclaim their landmark

Each time the enemy

saw the flag replaced

Their rage grew in spades,

they tossed more grenades

Every night Ivicia climbed,

his bravery inspired others

Hrvoje Džalto joined the mission,

men tired of the abolition

The people of Vukovar

gathered their flags

So the two men could carry out

and spark a light in a blackout

The echoes of war,

tears in the mothers’ eyes

The fight ensued

but these two men pursued

When all else was failing

lives being taken by the second

The flag waved in the wind

like a beacon of hope pinned

The people kept their eyes fixed

on any chance of salvation

Harm, ruin, and loss,

gripping of the cross

It’s the sacrifice of the people

to protect one another

To remind each other of why they fight

to defend their birthright

Ivica and Hrvoje,

your bravery is never forgotten

A mark of their military boots

engraved at the water tower roots

Every year people stand in its place

to be humbly reminded

That freedom comes at a cost

and to never forget those we have lost.

-        Katarina Bučić

When the anniversary of the Battle of Vukovar was approaching, my husband suggested that maybe I should write a piece on this historical and monumental battle. I was immediately overwhelmed. Although I am of Croatian blood, I am always hesitant to comment on any matters of Croatian politics and/or history because I was not born here and feel like it is not my place to share my opinion on something that I do not understand.

 

I sat at my computer for many hours watching videos from the Battle of Vukovar and wept as I witnessed the pain and torture the people of Vukovar endured. There are many points of conflict in topics of politics and war, but one thing I hope we can all empathize with is the suffering of humanity. The weight of war is heavy regardless of your position.

 

As I was immersing myself in the sorrow of that time, I came across an incredible story of two men who fought in the Battle of Vukovar, Ivica Ivanika and Hrvoje Džalto. I immediately knew that I had found a way to write about Vukovar from a specific angle that does not involve political opinions, but just the sharing of the courage these two men possessed. Their story was one of hope, of light, in a very dark time. I hope you enjoy their story as much as I did and perhaps one day you too can visit their monument at the bottom of the water tower and stand in the footprints of heroes.