Soldiers from six NATO countries form together, signaling the end of a 10-day, 180-mile march in Poland.
Posted on 08/15/2006 11:58:17 AM PDT by lizol
USAREUR Soldiers march in Polish pilgrimage
By Spc. Matthis Chiroux U.S. Army, Europe, Public Affairs
Soldiers from six NATO countries form together, signaling the end of a 10-day, 180-mile march in Poland.
Spc. Matthis Chiroux
POLAND (Army News Service, Aug. 14, 2006) – Every year, hundreds of thousands of Polish pilgrims – including members of the armed forces – trudge along rolling roads and muddy pathways to pay tribute to the Black Madonna of Czestochowa. This year, they asked some of their closest neighbors and allies to tag along.
Polish Land Forces invited 50 U.S. Southern European Task Force Soldiers from Italy and some stateside Guardsmen, along with troops from five other NATO countries, to participate in an annual 10-day journey from Warsaw to Czestochowa, which covers roughly 180 miles.
The trek began Aug. 5, and hikers logged roughly 20 miles daily.
“It’s brutal, but we are all getting through it together,” said Sgt. Radoslaw Mazur, an armor scout with the Illinois National Guard who emigrated from Poland to the United States at age 13.
The hike brings approximately 400,000 participants to the Jasna Gora monastery, where the image of Our Lady of Czestochowa is kept. Legend has it that the religious drawing inspired Polish defenders in 1655 to defeat a much larger Swedish force, according to Michael Duricy of the International Marian Research Institute.
“It’s a multinational pilgrimage,” said Chaplain (Lt. Col.) Joseph Fleury of SETAF. “For example, we have soldiers from three different countries manning our aide station.”
The Polish army handles daily logistics for the Americans and roughly 750 soldiers from other countries. They provide camp and chow for the service members each day.
“These people are unbelievable; they are so kind,” said Spc. Lukasz Oleksak, an infantryman of the Illinois National Guard.
Soldiers from six NATO countries form together, signaling the end of a 10-day, 180-mile march in Poland.
Ping
Since the soldiers were wearing their uniforms you have to wonder if the ACLU will see this as an official sanction of a religion and demand an official apology and/or arrest of the soldiers (or maybe sensitivity training at the least).
Shhhhhh....don't tell anyone. ;)
Przyjaciel Polski!
Hopefully that translated correctly - A Friend of Poland
Kudos to all who marched!
The trek began Aug. 5, and hikers logged roughly 20 miles daily.
“It’s brutal, but we are all getting through it together,” said Sgt. Radoslaw Mazur, an armor scout with the Illinois National Guard who emigrated from Poland to the United States at age 13.
No, especially if you don't have to carry any gear, set up you own camp, or cook your own meals:
"The Polish army handles daily logistics for the Americans and roughly 750 soldiers from other countries. They provide camp and chow for the service members each day."
Pathetic.
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Hello. I actually participated in this event.
We walked way over 20 miles a day. Not mentioning it was raining everyday and our boots are not designed to walk on hardball roads. We got up around 0400 everyday and walked till 1800. We had 2 or 3 20minutes break and 1 45-60 minute lunch break. Nights were cold and many people were getting sick: cold, flu, fever.
Believe me when I said it was brutal it was... You just have to be there to experience this. I would be more than happy to show you the photos maybe then you would believe how difficult it was...
okay, thanks for the information. From the limited description given in the story, it didn't seem that daunting. Thank you for your service and for representing the USA in this event.
F-O-G Alert
Regards
alfa6 ;>}
bump!
You forgot to mention how every single camp was set up in high grass resulting in a massive infestation of insects. Trying to sleep while spiders, chrickets, misqetos and ants are crawling all over you is kind of hard, despite the amount of bug sprey you used. In addition to that the food was not very nutritial, we survived those days mainly by eating bread and sweats.
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