TOWARDS OCTOBER 30 – Marinko Veletić: “Orao” is like my younger brother; I’m three months older than him
“I jokingly say that ‘Orao’ is my younger brother, and that’s why I visit him every year on his birthday, October 30. In reality, I was born in August 1944, and the company, or rather the workshop, started operating at the end of October the same year. Twenty years later, I got a job at ‘Orao’ and spent almost 40 years there,” says Marinko Veletić, an aircraft mechanic who retired in 2004.
Veletić was born in Kalinovik and lived in Sarajevo. Upon joining ‘Orao’, his initial tasks involved the repair and assembly of napalm bombs.
“As a young man, ‘Orao’ gave me a stable job, and I never thought about looking elsewhere. After working on napalm bombs, I moved on to testing parts for cracks, and when the MiG aircraft began undergoing overhauls, I started dismantling planes and their engines. I followed the entire repair cycle of a MiG engine until I was promoted to assembly and inspection controller,” Veletić explains.
Like many of his colleagues, he participated in the Defensive Homeland War both on the front lines and at work.
“In the evenings we would return from the front line, get a few hours of sleep, and be back at work in the morning. Since we were short-staffed, I even stepped in as an assembler. We never complained, even though there wasn’t a single free minute. When the company relocated to Bijeljina, I resumed my role as controller, but with an expanded scope of duties – I was not only responsible for engine assembly control, but also for balancing, repair, and other processes,” Veletić emphasizes.
He notes that he has been retired for 21 years and has attended the celebration of October 30 – Orаo’s Day – every year since.
“I welcome October 30 with joy, and I’m glad that the younger generations continue to keep this company alive. I am confident that ‘Orao’ will celebrate its day for many years to come,” Veletić concluded.
