A Memorial Appeal taking place Friday began this year’s Armed Forces Day and 89th anniversary of the Battle of Warsaw, also known as the Miracle at the Vistula.

The official ceremony, paying tribute to fallen soldiers, took place at the capital’s Powazki Military Cemetery. During the observance, deputy defense minister Czeslaw Piatas highlighted the fact that the 15th of August is an especially important day for Poles, as it inspires them to think about the rich heritage of the Polish army, and the future of the army, now facing professionalization and modernization.

Today, a special mass attended by top officials, including President Lech Kaczynski and Defence Minister Bogdan Klich, was held at the Field Cathedral of the Polish Army.

During the main ceremony, President Lech Kaczynski, appointed eleven generals, promoted two police officers, and granted distinctions who contributed to the defense of the state.

The participants of the ceremony observed a minute of silence in tribute to a soldier who died in foreign missions. The president stressed that it was Poland's responsibility to take part in operations of this kind.

"War is war; every war has victims. Our soldiers died in Iraq, and more were killed in another major operation. But it must be said that our forces must take part in such operations," stated Kaczynski.

The Armed Forces Day was established in 1923 to commemorate the victory of the Polish-Bolshevick war. The celebration was done away with by the communist authorities in 1947, and reintroduced by the Lower House of Parliament in 1992. (ab/mmj)