Updated: 20 January, 2008
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A. Mongeon |
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Republic of Poland Orders and Medals David Danner |
The Order of the Virtuti Militari and its Cavaliers 1792-1992
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Poland
A number of Article on Polish
Awards by Rafal Heydel-Mankoo
The
Order of the White EagleThe Order of "Polinia Restituta" including a history of the extinct Order of St. Stanislav The Order of Merit of the Republic Of Poland The Order of St. Stanislav of Mr. Juliusz Nowina-Sokolnicki - Self Style Polish Order The Polish Nobility Association Orders - The Royal Order of Piast & The Royal Order of Jagiellon - Self Style Polish Orders |
Polish troops earning peacekeeping medals - Poland joined the ranks of NATO March 12, 1999. The process began in the early 1990s, while a new era of democracy was being implemented. The current Polish number of personnel in peacekeeping operations are as follows: Kosovo (800), Bosnia-Herzegovina (SFOR)(470), Golan (700), and South Lebanon (500). (Ref: The Maple Leaf, Vol 2, No. 21, 17 Nov 99)
Silver Polish Army Medal (Medal Wojska Polskiego) - Instituted by act of Parliament of September 3, 1999 and conferred in three grades: Gold, Silver and Bronze to foreign nationals, military or civilians who rendered merit in cooperation between the Polish Armed Forces and the Armed Forces of other countries, in particular by supporting peacekeeping operations of the Polish Armed Forces, rendered merit in the area of cooperation of International military units including Polish units, contributed to the growth of military potential of the Polish Armed Forces or to the advancement of Polish military history or traditions abroad. (Ref: Jigsaw, Issue 69, 1/2000)
Medal for Merit to the Police (Medal za Zaslugi dla Policji) Instituted by decree of the President of June 7, 2001. Conferred in three grades (Gold, Silver, Bronze) to a policeman of policewoman in recognition of his/her merit in service or in recognition of securing public order. It can also be bestowed upon a non-policeman, for cooperation and assistance to the police. It is conferred by the Minister of the Interior (Lukasz Gaszewski)
Meritorious Policeman Decoration (Odznaka "Zasluzony Policjant") Instituted by regulation of the Minister of the Interior of July 4, 2000. Conferred in three grades (Gold, Silver, Bronze) to a policeman of policewoman, initially in recognition of his/her merit in service or in recognition of securing public order. Since the institution of the Medal of Merit to the Police in 2001, it has been conferred for long and exemplary service (Lukasz Gaszewski)
Polish Orders, Decorations, and Medals Z. P. Wesolowski
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In Danish only J. P. S. Kjøge |
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Will Shade |
Tributes at last for Polish War Hero - Polish fighter pilot Jan Rogowski, one of 147 exiled Polish pilots who flew in the Battle of Britain. He was awarded the Virtuti Militari – Poland's version of the Victoria Cross – and won the Air Medal plus the Bronze Cross of Valour three times. Sep 02
Decorations of the Polish Air Forces (1940-45) - List of various military decorations awarded to the Polish personnel of the Polskie Sily Powietrzne (Polish Air Forces), or the Polish Air Force units that served in Western Europe, in the period from 1940 until the end of the war. This list does not include the decorations awarded to the Polish airmen for the Polish Campaign of 1939, nor does it include the Polish and Soviet decorations awarded to the Polish personnel of the Polish Air Force that served on the Eastern Fron.)
Charles Dugan-Chapman has died aged 84 - Escaped from his native Poland in 1940 and flew with the RAF as a fighter and fighter-bomber pilot. By the end of the war, Czajka held the rank of captain in the Polish Air Force and had been awarded the Polish Cross of Valour and two Bars.
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Saint Hubert Medal - Awarded by the Polish Hunting Union for fostering hunting culture, ethics and traditions. |
Orders, Decorations, and Medals of Poland Antiques A to Z
The Polish Monte Cassino Cross Z. P. Wesolowski
Poland honours Everest conqueror Poland's president conferred one of his country's highest honours on New Zealand's Sir Edmund Hillary, who first conquered Mount Everest 51 years ago. "You sir, you are the representative of the romantic and at the same time close to our Polish spirit, pioneers and explorers," said Aleksander Kwasniewski as he gave 85-year-old Hillary the Commander's Cross of the Order of Merit of the Republic of Poland. heraldsun.news.com.au 17 Jun 04
Poland honours climber Poland's president has honoured Sir Edmund Hillary for inspiring generations of Poles with his historic first ascent of Mt Everest and his subsequent humanitarian and environmental work in Nepal. He bestowed him with the Commander's Cross of the Order of Merit. odt.co.nz 19 Jun 04
General Stanislaw Skalski General Stanislaw Skalski, who has died aged 89, was Poland's most successful fighter pilot, credited with destroying at least 22 enemy aircraft and damaging others; he was decorated for gallantry four times by the British and six times by the Polish government in exile. For his deeds during the Battle of Britain, Skalski was awarded Poland's highest decoration for gallantry, the Virtuti Militari. He was invested with the Polish Cross of Valour, to which he would eventually add three bars, and in September he was awarded the DFC. In March 1942 he joined No 316 Squadron and soon accounted for a FW 190 fighter. He was promoted to squadron leader and given command of No 317 Squadron, which he led during the combined operations at Dieppe when his pilots destroyed seven German aircraft. For his "excellent leadership" he was awarded a Bar to his DFC. In May 1944, he was awarded the Virtuti Militari for the second time. He ended the war as Poland's highest-scoring fighter pilot. In September his operational flying career was over and he was awarded the DSO. opinion.telegraph.co.uk 16 Nov 04
Szarmach receives Medal of Service from Poland Dr. Paul E. Szarmach, director of the Medieval Institute at Western Michigan University, has been commended for his efforts to build bridges between American and Polish medievalists by Aleksander Kwasniewski, president of the Republic of Poland. A letter from the president's office cites Szarmach's "outstanding service in developing a collaboration with the Polish scientific institutions" and confers upon him an Officer Cross of the Medal for Services for Poland. wmich.edu 10 Dec 04
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Poland - Gen.Stanislaw Skalski. This photo depicts him in a colonel's uniform, but he was promoted to Brigadier General in November 1988 on 70th anniversary of Poland's independence. The decorations on Gen. Skalski's uniform are as follows: Polish: Gold Cross Virtuti Militari, Member of Polonia Restituta, Silver Cross Virtuti Militari, Cross of Valor (w. 3 bars), Air Medal (w. 3 bars), Armed Forces in Service of the Nation (gold), Warsaw Medal, Victory and Freedom Medal; British: DSO, DFC (w. bar), 1939-45 Star (w. "Battle of Britain" bar), Air Crew Europe Star (w. "Atlantic" bar), Africa Star, France & Germany Star, Defence Medal, British War Medal 1939-1945; French: Croix de Guerre 1939-1945 w. palm, Croix du Combattant Volontaire 1939-1945, Médaille commémorative de la guerre 1939-1945. Above the decorations there is the Wound Badge with 1 star and above it - the Polish Pilot's Badge. The RAF Pilot's Badge is sewn above his right pocket flap. Besides the above, Skalski was awarded other Polish decorations, including the Order of the Grunwald Cross 3rd Class, September Campaign Cross, War Medal 1939 (he shot down the first German aircraft in WWII, as early as Sept. 1, 1939), Armed Forces in the West Cross, Warsaw Uprising Cross, Home Army Cross (both for air raids over the fighting Warsaw) and Gold Medal for Merit to National Defense. According to other information, he was also Commander of the Order of Polonia Restituta. Lukasz Gaszewski Dec 04 |
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Medal
for Service in Iraq Multi-National Division Central South (MND-CS)-
Awarded for 6 months service with MND-CS. The ribbon for the medal Is
in the coloUrs of the Iraq flag, Red, White and Black stripes. One
US soldier received a numeral 2 for his medal at the conclusion of one
year tour. The medal is given to all soldiers from all nations who
served in the Polish division in |
Polish President awards medal of honour to British victim of London terrorist attack Poland's President awarded a posthumous medal of honour to a 55-year-old British victim of the July 7 London bombings who supported the Solidarity movement, which helped bring down communism in Poland. Throughout the 1980s, Giles Hart was a prominent supporter of Solidarity, especially when Poland was under martial law. hindu.com 22 Jul 05
Polish
President Honors AJC Executive Director with Prestigious Medal
Poland
has honored David A. Harris, executive director of the American Jewish
Committee, with the Commander’s Cross of Merit with Stars, one of
the highest Polish medals bestowed on foreigners. Polish President
Aleksander Kwasniewski presented the medal to Harris during a dinner at AJC
headquarters in
Russia's Kantor Receives Polish Medal for Work in Jewish Community Viatcheslav (Moshe) Kantor, a leader of the Russian and European Jewish communities, will receive one of Poland's highest honors. The Officer's Cross of the Order of Merit of the Republic of Poland is being given personally by Polish President Aleksander Kwasniewski to Kantor for Kantor's "exceptional support for Polish-Jewish reconciliation and help in preserving the memory of the Holocaust for future generations." Kantor is chairman of the Board of Governors of the European Jewish Congress and the president of the World Holocaust Forum Foundation. He was the principal organizer of the Let My People Live International Forum, held in Krakow early this year to commemorate the 60th anniversary of the liberation of Auschwitz and to achieve a worldwide commitment to Holocaust remembrance through the launch of The European Education Program for Teachers on the Holocaust and its Lessons. home.businesswire.com 8 Nov 05
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Unknown GROM Medals -
Anyone having additional information, please email me |
Polish General Jaruzelski returns medal to President Polish President Lech Kaczynski honored General Jaruzelski with the Cross of Deportees. The general has, however, returned the medal to the president. Three years ago, in order to honor all those people who were deported to Siberia and Kazakhstan, the Cross of the Deportees was established. General Jaruzelski was deported to Siberia with his parents in 1940 thus qualifying him to receive the medal. President Kaczynski signed the authorization for General Jaruzelski to receive his medal. General Jaruzelski told Polish television station TVN, "I really appreciate Kaczynski ' s gesture". "It shows that President Kaczynski has risen above divides. " But when confronted by television reporters as to why President Kaczynski awarded the medal to a man that President Kaczynski in the past has wanted to strip General Jaruzelski of his rank and pension benefits, Andrej Urbanski, the chief of the President ' s Chancellery, said the Chancellery staff gave the president a document to sign, without the knowledge and against the will of the president. It was also without the knowledge and consent of the chief of medal department. The employees involved would meet consequences according to the labor law. On private television station TVN 24 spokesman Maciej Lopinski said "Someone at the presidential chancellery made a mistake. " "The President does not read everything he signs. " Jan Rokita, deputy leader of the opposition political party Civic Platform, "If I came to believe that the President signed documents the content of which he ignores, I would consequently have to say that he should cease to be president." This sequence of events has created a political firestorm and received much coverage in the Polish press and on Polish television. As a result General Jaruzelski decided to return the medal and said that he was returning the medal because he did not want to cause problems for the Polish President. He felt that it would be best for Poland to look forward to the future rather than looking at problems of the past. masterpage.com.pl 31 Mar 06
Polish sisters honored for saving Jews in Holocaust Three residents of Lower Silesia, the Kowalczyk sisters, are receiving the Righteous Among Nations medals. The honorable title is given to those persons who risking their own lives helped save Jews during the Holocaust. It is a custom that each recipient of the medal has an olive tree planted in a special commemorative alley in Jerusalem with their name and country of origin on it. The Righteous Among Nation medal is the highest Israeli distinction granted to civilians. The Kowalczyk sisters are receiving it at the White Stork Synagogue in Wroclaw, the capital of the south-western Lower Silesia region. polskieradio.pl 7 May 06
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Polish Government's Highest Presidential Honor Awarded to JDC for ... Mr. Eugene Ribakoff, President of The American Jewish Joint Distribution Committee (JDC), was awarded the Polish government's highest Presidential honor, the Star Order of Merit of the Republic of Poland. The medal was presented to Mr. Ribakoff by the Prime Minister of Poland, Mr. Marek Belka, in honor of JDC's 90th anniversary, and in recognition of the organization's tremendous contribution to Polish Jewry since World War I. jdc.org 2 Sep 06 |
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Barrie man wins Poland's top honour On the quiet, snowy morning of Feb. 10, at Leisure World in Barrie, Mark Oziewicz received Poland's highest honour in a ceremony that, like the man, was humble and dignified. The Polonia Restitute was established on Feb. 14, 1921, and is Poland's highest civilian honour. In Canada, it would be equivalent to the Order of Canada."It is a very high award. I don't remember recently giving out one of these awards," said Piotr Ogrodzinski, the Polish ambassador who flew in from Ottawa for the event. Accompanying him were the Polish Consul General in Toronto, a Poland military attaché, and a military chaplain.During the ceremony, which alternated between Polish and English, Ogrodzinski recognized Oziewicz as a great Polish hero and a great Canadian hero. Mark Oziewicz is an Allied Forces World War II veteran recognized by Veteran's Affairs and who served with one of the Polish squadrons of the Royal Air Force. The honour is for his wartime and post-war contributions to the rebirth of Poland. simcoe.com 13 Feb 07 |
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Medal Zwycięstwa i Wolności 1945 (Medal of the Victory and Fredom 1945) |
