{{Short description|American intelligence officer}} {{More citations needed|date=July 2012}} {{Use mdy dates|date=January 2026}} {{Use American English|date=January 2026}} {{Infobox military person | name = George Musulin | image = Musulin in Chetnik headgear.jpg | caption = Musulin in German-occupied Yugoslavia<br/>during World War II | birth_name = George S. Musulin | birth_date = {{Birth date|1914|04|09}} | death_date = {{Death date and age|1987|02|23|1914|04|09}} | birth_place = New York, NY, U.S. | nickname = Guv | allegiance = {{flagcountry|United States}} | branch = {{ubl|U.S. Army {{small|(1942{{endash}}1944)}}|U.S. Navy {{small|(1944{{endash}}1950)}}}} | unit = {{ubl|Office of Strategic Services {{small|(army)}}|Office of Naval Intelligence {{small|(navy)}}}} | service_number = 0519461 | service_years = 1942–1950 | rank = Captain (OSS) | battles = World War II<br/> * Yugoslav theater | known_for = Operation Halyard | awards = Legion of Merit | alma_mater = University of Pittsburgh (BA) | other_work = Central Intelligence Agency<br/>{{small|(1950{{endash}}1974)}} }} '''George''' "'''Guv'''" '''S. Musulin''' (April 9, 1914 – February 23, 1987) was a Serbian-American army and navy officer of the Office of Strategic Services (OSS) and Office of Naval Intelligence during World War II, who later became an operative of the Central Intelligence Agency.<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1987/02/26/obituaries/gs-musulin-who-got-gi-s-out-of-yugoslavia-dies-at-72.html |title=G.S. Musulin, Who Got G.I.'s Out of Yugoslavia, Dies at 72 |newspaper=The New York Times |date=26 February 1987 |publisher= |access-date= |url-access=subscription }}</ref>
==Early life== George Musulin was born into a Serbian family in New York City and grew up in Johnstown, Pennsylvania. He graduated from the University of Pittsburgh, where he played with the university's football team during their national championship year of 1937.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.blujay.com/item/UNIVERSITY-OF-PITTSBURGH-1937-FOOTBALL-TEAM-PHOTO-14100000-1685326 |title=UNIVERSITY OF PITTSBURGH 1937 FOOTBALL TEAM PHOTO |publisher= |date=1937 |access-date= |work=blujay.com |format=photo }}</ref> After college he played professional American football in Pittsburgh, St. Louis, and Chicago.<ref name="latimes">{{cite web |agency=Times Wire Services |title=George Musulin; Led Airlift That Rescued Fliers in World War II |url=https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1987-02-28-mn-6325-story.html |website=Los Angeles Times |access-date=April 27, 2016 |language=en-US |date=28 February 1987}}</ref>
==Second World War== {{main|Operation Halyard}} Musulin became a captain in the OSS during the Second World War.<ref name="ppost">{{cite web|title=93-year-old's WWII feats are hidden no longer|url=http://www.post-gazette.com/local/region/2008/11/23/93-year-old-s-WWII-feats-are-hidden-no-longer/stories/200811230306|website=Pittsburgh Post-Gazette|access-date=April 27, 2016}}</ref> In mid-October 1943, Musulin, as part of a U.S. military mission, parachuted into Yugoslavia to the headquarters of General Draža Mihailović. In January 1944, Musulin was a delegate on the Ba Congress organized by Mihailović.<ref>{{harv|Vesović|Nikolić|1996|p=57}}:"Конгресу је присуствовао и Џорџ Мусулин, делегат амери- чке војске и председника Рузвелта."</ref>
On 29 May 1944, Musulin, aided by Chetniks, was evacuated along with the British and American mission and 40 rescued Allied airmen to Bari, leaving General Mihailović without support. In Bari, Musulin proposed another rescue of American airmen shot down over Yugoslavia. He again parachuted into Chetnik territory, near the village of Pranjani, where there were several hundred American airmen rescued by Chetnik forces and hidden from the Germans. Musulin successfully commanded the airlift Operation Halyard, the rescue from the air of about 447 U.S. airmen from Nazi-occupied Yugoslavia, from 10 to 29 August 1944.<ref>{{cite web |author= |url=https://www.legionpost146.org/documents/WWIIOperationHalyard.pdf |title=Operation Halyard |work=legionpost146.org |date= |access-date=23 January 2026 }}</ref> Although this operation was successful due to cooperation from General Mihailović, Musulin had been ordered not to give the Chetniks political promises, an order he violated when he allowed members of General Mihailović's political mission to board the plane. At this time the British were the main Allied authority in the Mediterranean, and their Special Operations Executive (SOE) complained to Musulin's superiors in the OSS, who decided to expel him from the service. In late 1944 Musulin was transferred to the Far East as part of the naval intelligence service,<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.halyardmission.org/single-post/withdrawal-of-george-musulin |title=Withdrawal of George Musulin |work=Halyard Mission Foundation |date=2022 |access-date=23 January 2026 }}</ref> where he stayed until the end of the war.
==Post-war years== After the war, the CIA conducted its own investigation into Musulin, which concluded that he had acted appropriately and that he had been the victim of James Klugmann and other British agents in the SOE with communist sympathies. For his efforts, Musulin was awarded the Legion of Merit.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.halyardmission.org/single-post/2020/01/13/heroes-of-halyard-mission-george-musulin |title=Heroes of Halyard mission - George Musulin |work=Halyard Mission Foundation |date=2022 |access-date=23 January 2026 }}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.generalmihailovich.com/2006/09/captain-george-musulin-awarded-legion.html |title=Captain George Musulin awarded the Legion of Merit for command of Halyard Mission |work=generalmihailovich.com |date=20 September 2006 |access-date=23 January 2026 |quote=George S. Musulin, 0519461, 1st Lieutenant, AUS, Office of Strategic Services, while attached to Company B, 2677th Regiment, OSS (Provisional), for exceptionally meritorious conduct in the performance of outstanding services. }}</ref>
Musulin enlisted in the Office of Naval Intelligence and joined the Central Intelligence Agency in 1950, where he remained until he retired in 1974. Musulin continued to serve as a field operations officer. He was part of a team that was responsible for recruiting and training Cuban exiles to fight against the regime of Fidel Castro. He was disappointed with the failure of the Bay of Pigs Invasion and the loss of human life.{{citation needed|date=January 2026}}
Musulin died of complications of diabetes at the age of 72.
==See also== {{stack|{{portal|United States}}}} * Operation Halyard
==References== {{Reflist}}
=== Bibliography === * {{cite book|last1=Vesović |first1=Milan |last2=Nikolić |first2=Kosta |title=Ujedinjene srpske zemlje: ravnogorski nacionalni program |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=kyS5AAAAIAAJ |year=1996 |publisher=Vreme Knjige |language=Serbian}}
==External links== {{commons category}} *[https://web.archive.org/web/20110727154958/http://www.osssociety.org/pdfs/oss_spring_05.pdf THE O.S.S. SOCIETY, INC, Spring 2005.] *[https://web.archive.org/web/20110930222231/http://www.osssociety.org/pdfs/oss_summer_fall_07.pdf The O.S.S. Society, Newsletter, Summer/Fall 2007.] *[http://www.gregoryafreeman.com/forgotten500.html gregoryafreeman.com] *{{cite book|last1=O'Donnell|first1=Patrick K.|title=Operatives, Spies, and Saboteurs: The Unknown Story of the Men and Women of World War II's OSS|date=28 October 2014|publisher=Simon and Schuster|isbn=9780743235747|pages=85–87|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=fFftBAAAQBAJ&q=George+Musulin&pg=PA85|language=en}} *[https://archive.org/details/george-musulin-oss-file/ George Musulin's OSS File]
{{Allied missions to Chetniks}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Musulin, George}} Category:1914 births Category:1987 deaths Category:People of the Office of Strategic Services Category:American anti-communists Category:American people of Serbian descent Category:People of the Central Intelligence Agency Category:Recipients of the Legion of Merit Category:Chetniks Category:People of the Office of Naval Intelligence Category:United States Army personnel of World War II Category:United States Navy personnel of World War II Category:University of Pittsburgh alumni Category:Military personnel from New York City