Stefan Wesołowski – forgotten hero of the fight for Lviv and Narvik.
Over more than 1,000 years of Polish history, there have been wonderful examples of patriotic attitudes of our countrymen fighting for Poland not only on the fronts of many war campaigns, but besides in everyday life about our economical size.
In modern times, heroic defenders of Lviv are increasingly mentioned before Ukrainians during the 1918-1919 battles. Violentness which was then applied to Polish society was the circumstantial prelude of genocide, which affected the Polish community in the 1940s in the south-eastern areas of the Second Republic of Poland.[1]. At the same time, present “sojusznics” of Polish elites from Kiev openly mock Polish heroes of Lviv calling them bands of Polish scum[2].
Among these defenders, 1 of the most recognizable Polish Orlats is Antoś Petrykiewicz, a 13-year-old boy who became the youngest bachelor of the Order of Virtuti Militari for his courage during the fight for Lviv. However, fewer people know the character of Stefan Wesołowski, who in this episode began his glorious fight for Poland at the age of 9. His first fight with Ukrainians about east Małopolska described years later in his memoirs:
A strong conflict began, shot from all sides. Illumination rockets ripped apart, shrapnel whistled, artillery fire walked for 2 days and 1 night. At night, an officer comes in and yells to the sergeant: “Everyone who lives, to aid and to the rifle.” ...
At the same time, the full cemetery became clear, and the grenade that I hit exploded, his shrapnel went to the another side of the fence. Screaming was impossible. “To attack!” my officer commands. Everyone broke up and to that fence, then across the fence, another officer comes back and shouts: “Everyone from the cemetery to the membranes, Ukrainians flee!“[3].
A young Polish soldier took part in the war activities of the 16th Infantry Regiment. For his military attitude, he received the Knights Cross. After the fight for the east borders of the Republic stopped, he volunteered to fight during the 3rd Silesian Uprising, where he received the conflict Cross again for blowing up the German train.
After the war, he went to Gdańsk and enlisted on the merchant ship "Abdank". After a short period of time, he managed to transfer to the Polish Navy. On August 30, 1939, it was Stefan Wesołowski as a commanding officer on board the ORP Lightning that gave the signal: God bless you, to the glory of your homeland! – erstwhile the ship, at the head of a squad of destroyers, departed from a port in Gdynia, headed for ports of large Britain.
On board, ORP Lightning participated in the 1940 Narvik battles. He was injured there while effectively resisting the German raid on the ship. He was decorated with the conflict Cross as a worthy combat attitude. He continued his naval service during the war in the Polish merchant navy, then took command of U.S. USAT Ganandoc, which supplied supplies from the United States to the United Kingdom.
During this service Stefan Wesołowski took part, among others, in landing in Normandy. For his service in the United States Navy, he and his household received American citizenship.
Stefan Wesołowski died on April 1, 1987 in Miami Beach, United States, forever remaining a hero of Poland and the United States.
Photo: Stefan Wesołowski on board the “Gazolina” schooner.
Source:
[1]https://wrawo.pl/forgotten-people-nation-Polish/
[2]https://www.magnapolonia.org/orleta-lwowskie-in-ullotce-rady-oblast-lwowskie-named-urban-polska-shumovina/
[3]S. Wesołowski, From “Gazolin” to “Ganandoca”, Gdańsk 1983, pp. 40-43.
