Americanism Award for Polish war veteran
PR dla Zagranicy
John Beauchamp
05.07.2011 10:33
Former Home Army soldier during the Nazi occupation of Poland, US resident Ryszard Kossobudzki has received the Americanism Award from the Daughters of the American Revolution, a prestigious organisation which brings together women who are descended from a person involved in United States’ independence.
During a ceremony in Washington’s Constitution Hall, attended by over 3,500 women, he spoke about his war-time activities and the heroic stand of Poles, stressing the role of women in the Warsaw Uprising of 1944 and, later, in the Solidarity movement in the 1980s.
Eighty-five-year-old Ryszard Kossobudzki was brought to the attention of the Daughters of the American Revolution thanks to a best-selling book by his daughter, the American journalist Rita Cosby.
Quiet Hero. Secrets from my Father’s Past, is an account of the man’s war-time experience, including the Warsaw Uprising and a German POW camp, of his life in the United States and his journey to Poland in 2009, his first visit to his homeland in sixty five years.
An engineer by profession, Ryszard Kossobudzki worked on many major projects, including the Library of Congress and government offices.
Last month, Rita Cosby’s book was included in the list of bestsellers compiled by the New York Times, Washington Post and USA Today. (mk/jb)