Major, Yugoslav air force; aide to General Dus̆an T. Simović during World War II.
From the description of Dragiša Nikola Ristić papers, 1941-1980. (Unknown). WorldCat record id: 122450082
Biographical Note
1909 January 9Born, Veliko Bonjice, Serbia1928Graduated, Belgrade Military Academy, rank of second lieutenant, assigned to
Yugoslavian air force1932Promoted to first lieutenant, Yugoslavian air force1935Instructor, non-commissioned officers school1936Promoted to second captain, squadron commander1936193819401941Aide-de-camp to General Dušan Simović, commander of Yugoslavian air
force1939Promoted to first captain1941 January 23Accompanied General Dušan Simović to a meeting in Belgrade with Colonel
William J. Donovan, Franklin D. Roosevelt's representative in Europe1941 March 23Yugoslav Prime Minister Cvetković signed the Tripartite Pact with Nazi
Germany1941 March 27Took part in the coup led by General Dušan Simović to overthrow the
government of Prince Paul and Cvetković. The 17-year-old Peter II was appointed king, and Simović became the new
prime minister1941 April 6Germans bombarded Belgrade, began invasion of Yugoslavia1941 April 14Received assignment to escort King Peter II out of Yugoslavia to safety,
and flew him to Athens. Two days later, Simović, Ristić, and the King flew to Alexandria1941 April1941 JuneIn Jerusalem, where Yugoslavian government-in-exile was based until it
moved to London1942 MarchTransferred to the Yugoslav military mission in Canada and the United States,
and was based variously at Ottawa, Washington, Nashville, and Windsor, Ontario. While in Windsor, enrolled at
Wayne State University in Detroit19431945Transferred to Yugoslavian forces based in Cairo, and while there, enrolled
in the American University1945 May 26Honorable discharge from the Yugoslavian armed forces, rank of major19461948Returned to the United States, employed by U.S. Steel Products Company,
Los Angeles, and enrolled at University of California, Los Angeles1950Graduated, bachelor's degree in political science, University of California,
Los Angeles 1951Employed as instructor of Serbo-Croatian language at the U.S. Army Language
School, Presidio of Monterey, California1953Graduated, master's degree in political science, University of California,
Los Angeles1955Studied at the Faculté de Droit, University of Paris, while researching
book on the Yugoslavian revolution of 19411966Published Yugoslavia's Revolution of 1941 (Pennsylvania State University Press)
19721973Studied in doctoral program for political science, Western Colorado
University2004Died, Monterey, CaliforniaFrom the guide to the Dragisa N. Ristic Papers, 1941-1980, (Hoover Institution on War, Revolution, and Peace)