This Polish war hero has completed his last mission – to walk his granddaughter down the aisle.
When the groom saw his bride walked to her wedding by her grandfather, he fought the tears in his eyes before thanking him with two kisses on the cheek. The couple got married at their ceremony in Bialystok, Poland.
Bronislaw Karwowski, the grandfather, died just two days later at the age of 94. It’s clear that Karwowski is ill in the photos of the wedding, but he struggled throughout it just to perform his duties for one last time.
He proudly led Joanna, his granddaughter into the church on their wedding day, decked out in his full military regalia and sporting his numerous medals.
Bronislaw “Grom’ Karwowski was one of the most decorated Polish veterans of World War II, as he participated in the Warsaw Uprising and he was a part of the Polish resistance against the Nazi rule. He escaped from the Gestapo headquarters in Lomza after being captured, but he was arrested again.
He was also sentenced to a decade in prison for his efforts in resisting the authoritarian regime that followed WWII, as he was an opponent of the Communist government in Poland.
He was given the Knight’s Cross of the Order of the Rebirth of Poland later for his services to the Polish nation.
The Polish National Armed Forces wrote a statement on social media that announced his passing, which read:
“We regret to announce that today, on 1st September 2018, on the 79th anniversary of Germany’s assault on Poland, the national hero and insurgent of the Warsaw Uprising in 1944, Major Bronislaw Karwowski retired to the eternal guard. He was 94 years old.
He was awarded the Knight’s Cross of the Order of the Rebirth of Poland, the Silver Cross of Merit with Swords, the Cross of the National Armed Deed and many others.”
Poland is one of the countries that suffered the most in World War II, losing an estimated 6 million people. It is by far the greatest number of lives lost as a percentage of the population: almost 20% of all Poles died in that war!
The Warsaw Uprising in 1944 was one of the most daring acts of resistance to the Nazis, and more than 50,000 Polish fighters removed the Germans from parts of central Warsaw before it was crushed.