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Polish soldiers to pay tribute to American heroes of war with Soviets

Polish soldiers are looking for the graves of their American brothers-in-arms from the Kościuszko Squadron which fought during the Polish-Bolshevik war 100 years ago, in order to pay tribute to them.

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One of the soldiers looking for the graves was Colonel Karol Budniak. He found out that two of the soldiers were from El Paso on the border with Mexico. In a local city library the Colonel managed to find numerous photos, orders, a squadron badge and most importantly, a book with information on where some of the pilots were buried.

One of the two pilots was cremated and buried elsewhere but the other pilot was buried in El Paso, his hometown. Mr Budniak managed to locate the grave after an hour. “In 1918 he flew in France, then the Philippines. Eventually, he ended up in Poland and then in Japan. Unfortunately, he died in a plane crash in the US in 1924, not long after returning home,” the Colonel said, summarising the pilot’s air force career.

After nearly a century, candles and red and white flowers were placed on the grave of Earl Evans. This was an expression of the Polish nation’s gratitude for Mr Earl’s decision to help protect the country from the Bolshevik onslaught in 1920.

The 7th Kościuszko Squadron was made up of more than a dozen American volunteers, who usually were WWI veterans, who decided to fight the Soviet Russian offensive on Poland in 1920 instead of going back to the US.

The pilots of the Kosciuszko Squadron used, among other aircraft, the Albatros D3. During the Polish-Bolshevik war, the pilots of the Kościuszko squadron would attack the enemy infantry and cavalry as well as making bombing maneuvers and reconnaissance missions.

“The missions were performed in very difficult conditions, many U.S. pilots were not familiar with the winter conditions in Ukraine or in the vicinity of the city of Lviv. It was a big challenge for their fortitude, for their dedication. Three of them unfortunately lost their lives in Poland,” General Cezary Wiśniewski, Poland’s Military Attaché to the US said.

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