A-SMYLE alumni competed for the opportunity to visit Pranjani to learn about Project Halyard- one of the biggest rescue missions of U.S. service men of World War II. A party was planned at the secondary school for alumni to share their U.S. experiences with the youth of Pranjani. The five A-SMYLE alumni selected for the trip prepared fun and informative presentations for the school children, but at the last moment the school director cancelled the event. Sanja Djuric ’09 says. "It was great learning something new about Serbian history from Americans, but it was sad not being able to teach Serbian kids something new about America."

The alumni, who came from all over Serbia, were disappointed not to be able to meet the children. However, the opportunity to learn about the massive rescue operation and the shared U.S.-Serbia history was impressive. Meeting first-hand people whose lives were influenced by the events of the last century made history come alive for the alumni. Says Jelena Jezdimirovic ’09, “The trip to Pranjani was amazing! I wasn’t aware that so many pilots were saved by Serbs in WWII. This is something that you don’t learn in history books. The people, food, and all we learned I appreciate greatly.”