1920 War veteran gets promotion

The promotion was bestowed upon Kowalski on Thursday, when the minister visited an old people’s home in Tursk, western Poland, where the veteran has resided since 1990.

Kowalski is the last living soldier of the Polish-Soviet War of 1919-1920. He fought in the victorious Battle of Warsaw in August 1920, in which the Polish Army defeated the Bolsheviks, driving them back into Soviet Russia.

Józef Kowalski is the oldest living man in Poland. He received the Officer’s Cross of the Order of Reborn Poland for his 100th birthday. He also holds honorary citizenship of Warsaw and Radzymin, as well as the Pro Memoria medal of the Union of Polish War Veterans. (mk/jb)

112-year-old veteran Józef Kowalski. Photo: PAP/Lech Muszyński