Recent ODC ActivitiesODC Representatives Honor "Virtuti Militari"17 May 2006 |
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On May 9 representatives from the Embassy's Office of Defense Cooperation (ODC), Lt Colonel Gary Foster and Major Ray Wojcik, participated in an event honoring the Military Order of “Virtuti Militari.” Minister of Defense Radek Sikorski opened the event at the Ministry of Defense (MoD) Conference Center with laudatory remarks about the honored organization of Polish War Heroes. Commissioned in 1792, the Virtuti Militari (VM) is the highest military award in Poland similar to the U.S. Congressional Medal of Honor. Lt Col(S) Foster and MAJ Wojcik were invited to the once every 5-year meeting of the Polish Veterans by local American citizen and VM winner, Corporal Jerzy Bartnik. At age 14, Jerzy is the youngest Pole to ever earn the VM. He lost his parents during the war and his 13 year-old sister during the Warsaw Uprising. Jerzy lost an eye during the fighting, but returned to his unit within 48 hours. Jerzy was awarded the VM by Uprising commander, “BOR” Komorowski during the 63-day struggle in late 1944. |
 Lt Col(S) Gary Foster, Major Ray Wojcik, Corporal Jerzy Bartnik and other VM winners. |  Lt Col(S) Gary Foster, Major Ray Wojcik and Mara Stypulkowska-Chojecka--who played a key role in the successful Underground Army plot to kill Warsaw's brutal Nazi Commander. |  | |
