The hero from Međimurje
The dark-haired young man with a sly smile was a star in jeans. In his free time, Predrag was an ardent soccer player and passionate fan of Dinamo.
Predrag Jurčec or "Pedo", as his friends called him, was born in Oberndorf, Germany in the family of Franje and Katarina. He grew up in the Međimurje village of Donja Dubrava, where he finished elementary school. He finished high school in Ljubljana and earned the title of metal worker.
The dark-haired young man with a sly smile was a star in jeans. In his free time, Predrag was an ardent soccer player and passionate fan of Dinamo. He was a member of the "Bad Blue Boys" fan group. Like many other fans, Predrag replaced going to the stadium with going to the battlefield.
In March 1991, he joined the MUP of the Republic of Croatia in Varaždin. With the founding of the National Guard Corps, he transferred to the 1st "A" brigade "Tigers". As a member of its 3rd battalion, he went to the battlefield in Ilok.
On July 9, 1991, around 4 p.m., the enemy army targeted the economy of Principovac near Ilok with "Galeb" type aircraft. It housed the base of the "Tigers", who had a training center there. Zvonko Mikić, Marinko Vukoja and Predrag Jurčec were wounded in that attack. Predrag died in the hospital the next day as a result of his injuries. Brave Predrag was the first defender - a Međimurian who gave his life for the freedom of Croatia.
