Elijah Monte Radlovic

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Ilija Monte Radlovic (July 5, 1914 – August 26, 2000) was a British Officer and author.

1 Personal Background
2 Military career
3 Literary Activities
4 Family
5 Business Ventures
6 Memberships and Organizations
7 Death
8 Sources

[edit] Personal Background

Radlovic was born in the country of Montenegro, which became a part of Yugoslavia after World War I. After legal study at the University of Belgrade and Cambridge University, he embarked on a career in journalism, working for the Reuters News Agency, the London Daily Mail, and on the staff of the Balkan Herald in Yugoslavia.

[edit] Military career

In a daring and internationally reported event, Radlovic organized a group of fellow fugitives and fled Yugoslavia via an old, broken down submarine named Nebojsia (“fearless”) during the German invasion of Yugoslavia in 1941. After a treacherous journey, endangered by German bombing (at one point his family believed him dead), he arrived in Egypt, where he enlisted in the British Army.

Serving with the famous "Desert Rats," commanded by General Bernard Montgomery, Radlovic participated in many battles throughout North Africa and Italy, eventually rising to the rank of major in the King’s Royal Rifle Corps. He was recognized as the first British/American officer to enter Bologna and Padua in Italy and was highly decorated by the British government and awarded the Order of the British Empire by King George VI for his efforts behind enemy lines.

[edit] Literary Activities

When the war ended, Radlovic resumed his career as a correspondent for Reuters in Belgrade, but after being denounced as a Western agent, he was reassigned to Rome.

While on assignment with the London office of Rueters he worked with famed British writer Derek Jameson. In his autobiography, Touched by Angels, Jameson writes that, "Foremost among this group was a Yugoslav war hero name Monte Radlovic, six-foot tall and good-looking with it." He said Radlovic, after the North African and Italian campaigns, "was among troops who linked up with Tito's forces on the liberation of his homeland" of Yugoslavia. Later Radlovic's anti-Tito and anti-communist positions became well known at the Rueter's office.

He came to the U.S. in 1950, where he busied himself with literary activities. He started a magazine, The Diplomat, edited a European magazine and authored two books, Tito’s Republic (eventually translated into seven languages) and Etiquette and Protocol. Furthermore, he worked as Director of an anti-communist organization, the British Institute for Political Research.

[edit] Family

In the late 1950s, Radlovic went back to Yugoslavia to recommence legal studies at the University of Belgrade, where, in 1959, he met another student, Milena Djukic, who became his wife. Before the birth of his first son, Radlovic was again compelled to flee Yugoslavia after Communist officials sought to jail him for his anti-communist activities.

He returned to the U.S., living briefly in Washington D.C., then moving to Covina, California where he was soon joined by his wife and son. By the early 60’s, he had built a thriving real estate business, and decided to move to Claremont, California. It was there that a daughter and second son were born.

[edit] Business Ventures

In the years that followed, Radlovic became involved in a number of flourishing business ventures. He founded Pomona Realty, which grew to encompass 16 offices, and United Business Brokers, both located in the Inland Empire of Southern California, which offered seminars for entrepreneurs on how to develop successful businesses. Observers estimated that United Business Brokers played in a role in the creation of more than 150 businesses in the Inland Empire. For years he was the owner of the well-known restaurant Magic Towers, located on Foothill Boulevard in Pomona.

In his later years, even after he became seriously ill, he worked on a project to build a World Trade Center near the Ontario International Airport, which never reached fruition.

[edit] Memberships and Organizations

He was active in a number of organizations, principally as a Master Mason of the Claremont Masonic Lodge, as a member of the Almalikah Shrine and Pasadena Scottish Rite in Los Angeles, and of the Claremont University Club.

[edit] Death

Radlovic died at age 86 after struggles with cancer and diabetes. He left behind his wife Milena, of Claremont, sons Michael of Diamond Bar, CA, Marko and wife, Julie, with 3 granddaughters of Sherman Oaks, CA, daughter Alexandra of Paris, France, and two children from a previous marriage, Sally and Adrian.

A close friend, Nicholas Polos, described Radlovic as “a warm and friendly person,” with “European manners,” and as “an elegant gentleman and scholar.” Congressman David Dreier said of him, “Monte Radlovic epitomized the American Dream. He was an immigrant who came to the United States and did extraordinarily well. I had the privilege of knowing him for 20 years, and was very, very saddened by his passing.”