Nedjeljko Mitrovic
63 years old
![](https://muzejosobnihprica.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/06/181A2390.jpg)
“Why would anyone force me out of my house? And where would I go, anyway? This is my homeland, I was born here. That’s also the reason why I joined the Croatian National Guard. ‘Smokey goes to war’, that’s how they used to say about me.”
![](https://muzejosobnihprica.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/06/7-Braniteljska-iskaznica-1200x700.jpg)
Nedjeljko is one of the numerous members of the Roma community who joined the Croatian Army during the Homeland War. More than 80% of men from the Roma settlement Josip Rimac near Slavonski Brod were Croatian soldiers, mostly members of the 108th Brod Brigade.