Immigrants From Croatia Celebrate a Subdued Fourth : Freedom: The newcomers are thankful for life in the United States but worry about friends and family imperiled back home by the war with Serbia.

Had Miro Koletic become a U.S. citizen last summer, he might have felt more like celebrating his first Fourth of July as an American.

After all, his homeland, Croatia, had declared its independence from Yugoslavia on June 25, 1991, and he was a happy man. But this year, Croatia is at war with Serbia and members of his family and friends still in that country live in fear for their lives, he said.

The West Hills resident and newly naturalized citizen this year allowed himself only a brief moment of jubilation at an Independence Day party Saturday.

Rep. Elton Gallegly (R-Simi Valley) had given him a flag that had flown over the U.S. Capitol to commemorate the June 4 ceremony, he said proudly, flashing a smile and making a “V” for victory sign with his fingers.

“I am lucky to be an American,” he said. “I have my freedom. But Croatia is not free. Thousands of people are dying over there.”

Koletic, an electrical engineer, and his wife, Stella, a dentist who also recently became a naturalized citizen, have spent July 4 with their friends, Darinka and Zeljko Hizak of Bell Canyon, for the last several years.

“Last year, we went to Pierce College to watch the fireworks,” Darinka Hizak said. “But this year, none of us really feel like it.”

About 30 other friends, most of them Croatian-Americans, met at the Hizaks’ home Saturday for a poolside gathering. The Croatian and American flags, both red, white and blue, were hung side by side.

Food--both American-style barbecued chicken and Croatian specialties--was abundant. But Jalenka Mandich of Woodland Hills said she felt guilty having so much when children were going hungry in her homeland.

“They have to eat grass sometimes,” she said. “There is no food.”

And, so, the conversation inevitably turned to the plight of family and friends a world away.

“All our lives have been affected in some way,” Stella Koletic said.

“For a year, we’ve talked of nothing else but the war,” Jalenka Mandich said. “I don’t sleep nights. It’s all so awful.”

Mandich and her husband, Tony, are housing six Croatian refugees in their Woodland Hills home, all relatives. “They’ve started bombing their hometown,” he said.

Tony Mandich recently helped organize a benefit that raised $120,000 for Croatian children who had been wounded or had lost their parents in the conflict with the Serbs.

“We do what we can,” Tony Mandich said. “All of us have family over there.”

Mandich said he does not know whether his brother in Sarajevo is dead or alive.

“I have not heard from him in three months,” he said. “Hopefully, he’s in a shelter and safe.”

All of the couples said they spend a lot of time on the telephone trying to reach relatives in Croatia.

Zvonko Kutlesa said he had contacted his brother in Croatia last Saturday for the first time in three months. “When he said goodby, he said this may be the last time he’ll ever talk to me,” Kutlesa said, tears welling in his eyes.

Miro Koletic said he had talked to his parents by telephone on Friday.

“I talk to my parents very often,” he said. “They wouldn’t leave when the war started. Once you smell a bit of freedom, you don’t let go.”

Still, he said, like the others, he worries. “The people over there have no arms. All they have are kitchen knives and they’re fighting heavy artillery. The Serbs are trying to conquer more and more land. All that we’re really concerned with is that no more lives be lost.”

Most at the party said they became naturalized citizens of this country and did so because they could vote for politicians who have helped Croatia.

“We support the people who support us,” Zeljko Hizak said.

The party-goers said they are reluctant to support President Bush because of his slowness to recognize Croatia as an independent country and what they see as his hesitation in providing aide to the Croatian people.

“The civilized world reacted too late,” Tony Mandich said. “America should stand for freedom and survival. Fifty-thousand people are dead.”

Nevertheless, Miro Koletic said, now that he is an American citizen, “I’ll pledge my allegiance to this country. At least I have the right to vote for whom I want. Under the Communists, there were no other choices.”

Stella Koletic best summed up the feelings of the Croatian-Americans gathered for Saturday’s party.

“We are happy we are here in a country that is free,” she said. “We are thankful for that and we celebrate. But it’s a bittersweet celebration.”