In Bulgaria, October 18 is celebrated as the Day of the Military Parachutist. It has been 75 years since the event that marked this holiday. This was the first mission of the 1st Parachute Squadron on October 18, 1944 – the assault on Strazhin's fortified position in the present-day Republic of North Macedonia. The stakes were big as after Bulgaria was a subject to enormous pressure to ally with Nazi Germany, after September 1944 the Bulgarian warriors were fighting in the anti-Hitler coalition for a worthy place for the country in the post-war world. The battle for Strazhin was fierce and the Wehrmacht had an elite airfield division with German paratroopers fighting, too. Corporal Nikola Paskalev achieved a big feat in Bulgarian military history when badly wounded he reached the back entrance of an enemy bunker, and blasted it with a grenade, which costed his life. The bunker was destroyed and the Bulgarian paratroopers continued their offensive. Today, October 18, is a day of remembrance of those killed. Today's Special Operations Forces of the Bulgarian Army are heirs to the heroes of World War II.