It is regrettable that the head of the Embassy of the Republic of Poland in Rome, Ryszard Schnepf, did not ensure that on the Polish Armed Forces Day – the most important day commemorating the glory and heroism of the Polish soldier – at the most significant Polish war cemetery, near Monte Cassino, there was at least a bouquet of flowers or even a single candle. Apart from Poles who visited the cemetery that day out of the impulse of their hearts, no Polish state or diplomatic institution in Italy placed a wreath or left any sign of honor and remembrance.
The Church and Sanctuary of Our Lady of Grace is located in a straight line behind the Polish cemetery at Monte Cassino in Villa Santa Lucia. It is the same Virgin Mary who appeared to the Bolsheviks during the Battle of Warsaw, painted by Kossak. The same one some soldiers of the 2nd Polish Corps carried on medallions dating back to 1920. The Marian feast, the Polish Armed Forces Day (established in 1923), was for all of them an exceptional holiday, while the time of the struggle for Poland’s independence, as well as the war with the Bolsheviks, was the period that shaped their spirit, morale, and military skills.
Anders himself commanded the 15th Poznań Uhlan Regiment during the 1920 war, and we can see the regimental badge pinned to his uniform in many photographs of the general. That same regiment later fought in the Battle of Monte Cassino. Here, on Italian soil, lies one of the most important places of remembrance for Poles and the Polish Armed Forces. The deed of the heroes of the 2nd Corps, paid for with blood and sacrifice, is one of the most glorious chapters in the history of our arms.
When, on the Polish Armed Forces Day, we walked with a bouquet of white and red flowers down the long avenue toward the cemetery, we saw a group of people from Poland at the entrance. They looked at us attentively, noticing we were dressed formally, carrying flowers. Immediately they asked – “Are you from the embassy, an official delegation?” When they heard that we had come privately, as journalists from the House of Free Speech, they sighed sadly – “Exactly, because there is nothing at the cemetery. We prayed here, and those prayers we left, but we thought there would be something from some Polish institution…” Can anything more be added, any comment made? Probably not. The facts speak for themselves.
What others will not do, we can do ourselves – paying tribute and honor to the Polish soldiers thanks to whom we can enjoy freedom today. We can pray for those who fought for “our freedom and yours,” adding the words from the beautiful inscription of the 6th Armoured Regiment of the Children of Lwów in Piedimonte San Germano:
“(…) When you pause for a moment / Lift your eyes to God / And sigh with a sincere prayer for the souls of Your Brothers / Who Offered Their Young Lives to the Homeland / Pass On to Posterity that the Freedom of a Nation is not Only the Right and Glory of the Living / Above all, Freedom is the Triumph of the Fallen.”