Antonija Javornik

Antonija Javornik
Born	1893 Maribor
Died	1974 Belgrade
Battles / wars	Balkan Wars World War I
Awards	Karadjordje’s Star with Swords, two Obilić Medals, Albanian Commemorative Medal, Medal of the White Eagle, Medal of Military Virtue, Medal for Services to the Royal Home, French Legion of Honor – Chevalier, Russian Medal of St. George (III Class)

Antonija Javornik (later, Natalija Bjelajac; 1893–1974) was a Serbian war heroine, nurse and sergeant in the Serbian army during the Balkan Wars and World War I. She was injured in combat twelve times and received twelve medals for bravery.

Biography

Antonija Javornik was born in Maribor, in 1893. For Javornik, World War I started with the battles around Šabac, during the Battle of Cer, in which her uncle, Captain Martin Javornik, was killed. She received her second medal (the Miloš Obilić Medal) following these first military engagements. The war then took her to Belgrade, where she participated in the defense of the city. Together with the rest of the Serbian army, she retreated over the mountains of Montenegro and Albania and witnessed the death of many on the islands of Corfu and Vido. After a period of recuperation, she came to the Salonika front and participated in the Battle of Kaymakchalan, fought between 12 and 30 September 1916. After the fall of Kaymakchalan, the breach of the Salonika front and the liberation of Bitola, she received her most valuable medal, the Karadjordje's Star with Swords. During the war, she participated in the bloodiest and most difficult war zones. She was awarded the Order of Karađorđe's Star, two Obilić Medals, the Albanian Commemorative Medal, the Medal of the White Eagle, the Medal of Military Virtue, the Medal for Services to the Royal Home, the French Legion of Honor – Chevalier (highest French order of merit awarded to a foreign national), and the Russian Medal of St. George (III Class). She died in Belgrade, in 1974

See also

• Milunka Savić – Serbian war heroine
• Flora Sandes – First World War soldier and nurse (1876–1956)
• Leslie Joy Whitehead – Canadian female soldier
• Olive Kelso King – Australian adventurer and WWI ambulance driver (1885–1958)
• Women in the military – Women participating in military activities

External links

• Оpanak/VELIKE SRPSKE RATNICE: Hrabre ratnice koje su se borile u Prvom svetskom ratu (in Serbian)
• Worldcat/Dvanajst ran – dvanajst odlikovanj Antonija Javornik, mariborčanka – srbska junakinja Natalija Bjelajac Marijan F. Kranjc, (2012), Str. 4–10. (in Serbian)
• Delfi knjižare/Žene solunci govore, Antonije Đurić, 2014. (in Serbian)
• Spomenici i obelezja srpskim zrtvama u Balkanskim i Prvom Svetskom ratu (in Serbian)