The Bridge Digital newspapers Croatian edition 1990s | Page 7

Josip Jović
(21 November 1969 – 31 March 1991)
Josip Jovic was a Croatian police officer who is killed by Serb forces
during the Plitvice Lakes incident. He is widely considered the first Croatian
fatality of the Croatian War of Independence.
Jović was born on 21 November 1969 in the village of Aržano, near Imotski, to
Filip and Marija Jović. He was raised with four siblings, brother Tomislav and
sisters Franka, Mirna and Anita.
After completing his compulsory military service in a JNA Mechanised Infantry
unit in Montenegro between 1987 and 1989, on 5 August 1990, Jović joined
the Croatian Ministry of the Interior (MUP) Unit for Special Purposes in Zagreb.
On 29 March 1991, the Plitvice Lakes management was expelled by rebel
Krajina Serb police under the control of Milan Martić, supported by