Polish WWII airman to be buried near Chicago
PR dla Zagranicy
Victoria Bieniek
10.08.2018 11:00
A Polish WWII airman who took part in the historic Battle of Britain as part of a legendary Polish squadron of the British Royal Air Force is to be buried in the US on Friday.
A handful of the pilots who were part of the 303 Squadron. Wikimedia Commons (Public Domain)
The airman, Captain Tadeusz Terlikowski, was 100 years old when he died earlier this week.
Terlikowski trained as a mechanic with Poland's First Air Squadron in Warsaw until it was dissolved after WWII broke out.
He fought in Poland, before escaping through Romania and the Middle East to France, where he joined a Polish division in Lyon. After France fell, he got to Scotland via Spain and Algeria.
In Blackpool, north-western England, he continued training before joining the British Royal Air Force’s 303 fighter squadron, whose Polish pilots gained a reputation for courage and determination.
He took part in the 1940 Battle of Britain and the 1944 Normandy Landings.
He reportedly said, however, that he did not feel he was a hero, and that he had "only" fulfilled his responsibility towards his country.
He settled in the US after the war.
He will be buried at the Maryhill Cemetery in Niles, near Chicago. (vb/pk)
Source: IAR, MKIDN