The U.S. Military Academy hosted the commemoration of the 278th birthday of Tadeusz Kosciuszko with a wreath-laying ceremony on May 4 at the location of Kosciuszko’s monument.
The statue, base and column are currently being renovated and will return in August.
Kosciuszko is celebrated as an American, Polish and Lithuanian hero for designing the defensive fortifications on West Point to protect against British assaults during the American Revolution. He also commanded the fortress that was known as “America’s Gibraltar.”
The event was sponsored and organized by the American Association of the Friends of Kosciuszko at West Point in concert with the Kosciuszko Squadron of West Point.
Remarks and the laying of the wreath were made by Maj. Gen. Krzysztof Nolbert, Defense Attache at the Polish Embassy in Washington D.C., and Dr. Robert Vitas, chairman of Lithuanian Studies and Research Center in Chicago.
Among the other participants were the U.S. Army Garrison Color Guard who posted and retired the Colors, the Polish Singers Alliance of America and Kristina Malinauskaite who sang the national anthems, the U.S. Army Garrison Firing Party who fired the honor volleys, and the West Point Band’s bugler who performed Taps.
To see more photos from the event, visit Kosciuszko Wreath Laying Ceremony | Flickr.