The 35th anniversary of the death of five Croatian defenders who went missing during the Homeland War following a naval attack in the Dubrovnik waters was marked in Doli in Dubrovnik-Neretva County. Flowers were laid at the memorial, candles were lit and tributes were paid, while the fate of the five defenders remains unresolved even after 35 years.
Members of the families, comrades, representatives of veterans' associations and the local community attended the anniversary to recall the tragic event of 1991. The missing defenders were Andrés Branko Pilsel, Fernando Delucchi, Arnold Nožić, Alejandro Nestor Patrón and Miljenko Tadić. Andrés Branko Pilsel is the brother of the well-known Croatian journalist, columnist and theologian Drago Pilsel, and Branko's disappearance on 23 October 1991 deeply affected his family. Drago Pilsel has written on multiple occasions in his texts about his brother and the painful uncertainty that has lasted for decades.
The remains of Andrés Branko Pilsel, as well as those of the other four defenders, have not been found to this day, and the search for them has not concluded. The memorial in Doli is a place of remembrance and piety for the five defenders, and the annual gathering at the monument serves as a reminder of their sacrifice.
The project "Underwater Grave of the Heroes of the 4th Guards Brigade Divers" is being implemented by the Rast Association and is entering a new phase with the support of the Ministry of Croatian Veterans. The initiator of the project and the search itself is 4th Guards Brigade veteran Boran Martić. Following the implementation of the first phase of the project during 2025, the Ministry of Croatian Veterans approved continued funding, creating the conditions for the implementation of the second phase of the project.
The first phase of the project was focused on investigating the possible location of the sinking of the small boat and included the collection and analysis of data that could aid the further search. Underwater search activities were carried out in cooperation with professional diving teams, Croatian veterans and other participants, as well as analyses of available documentation and consideration of testimonies related to the war events in the Slano area. Specialised equipment, including professional sonar for recording the seabed, was used in the investigation.
The fundamental goal of the current phase is to find the sunken boat and contribute to clarifying the fate of the five Croatian defenders. The Argentina Semper Foundation, veterans' associations and experts involved in underwater research are participating in the broader research efforts in the Slano area. The discovery of the boat and any potential remains will depend on the results of further investigations.
