The Odyssey of a Polish Patriot

In the years just after WWI, Poland found itself a free and democratic country. Unfortunately, it didn't remain so for long. On September 1, 1939, the might of Nazi Germany was hurled against the young nation. Quickly outnumbered on the ground and in the air, the Poles fought valiantly to save their country. Facing annihilation, many in the Polish military were ordered to retreat south and establish a bridgehead at the Romanian border to hold off the invaders until help arrived from England and France. That help never came. When the Soviet Union attacked on Poland's eastern border, thousands of Polish airmen and soldiers were ordered to cross into Romania and temporary safety. The plan was to get them out of harm's way and live to fight another day. Escaping from Romanian internment camps, many traveled across Romania to ports on the Black Sea. From there, they boarded ships that took them across the Mediterranean Sea to France where they joined the French Army and Air Force. Others chose to escape overland. That journey took them through Romania, Hungary, Yugoslavia, and northern Italy before reaching France. They traveled by train, riverboat, car, truck, taxi, bus. Any means they could find. Some even walked part of the way. They used false documents, bribes, charm, lies, disguise, muscle and violence to make their way through forests, over mountains, across rivers and into one foreign village and city after another. Most made it to France and many, predominately airmen, eventually made it to England. There they joined the Royal Air Force and began to fight the evil that had taken their country and was threatening the world order.

This is the story of one of those airmen. A story of an individual. driven by his faith in God and love of country, who managed to survive and thrive under the pressure of war and even find the love of his life during its darkest hour. With the aid of strangers, a loyal friend and a special Lady, he became a hero in exile to his family and friends in Poland and to his new family and friends in England, he became known as one of the brave Polish Patriots.

Jack La Plante is a retired teacher of History and long time football/track coach at Hartford Public High School in Hartford, Connecticut. He is a former U.S. Army recon specialist. His first book "Stories From the Fifties, East Hartford Style" was self-published in 2015. He lives with his wife, Pat in Manchester, Connecticut.