Sabrija S. PUZIĆ 

SABRIJA PUZIĆ, son of SALIH, born on March 11, 1921, in Mostar. Law student. Member of the League of Communist Youth (SKOJ) since 1939 and KPJ since 1941, in the Battalion since the beginning of 1942, company commissar. Killed in Žuglići near Konjic in March 1943.

Brother of fallen fighter Omer Puzić. A street in Mostar is named after the Puzić brothers.

EXCERPTS FROM LITERATURE:

“In the afternoon hours, the Mostar Battalion set off from the village of Jabučice on a mission and arrived at the outer defense of Žepče on the night of January 18/19. The vanguard of the Battalion was led by a platoon under Špiro Savić from the 2nd company. The platoon encountered four peasants, two of whom had rifles and the other two had axes. They disarmed them and took them as guides. Our 2nd company, led by commander Ljubo Miljanović and commissar Sabrija Puzić, arrived at the bunkers, made of boards and shrubs covered with soil, slightly earlier than the designated time for the general attack, at 10 p.m. They approached one bunker, without waiting for the signal for the attack – a shot from the cannon “Krnje” – the fighters threw their greatcoats on the wires and entered the bunker, capturing six surprised home guards and seizing a machine gun and five rifles. Immediately afterwards, a shot from “Krnje” signaled the general attack. Intense shooting ensued. Among the captives in the bunker was a home guard who had a brother in the adjacent bunker, and upon the order of company commander Miljanović, he began calling out to him: ‘Omer, the partisans have captured us, they haven’t done anything to us, surrender as well!’ The crew of the second bunker stopped shooting and surrendered, and then the third bunker surrendered as well. The company captured about 20 home guards and seized three machine guns, around twenty rifles, and plenty of ammunition. The gates to enter Žepče were open.”

“One evening, as they were returning from a meeting in the village, MUSTAFA ALIKALFIĆ BRKO, a student, ĐORĐE BOROZAN, a worker, MUSTAFA LAKIŠIĆ, a worker, and SABRIJA PUZIĆ, a company commissar, all from Mostar, encountered a Chetnik ambush. The Chetniks crossed the Neretva River using a boat and killed our comrades who were moving in a group. There were sporadic gunshots throughout the night, particularly from the Chetniks on the other side of the Neretva, driven by their own fear. None of us paid attention to the gunshots from the railway. At dawn, a patrol found the dead comrades, from whom the Chetniks had stripped clothing and shoes. The Battalion was filled with great sorrow over the loss of these veteran fighters who had been with us since the beginning of the uprising.”