Warsaw in the family crypt
halski
Rehabilitation General Sosabowski
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Since the initial link was closed:
Hi all,
The 1st Polish Airborne Brigade are finally getting what they deserved. 62 years after their action at Driel, the Brigade is being hounered with the highest dutch military award, the Militaire Willemsorde.
Their brave commander, Major-General Stanislaw F. Sosabowski, is getting the Bronzen Leeuw through his grandchildren.
Hurray!
(originally posted by Piet Duits on May 31, 2006)
Hi all,
The 1st Polish Airborne Brigade are finally getting what they deserved. 62 years after their action at Driel, the Brigade is being hounered with the highest dutch military award, the Militaire Willemsorde.
Their brave commander, Major-General Stanislaw F. Sosabowski, is getting the Bronzen Leeuw through his grandchildren.
Hurray!
(originally posted by Piet Duits on May 31, 2006)
A short video of ceremonies in Driel :
http://www.gelderlander.nl/dossiers/video/mwodriel/
The Queen's Speech....
(Cannot post a source as it was e-mailed to me from the Netherlands)
Address by Her Majesty the Queen of the Netherlands, 31 May 2006 at the
presentation of the insignia of the Militaire Willemsorde to the First
Independent Polish Parachute Brigade and the insignia of the Bronze Lion,
posthumously, to its commanding officer, General Sosabowski
Ladies and gentlemen,
I am happy to welcome you all most cordially to this ceremony, at which two
prestigious Dutch honours will be conferred on Polish heroes who played an
important role in liberating our country at the end of the Second World War.
It is a particular pleasure to first of all greet the Polish veterans who are
here this morning. Today we honour through them the ninety-three Polish soldiers
who died during the Battle of Arnhem, or who later succumbed to their wounds. We
honour too those who have died since then, and those who are unable to attend
the ceremony today.
I should also like to warmly welcome the members of General Stanislaw
Sosabowski's family, in particular his grandsons, who have agreed to accept the
decoration awarded to him posthumously on their grandfather's behalf.
I also greet the members of the Sixth Polish Air Assault Brigade, which
continues the tradition of the First Independent Polish Parachute Brigade and
whose commanding officer will receive the award on behalf of the Brigade.
Furthermore, I greatly appreciate that representatives of the Polish Government
and Armed Forces, who emphasise with their presence the value attached to this
tribute in Poland .
I should like to say a word of thanks to the holders of the Militaire
Willemsorde - both individuals and units - and of the Bronze Lion who, by being
here, bear witness to their commitment. That applies in particular to the
representatives of the Eighty-Second US Airborne Division, who also fought in
Operation Market Garden and are in our midst today to pay their respects to our
Polish liberators. We greatly appreciate you all joining us to mark this
occasion.
Since the war we have remembered our dead and celebrated our liberation every
year. After the fall of the old regime when Poland resumed its place as a
democratic country among the European nations, the Polish and the Dutch could
come together for the first time in a solemn ceremony. In celebrating our
liberation, we also express the value we attach to freedom and our awareness
that freedom is never without commitment and should never be taken for granted.
Gratitude to our liberators is deeply felt in the Netherlands and is expressed
anew each year. Sad to say, however, the courageous actions of General
Sosabowski and his First Polish Parachute Brigade at the Battle of Arnhem and
the great service they rendered in the cause of liberating the Netherlands have
never been formally recognised.
Queen Wilhelmina, my grandmother, did express the wish for such recognition at
that time, and my father, Prince Bernhard, often urged that the valour of the
Poles be acknowledged. Unfortunately, their wishes were not carried out at the
time. The immense changes that took place in Europe after the war and the
terrible consequences they had for Poland played a part in this omission.
The award by the Dutch Government of the two highest decorations for bravery our
country can confer, the Militaire Willemsorde to the First Independent Polish
Parachute Brigade, and the Bronze Lion, posthumously, to its commanding officer,
General Sosabowski, redresses this historical error. This decision finally does
justice to the Polish forces who fought for the liberation of the Netherlands
and to the exceptional courage they displayed. We honour, above all, those who
sacrificed their lives in that conflict.
You will understand that it gives me especial pleasure to be able to fulfil
today at last the wish cherished by my grandmother and my father.
May I now ask the commanding officer of the Sixth Polish Air Assault Brigade to
come forward and accept the insignia of the Militaire Willemsorde for
conspicuous bravery, leadership and devotion to duty on behalf of the First
Independent Polish Parachute Brigade.
........
I should now like to ask the grandsons of General Sosabowski to come forward and
to accept, in the name of their grandfather, the insignia of the Bronze Lion for
acts of conspicuous bravery and leadership.
..................
http://www.gelderlander.nl/dossiers/video/mwodriel/
The Queen's Speech....
(Cannot post a source as it was e-mailed to me from the Netherlands)
Address by Her Majesty the Queen of the Netherlands, 31 May 2006 at the
presentation of the insignia of the Militaire Willemsorde to the First
Independent Polish Parachute Brigade and the insignia of the Bronze Lion,
posthumously, to its commanding officer, General Sosabowski
Ladies and gentlemen,
I am happy to welcome you all most cordially to this ceremony, at which two
prestigious Dutch honours will be conferred on Polish heroes who played an
important role in liberating our country at the end of the Second World War.
It is a particular pleasure to first of all greet the Polish veterans who are
here this morning. Today we honour through them the ninety-three Polish soldiers
who died during the Battle of Arnhem, or who later succumbed to their wounds. We
honour too those who have died since then, and those who are unable to attend
the ceremony today.
I should also like to warmly welcome the members of General Stanislaw
Sosabowski's family, in particular his grandsons, who have agreed to accept the
decoration awarded to him posthumously on their grandfather's behalf.
I also greet the members of the Sixth Polish Air Assault Brigade, which
continues the tradition of the First Independent Polish Parachute Brigade and
whose commanding officer will receive the award on behalf of the Brigade.
Furthermore, I greatly appreciate that representatives of the Polish Government
and Armed Forces, who emphasise with their presence the value attached to this
tribute in Poland .
I should like to say a word of thanks to the holders of the Militaire
Willemsorde - both individuals and units - and of the Bronze Lion who, by being
here, bear witness to their commitment. That applies in particular to the
representatives of the Eighty-Second US Airborne Division, who also fought in
Operation Market Garden and are in our midst today to pay their respects to our
Polish liberators. We greatly appreciate you all joining us to mark this
occasion.
Since the war we have remembered our dead and celebrated our liberation every
year. After the fall of the old regime when Poland resumed its place as a
democratic country among the European nations, the Polish and the Dutch could
come together for the first time in a solemn ceremony. In celebrating our
liberation, we also express the value we attach to freedom and our awareness
that freedom is never without commitment and should never be taken for granted.
Gratitude to our liberators is deeply felt in the Netherlands and is expressed
anew each year. Sad to say, however, the courageous actions of General
Sosabowski and his First Polish Parachute Brigade at the Battle of Arnhem and
the great service they rendered in the cause of liberating the Netherlands have
never been formally recognised.
Queen Wilhelmina, my grandmother, did express the wish for such recognition at
that time, and my father, Prince Bernhard, often urged that the valour of the
Poles be acknowledged. Unfortunately, their wishes were not carried out at the
time. The immense changes that took place in Europe after the war and the
terrible consequences they had for Poland played a part in this omission.
The award by the Dutch Government of the two highest decorations for bravery our
country can confer, the Militaire Willemsorde to the First Independent Polish
Parachute Brigade, and the Bronze Lion, posthumously, to its commanding officer,
General Sosabowski, redresses this historical error. This decision finally does
justice to the Polish forces who fought for the liberation of the Netherlands
and to the exceptional courage they displayed. We honour, above all, those who
sacrificed their lives in that conflict.
You will understand that it gives me especial pleasure to be able to fulfil
today at last the wish cherished by my grandmother and my father.
May I now ask the commanding officer of the Sixth Polish Air Assault Brigade to
come forward and accept the insignia of the Militaire Willemsorde for
conspicuous bravery, leadership and devotion to duty on behalf of the First
Independent Polish Parachute Brigade.
........
I should now like to ask the grandsons of General Sosabowski to come forward and
to accept, in the name of their grandfather, the insignia of the Bronze Lion for
acts of conspicuous bravery and leadership.
..................