Milan Tepić
Last recipient of the Order of the People's Hero of Yugoslavia (1957-1991)
Milan Tepić (Serbian Cyrillic: Милан Тепић; 26 January 1957 – 29 September 1991) was a major in the Yugoslav People's Army during the Croatian War of Independence.
In September 1991, Tepić was tasked with defending an ammunition storage in the village of Hrgovljani just outside Bjelovar. After the defeat of the city's defenders in the Siege of Bjelovar Barracks, Tepić ordered the evacuation of the storage facility while staying behind himself. He then detonated an explosive charge to prevent the capture of the stored ammunition, weapons, and other equipment, killing himself and eleven Croatian soldiers in the process.
Aftermath
Major Milan Tepić was declared a National Hero of Yugoslavia. He was the last person that received this title. In Croatia he is considered a war criminal because his action threatened damage to the town of Bjelovar.
Streets in Belgrade, Banja Luka, Kozarska Dubica Vršac, Zrenjanin, and Sremska Mitrovica are named after him. There is also a monument of Milan Tepić in his street in Belgrade. One street in Novi Sad was also named after him until being changed in 2004.
This brief starts where responsible research should: with the source description of “Milan Tepić” as last recipient of the Order of the People's Hero of Yugoslavia (1957-1991). Everything that follows is an evidence route, not borrowed authority.
Why this record matters
The subject matters to the general reference register because the source frames it as last recipient of the Order of the People's Hero of Yugoslavia (1957-1991). Its deeper value depends on whether names, dates, institutions and citations support that framing.
Named sources, stable identifiers and responsible institutions provide the strongest route from overview to verifiable evidence. The source revision retrieved here is dated Aug 10, 2026. The linked authority identifier is Q6470722. VIAF identifies the subject as 40186336. The Library of Congress control number is n00021927. 3 of 3 selected statements include explicit references; 0 carry qualifiers and 0 use preferred rank. The first chronological checks are 1957, 1991 and 2004.
A concise general-reference account can conceal disagreements about scope, terminology or the weight assigned to individual sources. The lead is largely declarative, so disagreement and counter-evidence require a deliberate search beyond the opening account. Authority statements aid reconciliation but still require their own references, qualifiers and ranks to be checked.
How to read it
Use the entry as an orientation point, then follow its citations and revision history. Names, dates and institutional relationships should be checked against the original record.
- Subject orientation
- Search vocabulary
- Locating named sources
The closest primary source, responsible institution and strongest cited specialist reference.
Three-step research path
- Establish the record: confirm the title “Milan Tepić”, its source revision and the description used here.
- Expand the search: follow Milan Tepić primary sources, Milan Tepić archive and Milan research across catalogues and specialist indexes.
- Test the account: compare the strongest cited source with the responsible institution’s current record and note any disagreement.
Questions for further research
- Which source most directly establishes the central claim about “Milan Tepić”?
- What terminology or title could unlock a more precise catalogue search?
- Which cited source is closest to the event, object or claim?
Search terms from this dossier
This entry incorporates text from “Milan Tepić” on English Wikipedia. Contributors are listed in the page history. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Selected authority identifiers and statements are retrieved from Wikidata under CC0; their references and qualifiers remain part of the verification path.