December, his plane was downed by Yugoslav Partisans near the village of Močile, near Slunj, which was a Partisan-held area. Both he and his pilot were immediately captured by local villagers. Severely wounded, Francetić was taken to NOVJ General Staff Hospital where Partisan surgeons attempted to save his life in order to exchange him for inmates of Ustaše camps and prisons, but failed. Ustashe authorities were so concerned about the effect of his death would have on supporters of their movement that the news of his death was delayed until the beginning of March 1943. Official announcement of his death came on March 31, 1943, and Ustashe declared eight days of official mourning. Legacy The Croatian Defence Forces () (HOS) was the military arm of the Croatian Party of Rights (HSP) from 1991 to 1992 during the first stages of the Yugoslav wars. The 13th (Tomislavgrad) and 19th (Gospić) battalions of the HOS were given the title 'Jure Francetić' in his memory. In May 1993, one of the formations of the Croatian Defence Council (, HVO) operating in the Zenica region of Bosnia and Herzegovina was called the "Jure Francetić" Brigade. A memorial plaque to Francetić was raised in Slunj in June 2000 by the Association of War Veterans ("Hrvatski domobran"). Four years later, in late 2004, the Croatian government ordered the removal of the memorial plaque. In January 2005, in the outskirts of Split, another memorial to Francetić and Mile Budak was built by unknown persons. See also Evo zore, evo dana Footnotes References Books Newspapers 1912 births 1942 deaths People from Otočac People from the Kingdom of Croatia-Slavonia Ustaša Militia personnel Croatian collaborators with Fascist Italy Croatian collaborators with Nazi Germany Holocaust perpetrators in Yugoslavia Recipients of the Military Order of the Iron Trefoil Recipients of the Medal of Poglavnik Ante Pavelić for Bravery Croatian military personnel killed in World War II Catholicism and far-right politics Croatian fascists Persecution of Serbs Persecution of Eastern Orthodox Christians Genocide of Serbs in the Independent State of Croatia perpetrators