Sergeant Bajema was an infantry section commander in a platoon that stood firm during fifteen hours of intense, indirect fire during a Croatian attack in the Medak Pocket, Croatia, in September 1993. The next day, in the face of objections from the local Serbian military authorities and despite threats against his own life, he established an observation post to monitor the conflict. The post later proved to be the only direct source of information available to the United Nations, and was used by both military observers and senior staff officers of the United Nations Protection Force.