Last Polish Pilot from the Battle of Britain dies.

[Obie303]

I honestly don't know how acurate this report is, but I'm passing it on as it was shared with me.  

http://www.kwqc.com/Global/story.asp?S=15877344

I believed that Bloeslaw (Mike) Gladych was also in the BoB.  In fact I'm positive.  And I know he's still alive and living in the US.  

Either way, Tadeusz Sawicz was a hero of a very proud nation.

Żegnaj i godspeed.  

This was from another website;

October 26 2011 12:01AM

With every year the folk memory of the Second World War recedes a little farther. The death of Tadeusz Sawicz means that the last of the 145 Polish pilots who fought in the Battle of Britain in 1940 has now passed away.
The Battle of Britain was a pivotal moment in the course of the war, the point at which Germany was held at bay. It is historically inaccurate for British servicemen to take all the credit. Men from all its imperial outposts gave distinguished service alongside their British counterparts.
The Polish Air Force had already offered notable resistance against the superior firepower of the Luftwaffe. It is credited with shooting down 126 German aircraft after the invasion of Poland in 1939 — when, in Auden’s memorable words, “the unmentionable odour of death offends the September night” .
But that remarkable skill and bravery was only the beginning of the story of the Polish airmen, most of whom escaped to France after the Soviet invasion that followed the Molotov-Ribbentrop pact. Regrouping there, they resumed the fight from France, until the country’s capitulation in May 1940 necessitated moving on to Britain.The contribution of Polish airmen to the victory in the Battle of Britain was so noteworthy that Air Chief Marshal Sir Hugh Dowding, Commander-in-Chief of Fighter Command, was moved to say that he could not have guaranteed that the outcome would have been the same had it not been for their efforts.
As the last of the departing Polish heroes, Tadeusz Sawicz reminds us, in a time of negation and despair, that there were those who showed an affirming flame.

[Groth]

 On July 25, 1939, Polish Itelligence(Section 2 of General Staff) provided one copy each, with neccesary documents of Germanys Enigma machine to England and France.
 Polish troops were not invited to participate in victory parades following V-E day in Moscow(no surprise there) or London.
 Polish pilots flying for allies following fall of Poland expected no quarter would be given should they be captured.

[Masherbrum]

I honestly don't know how acurate this report is, but I'm passing it on as it was shared with me.  

http://www.kwqc.com/Global/story.asp?S=15877344

I believed that Bloeslaw (Mike) Gladych was also in the BoB.  In fact I'm positive.  And I know he's still alive and living in the US.  

Either way, Tadeusz Sawicz was a hero of a very proud nation.

Żegnaj i godspeed.  

This was from another website;

Fair skies and tailwinds.   

[JOACH1M]

Sad to hear 

[Tyrannis]

 

[Guppy35]

Bloeslaw (Mike) Gladych passed away on July 12, 2011.

[SmokinLoon]

 

[Obie303]

Bloeslaw (Mike) Gladych passed away on July 12, 2011.

You sure about that Guppy?  I haven't seen any obituary and he was residing in Oregon the last I knew. 

[Guppy35]

You sure about that Guppy?  I haven't seen any obituary and he was residing in Oregon the last I knew. 

Yep


Obituary released by Suzanne (Gladych) Pate.
BOLESLAW MICHAEL GLADYCH

Born in 1910 in Warsaw, Poland, Boleslaw Michael Gladych died peacefully on the morning of July 12, 2011. He flew for four air forces during World War II—the Polish, French, British, and United States.
He graduated from the Polish Air Academy on the first day of WWII and defended Poland from the air until the Nazis captured him. He escaped to France and flew with the French. Following the French surrender, Michael left for Britain to fly Spitfires with the Royal Air Force No. 303 Squadron. On June 23, 1941, he was credited with four victories over ME-109s and one probable when he rammed his last opponent. This collision and subsequent crash left him severely injured.

Michael met Major Francis “Gabby”Gabreski, commander of the 61st Fighter Squadron, who offered him flights in the Republic P-47 Thunderbolt. Michael soon took leave from the RAF to train American replacement pilots with the 56th Fighter Group. In March 1944, while escorting bombers to Berlin, Michael engaged three FW-190s. Low on fuel, he attempted to disengage after one victory, but the other two fighters boxed him in and ordered him to land. As he approached the German runway, Michael suddenly opened fire on the airfield. German flak gunners responded, but missed him and shot down the two FW 190s.

While flying with the 56th Fighter Group, Michael was credited with 10 aerial victories. His military awards include the Polish Virtuti Militari (US Medal of Honor equivalent), three Crosses of Valor, the Croix de Guerre, the Silver Star, three Distinguished Flying Crosses, and 11 Air Medals.

After WWII, he emigrated to the US with his Canadian bride, Elizabeth Peat, who had served with the women of the RAF as a radar operator. They brought up a small family in New England, and free lanced articles for popular periodicals including True Adventure, Mechanics Illustrated, and Readers Digest. In 1958, the family migrated to the Seattle area, where Michael worked in public relations, and designed and manufactured toy gliders. In later life he became a counselor and yoga master.

He was preceded in death by his loyal wife, Elizabeth (“Pengie”); his parents, Boleslaw and Teofila Sotkiewicz Gladych; his daughter, Tola Louise; his brothers Janek and Stanislaw; and his sister, Nelka. He is survived by his son, Michael B. Gladych, and a daughter, Suzanne Gladych Pate; grandchildren Andrew Pate, Benjamin and Darby Pate, Luke Pate, and Marian Elizabeth Pate; greatgranddaughters Taylor, Hayley, and Maddie; and by numerous nieces and nephews.

Friends, family, students, fellow pilots, and admirers of Boleslaw Michael Gladych are invited to attend Mass and light a candle in his memory at any Catholic church on September 29, the feast day of Michael’s namesake, Saint Michael the Archangel.

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[Obie303]

Sad to hear.  Thanks Guppy.   

[Debrody]

 

[JimmyC]

 

[Megalodon]

Tadeusz Sawicz