Guys, I'm going, and whoever wants to, should follow me!

Josip

Dino

There is hardly a person in the Virovitica-Podravine County, and beyond, who did not know the late "Joja".

Those who knew him best always say that he was self-deprecating and that he was not a person of too many words, and all that he thought, he showed with his actions.
Born on February 16, 1966, he grew up in Čačinci with his brothers Pava and Ruda and sister Fina, a twin. Primary school A.G. Matoš studied in his native Čačinci, and finished high school in Slatina, majoring in mechanical engineering. His friend from school, and later his comrade Marijan Varjačić, "Sir", spoke about his early youth.
"I knew the late Joja from a young age. We went to school together in Čačince from 1st to 8th grade. Raised in the Catholic spirit, we were also ministers in the Church together on Sundays, which often meant problems at school, when they called us worshipers, but we always kind of ignored it and put it aside. He was, I can freely say, among the best students in his class, he played football and started to build a career in juniors, but as time went on, high school, the army, work and finally that unfortunate war, dragged Joja's life a little some other direction," Marijan Varjačić recalled Joja's youth.
With the advent of democratic changes, Joja joined the police reserve at the end of 1990, and in March 1991 he joined the Special Purpose Unit of the Orahovica Police Station, Osijek Police Administration. As a member of the unit, he experienced his first baptism of fire in Borovo Selo on May 2, 1991. After that, in Orahovica, the establishment of an active ZNG company followed, in which Joja assumed the position of deputy company commander, given his good military education at the Reserve Officers' School in Bileća. This was followed by the action in Tenja, and then the beginning of open conflicts in the area of ​​the former municipality of Orahovica, more precisely, on the first line of defense in the village of Humljani.
At the end of 1991, Joja, as a member of the "A" company of ZNG Orahovica, then part of the 2nd battalion of the 132nd brigade of Orahovica, participated in the Papuk '91 operation, where he and his men made a great contribution in liberating mountain villages, in to the area of ​​responsibility of the 2nd battalion, and the war path after that leads him to the defense of Ivanovo, where he remains with the unit until the spring of 1992. He experienced a great tragedy at the end of May 1992 in Brodska Posavina. According to his comrades, the death of Josip Klobučar on May 20, 1992, the late Joja never regretted. His namesake, the late Josip Klobučar, is one of the few that Joja himself could trust in all those war situations. However, this did not prevent Joja from continuing his journey as a member of the 5th Guards Brigade "Falcons". From the battles for Kašić in 1993 to the Southern Front, there was no place where Joja did not make a selfless contribution to the creation of Croatia. Already then, with rich war experience and the ability to command in complex combat conditions, he was appointed to the position of deputy commander of the guard battalion.
After the final liberation operations in the Homeland War, Joja's war journey came to an end, but that was not the end of his military career. He remained in the Croatian Army until 2005. With the end of the war, Josip finally had more time for his family, his son Dominik, his daughters Mateja and Magdalena, and his wife Maria.
"A real father and husband. There wasn't a lot of talk with him, and that certain military discipline was also felt in his upbringing. He was always strict and fair with the children, taught them honesty, and most of all, they loved sports with him," Marija Nikšić recalled of her husband Josip.
Joja's great love was football. Long-time goalkeeper of the club "Mladost" from Čačinac, then "Sloge" from Zdenac, "Standard" from Nova Šarovka and finally the veteran team "Mladost" from Miljevac. However, Čačina's "Youth" was what Joja lived for.
"On Monday, April 15, 2019, he visited all of Čačinci. There wasn't a house or friend he didn't visit, had a drink with people, and even, like in the good old days in the "hole" (football field in Čačinci), watched the training from the first to the last second. As if he simply came to say goodbye!" - Marijan Jojin described the last day.
Josip Nikšić, "Joja", died on April 16, 2019, taking care of his family. Fate wanted it to be in Zagreb as a result of a heart attack. An unprecedented and rarely seen number of relatives, friends, acquaintances, veterans, patriots gathered in Čačinci for the funeral of the hero.
"I just couldn't believe it and I couldn't come to terms with the fact that he was gone. I thought that man was indestructible, after all he had been through. Before the funeral, we learned that on that Monday he told someone in Čačinci that when he dies, he wants to be buried in Čačinci, even though he lived in Slatina. He didn't let go of his Čačina people even after his death - a true local patriot and a great man, and what follows him after his death is his nickname, which his son proudly wears on his jersey, and his words that only his comrades know: "Boys, I'm going, and who is for, let him follow me!" – Marijan Varjačić.

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He never spoke ahead, but: "Guys, I'm going, and whoever is in favor, let him follow me!" - hero of the Homeland War Josip Nikšić "Joja"