Posted on 11/12/2007 3:03:06 PM PST by lizol
Exhibit honors Polish squadron
By SCOTT WHIPPLE,, Herald Press staff 11/11/2007
WINDSOR LOCKS - The Kosciuszko Squadron flies again.
An exhibit of the gallant squadron of Polish fliers at the New England Air Museum officially opens to the public at 10 a.m. The exhibit will become a permanent part of the museum's collection and can be viewed on a daily basis.
The aviation unit, named for Polish-American Revolutionary War hero, Tadeusz Kosciuszko, helped defend the newly re-constituted Polish nation from early Soviet attacks in World War II.
"The Kosciuszko Squadron has become symbolic of Polish-American cooperation," said Jack Miller, president of Central Connecticut State University. The exhibit was developed by the museum and the university's Stanislaus A. Blejwas Endowed Chair in Polish and Polish American Studies.
Dr. M.B. Biskupski, holder of the chair, said the display is important to Polish-American relations. "After World War I, seasoned American combat pilots volunteered for Polish service out of a sense of debt to Poland as the homeland of Tadeusz Kosciuszko," he said. "During the American Revolution, Kosciuszko was an officer whose experience and talents as a military leader helped mold the fledgling American armed force that ultimately defeated the professionally trained British Army."
In 1776, Kosciuszko was recruited in France by Benjamin Franklin and Connecticut native Silas Deane, a delegate to the American Continental Congress.
"So there is a real sense of closing the circle of history by having this valiant Pole, General Tadeusz Kosciuszko, honored by members of American Polonia in the Nutmeg State," Biskupski said. "And, of course, giving long-overdue recognition to the air unit that helped secure Polish independence following World War I and played a crucial role in defending Great Britain during World War II."
Miller said "a great community effort" raised more than $40,000 to develop the exhibit. A committee led by Mary Mazurek Heslin worked very hard with some 170 individuals, associations and organizations and coordinated the donation of two original Polish Air Force uniforms and other memorabilia.
The New England Air Museum "is extremely pleased to play such an important role in telling the story of this little known, but heroic chapter of aviation history. NEAM is one of the nation's outstanding aviation museums. It will prove to be a fitting home for the Kosciuszko exhibit," said the museum's executive director, Michael P. Speciale.
For information about the squadron memorial, call (860)832-3010 or visit ccsu.edu/Kosciuszko/. Information about the museum can be found by calling (860) 623-3305 or at neam.org.
The museum, by Bradley International Airport in Windsor Locks, is one of America's oldest and largest aviation museums. Its extensive collection includes aviation artifacts and memorabilia beginning with the oldest surviving aircraft in the United States up to the modern era.
Scott Whipple can be reached at whipple@newbritainherald.com or by calling (860)225-4601, ext. 319.
i’ve never met a pole i didnt like.
Repeat please.
Repeat please.
Repeat please. Repeat please. Repeat please....
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