On Oct. 12, 2018, the Polish Museum of America (PMA) will open its exhibit honoring the 100th Anniversary of the Independence Of Poland on Nov.11, 1918. Oct. 12 will mark the 101st Anniversary of the recruitment for the Polish Army in France, a force formed by the French, but formed in the early days of Poles living in the United States, who made up a significant part of the Army to include the junior officers. The effort was an international event with the recruits coming from the USA, trained in Canada by the Canadian Army and equipped by the French. American Polonia basically supported two war efforts - Uncle Sam's and her own, raising millions of dollars and sending the flower of its youth to fight (nearly 21,000to France in the Polish Army and of the first 100,000 volunteer doughboys - 40,000 were Polish Americans-many times over their percent of the US population. Using original uniforms, posters, photos, and other documents, the exhibit will present an important part of the Polish community's input into the history of the United States and Poland. The exhibit will continue through March 10, 2019.
Caption to photo: 2nd Lt. Lucjan Chwalkowski, Polish immigrant from New York. The first officer killed in action on July 10, 1918 near Rheims, France.