Last Polish soldier of WWII opening battle dies (Westerplatte)

Associated Press ^

[dfwgator]

WARSAW, Poland (AP) — Maj. Ignacy Skowron, the last known survivor of World War II's Battle of Westerplatte, has died. He was 97. Family friend Zofia Nowak said Monday that Skowron died at his grandson's home in Kielce, in southern Poland on Sunday after suffering circulatory, liver and pancreas problems.

[dfwgator]

Westerplatte is the Polish "Alamo".

Battle of Westerplatte

[dfwgator]

Ping

[Bringbackthedraft]

Skowron was released in 1940, and worked for Polish railways until his 1975 retirement....................... ??? Released by the Nazis?? A polish officer released??? No trip to Kaytn for him? There has to be more to this story.

[warsaw44]

Absolutely an amazing story and one that got little play from the Germans once it was over.

The Poles fought like lions and continued to do so throughout Europe after their country had fallen.

[katana]

If he had been in the East, as an officer, his bones would be mixed with thousands of others in the Katyn forest, a victim of Stalin's NKVD. It's ironic to say, but he was fortunate to have been captured by Nazis and not Communists.

[dfwgator]

[Hieronymus]

As Katyn was almost certainly the work of the Soviet Union, though rigged to look like the Germans did it, being held by the Nazis was a good way to avoid it.

[dfwgator]

The Nazis greatly respected the defenders of Westerplatte, after their surrender, even allowing the commander of the Polish garrison to keep his sword.

One other curious thing, was that one of the first orders Hitler gave to the Wehrmacht, was to place an honor guard at the grave of Marshall Pilsudski when they captured Krakow. It makes you wonder what would have been had Pilsudski survived.

[packrat35]

Kaytn was there the Soviets kiled the Poles.

[dfwgator]

It's ironic to say, but he was fortunate to have been captured by Nazis and not Communists.

"With the Germans, we lose our lives, with the Russians we lose our souls." - General Anders

[dfwgator]

A Polish soldier comes across a Nazi Soldier and a Red Army Soldier, which one does he shoot first?

[warsaw44]

I had the honor of meeting a veteran of the 1944 Uprising. Just a wonderful experience.

I do not know who was more surprised: Me for the change to meet such a Patriot, or him for having met an American who knew about the uprising.

[dfwgator]

I posted this thread on August 1....the video was very touching, and it received a lot of hits.

There Is A City : Tribute to the Heroes of The Warsaw Uprising (August 1, 1944)
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-chat/2913490/posts

[fieldmarshaldj]

RIP.

[GreenLanternCorps]

The Nazi.

Always put business before pleasure...

[dfwgator]

Tak jest!

[Harold Shea]

Had a cousin send us a video last week of how Warsaw

comes to a stop on the anniversary of the Uprising

Powerful video of a huge city coming to a halt to

remember their heroic past

[vetvetdoug]

In June 1984 I was participating in the reenactment of Brandy Station and met an old Polish Cavalryman. He sat and talked to us about how he cared for his horse and how they met the German Tanks on horseback and attacked those tanks with charges on the tips of lances. He described how the machine guns ripped their ranks to shreds. To this day it sends chills down my spine and amazes me of the bravery of the Poles.

[dfwgator]

The most impressive thing was the performance of the Polish pilots during The Battle of Britain....they had the highest ratio of kills of any squadron...they were absolutely fearless...Britain owes a huge debt of gratitude to them.

[Tallguy]

US air ace Francis Gabreski briefly served with a Polish RAF squadron prior to gaining fame in the P-47 (and the F-86 in Korea). Amazing career.