Vukovar rocker "Ted"
Long-haired Ted belonged to the rock generation. He loved Pink Floyd, Hendrix, and most of all Ted Nuget. He collected all their records, and then the war started...
Drago Semberac "Ted" was a native of Vukovar. His friends remember him as a positive, cheerful, honest and good person. From an early age, he had the courage to fight and overcome all the problems that would befall him. Like many boys his age, long-haired Ted belonged to the rock generation. He loved Pink Floyd and Hendrix, whose records he collected. He got the nickname Ted, which all his friends called him, after his favorite musician - Ted Nugent.
After finishing primary and secondary agricultural school, Drago got a job in Vupik. He soon married his longtime love, Jadranka. Soon, in 1990, he had a son, Dorijan, with her.
Not long after the celebration of Dorian's first birthday, the family's happiness was interrupted by the arrival of war. Drago immediately joined the defense of his hometown, and fought on one of the most difficult battlefields, the Fairground.
At the beginning, he was in a position at Drvena pijaka, where he also lived. He soon moved to Lijeva bar, where his friends were. That part of the city was one of the most important lines of defense and for a long time resisted the heavy attacks of the aggressors.
Draga's friend Josip Gudurić remembered him by saying: - Self-effacing, modest and quiet, he did not refuse a single order, he called himself for help when attacking other points, determined in battle, he would silently carry out everything that was needed regardless of the difficulty of the task. He, like the rest of us, in a way felt very good that he was where we were, because we were a great team at "Osi 1". –
On the fateful November 11, Drago left this world forever. That morning, he was on guard duty in one of the houses at the OSA-1 checkpoint, which was a target of the enemy. At the moment when help arrived, he was hit in the back by a sniper's bullet. He lost consciousness and his comrades wrapped him in a blanket in order to take him to the hospital. However, the enemy repelled fierce fire. Together with his comrade Robert, Drago remained lying on the road. A mortar shell fell between the two of them and took their lives.
We would like to thank the historian Borna Marinić for collecting stories and information about the martyred Croatian victims and defenders on his portal "Domovinskirat.hr", on which this text is based.
