He flew on a wooden biplane Avia B-534. On March 23, 1939, during a raid on a Hungarian column between Kolbasov and Ulič, he was severely wounded in anti-aircraft fire. Nevertheless, he still managed to land in Stakčín by the railway, but he was bleeding there. His funeral with military honors took place on March 27 in Smolenice. They poured a snuff box on his tombstone, which was later lost. A memorial plaque was unveiled at his hometown, which they later removed.
In 1995, a ceremony was held in Smolenice, on the occasion of which the Minister of the Interior promoted Štefan Devan to the rank of company in memoriam. At that time, it was also possible to find a lost memorial plaque, which is now probably an exhibit of the local museum. The birth house has since been rehabilitated. When Matica slovenská and the municipality agreed to install a new memorial plaque, it was only possible on a grassy area opposite the site of the former house. A new memorial plaque was unveiled to Štefan Devan at a memorial ceremony on April 6, 2019. At the beginning of 2018, the village had a stone text plaque replaced on his tombstone.
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