POLISH AMERICAN JOURNAL • MAY 2013 www.polamjournal.com 1 MAY 2013 • VOL. 102, NO. 5 $2.00 PERIOdICAL POSTAGE PAId AT BOSTON, NEW YORk NEW BOSTON, AT PAId PERIOdICAL POSTAGE POLISH AMERICAN OFFICES ANd AddITIONAL ENTRY JOURNALESTABLISHED 1911 www.polamjournal.com The remarkable life of The GreaT one’s dad dEdICATEd TO THE PROMOTION ANd CONTINUANCE OF POLISH AMERICAN CULTURE PAGE 17 AN INTERVIEW PAHA’S TOM NAPIERKOWSKI • NOT JUST YOUR LONG ISLANDER’S MUSEUM • THE EXCELLENCE OF ŚLĄSK AMBASSADOR ADDRESSES U.S.-POLAND RELATIONS • TRIBUTE TO A LEGACY • WHERE WERE YOUR ANCESTORS BORN? A CONCISE ACCOUNT OF POLES IN WORLD WAR II • DOMBROWSKI AND ZAYAK ELECTED INTO HALL OF FAME Visa Waiver Pinkowski newsmark Larger Than Life Legislation Rolls PHOTO: CZAREK SOKOLOWSKI Receives haGel offers CondolenCes. U.S. Secretary of De- into Immigration Orchard Lake fense Chuck Hagel called Polish Defense Minister Tomasz Siemoniak to express his condolences for the loss of a Pol- Reform 2013 Fidelitas ish soldier serving with international forces in Afghanistan. BUFFALO, N.Y.— Lead- Hagel thanked Poland for its steadfast support of the ISAF ers in the Polish American Medal mission, and its continued leadership in NATO and within community responded posi- Posthumous Conferral the European community. t i v e l y He also expressed his appreciation for Poland’s under- to U.S. Awarded to Richard Cosby standing of changes to the European Phased Adaptive Ar- S e n a t o r ray missile defense system (see next story). C h a r l e s Finally, Hagel lauded Polish efforts to modernize its S c h u m - armed forces. He repeated the United States’ appreciation er’s an- for the close working relationship with Poland, and ex- n o u n c e - pressed his desire to further deepen U.S.-Polish ties. ment on Buffalo’s u.s. says missile defense sysTem noT endan- East Side Gered. U.S. Undersecretary of State Wendy Sherman SCHUMER April 1 paid a visit to Warsaw to reassure Poland over recent that, as changes in a European missile defense system. part of Comprehensive Immi- A few days earlier, U.S. Secretary of Defense Chuck gration Reform, he will pri- Hagel announced the United States was abandoning the fi - oritize including the “JOLT” nal (fourth) stage of its Eastern European missile defense Act – Jobs Originated plan with the focus shifted to perceived threats from Iran Through Launching Travel. and North Korea. As a result, deployment of several ballis- The JOLT Act, according tic missile interceptors in Poland will be scrapped. to Schumer, would amend the PINKOWSKI However, the third missile shield construction phase in Immigration and Nationality Poland is not endangered, Sherman said in Warsaw, and Act regarding the visa waiver ORCHARD LAKE, Mich. shorter-range interceptors would still be based in Poland as program to: (1) authorize the — Edward G. Pinkowski of part of NATO’s missile defense system in Europe. Secretary of Homeland Se- Cooper City, Fla., is the 2013 She added that Poland knew about changes in the fourth curity (DHS), in consultation Fidelitas Medal recipient of phase before the announcement. with the Secretary of State, to the Orchard Lake Schools. He The Obama administration has planned to put medium- designate program countries, was recognized for his work range interceptors in Redzikowo, in northern Poland, start- like Poland; (2) adjust the in preserving and recording ing in 2018, as part of the NATO system. They are meant criteria for visa refusal rates Polish American history. to protect Europe from attacks from Iran. to permit entry into the pro- Pinkowski’s research Sherman said the Polish site “will go forward as sched- gram if a country has a low played pivotal roles in con- uled.” visa overstay rate, which Po- nection with two American land does; (3) set a maximum Revolutionary heroes: Ta- firsT sToP: Poland. Paul McCartney will kick off a three percent visa overstay deusz Kościuszko and Ka- world tour in Warsaw on June 22, four days after he turns rate for program countries, zimierz Pułaski. He was in- WORkERS PUT THE FINISHING TOUCHES on the world’s 71, the former Beatle’s offi cial website announced. which Poland would likely strumental in identifying and tallest statue of the late Pope John Paul II before its unveil- McCartney’s appearance at the National Stadium will not exceed; and (4) revise preserving Kościuszko’s last ing in the pontiff ’s native Poland, April 13. be his fi rst-ever show in Poland, said www.paulmccartney. probationary status and pro- known residence in the Unit- The 13.8-meter (45.3-foot) white fi berglass fi gure will com, adding that his “Out There!” tour would feature mu- gram termination provisions. ed States, at Third and Pine tower over the southern city of Czestochowa, home to Po- sic from his entire career. It also directs the Comp- Streets in Philadelphia, which land’s most important Catholic pilgrimage site, Jasna Gora. McCartney will also perform in Vienna on June 27, the troller General to review the became a National Park Ser- Funded by a private investor, the pontiff appears smiling website said, with confi rmed dates for concerts in other cit- Secretary of Homeland Se- vice Memorial and museum and stretching his arms to the world. ies to be announced. curity’s methods for track- site. In 1996, he identifi ed Funder Leszek Lyson called the pope “a great and good ing aliens entering and ex- the burial vault of Kazimi- man.” He said: “His statue should make everyone stop and basia Johnson dead. Barbara “Basia” Piasecka iting the United States and erz Pułaski under Monterrey think about life.” Johnson, 76, a Polish farmer’s daughter who worked as a for detecting visa overstays. Square in Savannah. Lyson is trying to get the statue into Guinness Book of maid for an American heir to the John- These revisions, according The Fidelitas recipient’s Records as the world’s tallest of Pope John Paul II, who died son & Johnson fortune before marrying to a statement from Schumer, other colonial research in- in 2005. him and eventually inheriting much of would likely lead to Poland’s volved Anthony Sadowski, a Poland already boasts it has the world’s tallest statue of his wealth, has died. admission into the Visa Waiv- Polish-born trader instrumen- Jesus. Her death was announced by her er Program. See “Pinkowski,” page 2 family in Warsaw’s daily, Rzeczpos- polita, saying only she died “after a long and serious illness.” Johnson was The Five-Groszy That Went to the Moon buried April 15 in Wroclaw, the south- PHOTO: NASA by Willie G. Moseley western Polish city where she grew up. The word “fl own” has an important connotation Johnson became embroiled in a nasty feud over the when it’s used to describe space memorabilia, as it Johnson & Johnson fortune after her husband, J. Seward designates an item that has actually been on a mission. Johnson Sr., died in 1983. She prevailed over his six chil- Accordingly, the older the “fl own” item is, the more dren, getting much of the money. In 2007, Johnson was interesting it will be to collectors and/or historians. listed on the Forbes 400 World’s Richest People list with During the earliest days of the American space pro- an estimated net worth of $2.7 billion, making her the gram, NASA made sure that many of its missions took 149th richest person. along particular items—oftentimes, small fl ags or medal- lions—to present to other nations as gifts of goodwill following the completion of you Call This sPrinG? Heavy snows plagued Poland the fl ight. over the Easter weekend, leaving more than 80,00 homes What’s more, astronauts were allowed to bring along personally-selected items in central Poland without electricity because of the unsea- inside their Personal Preference Kits (PPKs), and the quantity and variety of sou- sonably heavy snowfall. Over 30,00 homes in the major venirs that traveled into outer space inside PPKs were probably as diverse as said city of Bialystok alone were without power. astronauts’ personalities. Police recorded 162 traffi c accidents which resulted in Apollo 14 CMP Stuart Roosa. Took a And this 1958 Polish fi ve-groszy coin is a very unique example of an item from sixteen fatalities and 232 injuries. 1958 5-groszy “lucky coin” to the Moon and back. See “To the Moon,” page 3 2 www.polamjournal.com POLISH AMERICAN JOURNAL • MAY 2013 ALMANAC VIEWPOINTS / Henry Mazurek Follow us on Facebook or visit us A Responsibility We Must Never Let Fade on the internet at: polamjournal.com Memorial Day is a day to honor daily, liberty is still second nature to children and grandchildren under- from dishonor; let us in this solemn and salute the men and women who us, and for this reason, we fail to ap- stand that liberty carries with it presence reflect that, by one su- Q defended our freedom when our preciate its potency. great responsibilities. preme act, they accepted death for May Maj country called in its time of need. Freedom is on the march again in Honoring our war dead, honor- love of country, and made immortal February Q Luty Za każdym ro giem czy ha It is also a time to honor the price the world today, but at a price. Our ing all veterans is a not only a tradi- their patriotism, devotion and vir- kil ka no wych kierunków. these courageous veterans paid on young generations must be taught tion, it is a responsibility we must tue.