Pharmacist and athlete, Croatian hero
For his immeasurable work, sacrifice and courage, Tomislav was awarded the Petr Zrinski and Frana Krst Frankopan medal.
Tomislav Lesić was born on a warm May day in Zagreb. He was the only child in the family of father Branko, a hard-working builder, and mother Jelka, who worked as a teacher.
Tomislav completed elementary school and classical high school in Zagreb, and then obtained a master's degree in pharmacy at the Faculty of Pharmacy in Zagreb.
He was extremely sociable and open. He was extremely fond of sports, and he was involved in different sports – skiing, motoring, tennis, basketball and even water skiing!
He loved his wife Jasminka, his son Tino and Lijepa Naša. That's why he joined HOS immediately at the beginning of the war. As a member of the medical staff of the 204th Vukovar Brigade of the HV, he went to the Eastern Slavonic battlefield.
There he helped the wounded in the Vukovar hospital. He saved the lives of several people, and among them was Šandor, who named his newborn son after Tomislav.
"Doc", as he was called, remained approachable and sociable even in the worst moments. In addition to taking care of the health of soldiers and civilians, Tomislav played cards and made jokes with him. He stayed with his men until the very end.
He was posthumously promoted to the rank of captain in the Croatian Army, and for his immeasurable work, sacrifice and courage, he was awarded the Petr Zrinski and Frane Krsto Frankopan medal.
