The president of the Spanish historical and cultural association “Poland First to Fight” Alberto Trujillo Gomez and two other members of the organization Santiago de la Pena Salinas and Tomas Cortes Cascon were awarded the Bronze Medals of the Polish Army yesterday (February 11).
The decorations were awarded by the Minister of National Defense at the request of Colonel Robert Tkaczyk, Military Attaché of the Polish Embassy in Madrid. They aim to honour foreigners or Polish citizens living abroad who have made a special contribution to the popularization of the history and traditions of the Polish Army in the international arena.
“Being decorated by the Polish Army is a great honour for me, the biggest event in my life after getting married and having children,” said Trujillo Gomez.
“The association is not just my hobby, but my duty to disseminate history that is not well known in Spain,” he added.
“The Poland First to Fight Association is making a significant contribution to the popularization in Spain of reliable information about Polish history from the first half of the 20th century, with particular emphasis on the heroic attitude of Poles during World War II,” said chargé d’affaires a. i. Karina Węgrzynowska.
The Spanish association “Poland First to Fight” was founded in 2008 by its current president, Madrid resident and Polish history enthusiast Alberto Trujillo. The organization states on its website that its goal is to “promote and disseminate the history and culture of the Polish nation from 1918 until the end of World War II, a time when Poland faced two of the cruellest and bloodiest ideologies in history.”