On the day erstwhile the mine on the road close Plaški, sharing Croatian and Serbian forces in the erstwhile Yugoslavia, killed Captain Witold Kowalczyk, Thomas Nehring was born again. He was 21 at the time and was just fulfilling his dream to service under the blue flag. It's been 30 years since those events. There have been many different missions and most likely many akin moments in the life of a private. And although they all have a common cause, this communicative is special.
The invitation was brief: “We meet in Šwierzyn on the occasion of the 30th anniversary of the death of our platoon commander on UNPROFOR mission in the erstwhile Yugoslavia. There will be colleagues, Captain Witold Kowalczyk's household and representatives of the 35th Air defence Rocket Squadron in which he served.” I went. I knew that ex-soldiers of this platoon kept in contact over the years. I wanted to find out how it happened, that even though it's been so long, they have specified strong ties. I was not convinced by the answer: “We were close, so we stick together” or “there is simply a proposal for a gathering – so we go” ...
The platoon, which was commanded by Captain Witold Kowalczyk, was part of a battalion which, after the dissolution of Yugoslavia, Poland sent to Croatia in 1992 as part of the United Nations safety Forces. The Polish unit was deployed in Slunju. The soldiers' occupation was to monitor the situation and mine the area. Mines were everywhere and frequently killed. The peacekeeping operation UNPROFOR proved to be the first mission of Polish soldiers. 7 of them never came home.
The military lacked experience. For the soldiers of the primary service went after a short training, fewer of them heard of following procedures. “I knew small and could little,” he said. Tomasz Nehring, writing his memoirs in the book “The Balkans. study on Polish missions". any say that a fresh Polish Army was born there in the Balkans.
Today, members of the platoon are mostly 50+-year-olds, military pensioners, but the Army's affairs remained close to them. A twelve of them came to Skwierzyna, any joined the platoon after Captain Kowalczyk died, did not know him personally, but feel members of this community. They came due to the fact that he was 1 of them. They know they might have been in his place.
The gathering filled with memories. I've heard quite a few different stories. Sometimes funny, like chopping water for a bath, 'cause she was freezing in the fire pool, and there were no showers. And so what if after the heat, she smelled like oil... However, I was most impressed by Thomas Nehring's communicative that the day of his commander's death became the day of his second birth.
On that day, soldiers cleared from the mines 1 of the roads moving along the mountainside. Suddenly, Thomas Nehring heard a bang. erstwhile the cloud of dust and smoke came down, he saw that in the mediate of the road there were Captain Kowalczyk and a disease. He didn't immediately realize what had happened. He didn't feel the shock wave, but he was only 7 meters from the blast site. The wave should be radiating, in all directions. It was a Yugoslav PROM-1, a mine jumping out of the ground even a metre above ground. After a second, it detonates. Thomas Nehring believes that in this 1 second the captain, knowing what would happen, has set himself up to defend him. He took on the main force of impact.
Even though it may sound like a cliché to say that the experience of a mission binds soldiers for the remainder of their lives, it's just true. The military admits that no 1 will realize them as much as a colleague who has survived the same. The mission integrates, creates strong bonds based on shared experiences, frequently painful ones.
I besides asked the officer who served on UN missions in Iraq, among others. He pointed to a item that I had not seen before. The first missions were besides attended by soldiers of essential military service. Prior to their departure, they were intertwined, they were close, and the mission inactive established these bonds – so was the case with the platoon from UNPROFOR mission. This does not mean that NATO veterans or EU missions (mainly professional soldiers) do not have a akin agreement. They besides meet, but mostly on the occasion of any state celebration or just cultivate individual friendships.
I asked the platoon members the same question: 30 years is simply a long time, why did they come to Skwierzyna on the anniversary of the death of the erstwhile commander? The answer was one: it is our moral duty. Those words did not sound pathetic, they felt that they flow from the heart. Many times St. Chor. staff. dir. Dariusz Żuchowicz, going from Wrocław with his household to the sea, drove to the cemetery in Skwierzyn. He felt the request to light a niche on the grave of an old commander. This soldier's memory is enjoyed by the wife of Major Kowalczyk (he was posthumously promoted). And I thank them for that memory.
"Our platoon inactive exists," says Tomasz Nehring erstwhile he mentions erstwhile meetings. He's already planning another one.
