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| Oregon man, 92, promoted to admiral in Polish navy |
| 2009-05-31 |
| Jerzy Tumaniszwili was a 23-year-old naval gunnery officer in the Polish navy when his destroyer left port to escape the imminent 1939 German invasion of his county. He achieved the rank of lieutenant commander while serving 5 1/2 years during World War II, chasing German U-boats and protecting troops on D-Day in 1944. Tumaniszwili emigrated to the United States after the war because he was considered an enemy by the Communist regime that had taken over Poland. Now at 92, Tumaniszwili sets sail these days mostly on rivers and lakes. But his birth country isn't finished thanking him: The government is honoring him as a rear admiral in the Polish navy. "It's probably because I'm the oldest one still alive," Tumaniszwili said in an interview with The Associated Press. "It really surprised me." The Polish ambassador, Robert Kupiecki, was scheduled to present the promotion to Tumaniszwili at a ceremony on Sunday in Portland on behalf of Polish President Lech Kaczynski. The promotion was approved last year, but Tumaniszwili was unable to attend a ceremony in Poland, according to Piotr Erenfeicht, counselor of political affairs at the Polish embassy in Washington, D.C. Erenfeicht said promotions of retired servicemen occur "from time to time" and that other Polish Americans have received the honor. |
| Posted by:Anonymoose |
| #1 ...If any of you ever get the chance, read an incredible novel called The Thousand Hour Day, about the invasion of Poland. Written from the Polish side, it points out something one rarely ever hears: just how hard the Poles actually hurt the Germans, and had it not been for the Soviet stab in the back, they might have been able to fight them to a standstill long enough for the French and British to guilt themselves into action. Mike |
| Posted by: Mike Kozlowski 2009-05-31 19:09 |