Polish President Andrzej Duda was in New York City last week when he joined the Polish-American community in celebration of the annual Pulaski Day Parade. The president, accompanied by other distinguished guests, was all smiles, dancing a polonaise, shaking hands and posing for pictures with festive participants.
The parade commemorates Count Casimir Pulaski, a Polish military commander and hero of the American Revolutionary War. His crucial contributions to the victory for American liberty helped cement the strong bonds between the two nations that continue to this day.
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Born in Warsaw to a family of nobleman, Pulaski became one of the leading military commanders fighting to free the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth from Russian domination. In July 1777, following a recommendation by Benjamin Franklin, Pulaski traveled to North America to offer his renowned skills in the American Revolutionary War.
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He is credited with saving George Washington’s life by taking command and stalling British forces during a skirmish. Just two years later, in 1779, Pulaski lost his own life in Georgia during the Battle of Savannah. He was only 34 years old.
Pulaski is known as the “father of the American cavalry” and remembered as a hero who fought for independence and freedom in both Poland and the United States.
In 2009, President Obama signed a joint resolution of the House and the Senate making Pulaski an honorary U.S. citizen.
The Annual Pulaski Day Parade on 5th Avenue brings together Americans of Polish descent, giving them the opportunity to celebrate their heritage and showcase traditions that were brought to the United States by their ancestors’ generations ago.
