Letter: Poles happy to be part of NATO

Tuesday, March 23, 1999 | 12:02 p.m.

In 1944, when I was 15, I was taken by Germans to a prisoner-of-war stalag in Germany. After being liberated by British forces in 1945, my desire was to go to my "old country" of Poland. At that time, by Stalin's request, the U.S. and British governments recognized the Polish communist government created by Stalin. I hated communists; I knew what they had done to my country in 1939, 1944, and 1945.

During the whole Second World War, Poland was allied with the United States and Britain. We Poles have fought for our freedom and yours, but we felt that we were let down by the United States and Britain.

We finally had won the battle but lost our country. Luckily I had a grandfather in the United States, so he sponsored me. In September 1949 I arrived in the United States and in January 1950 I enlisted in the U.S. Army to fight communism.

Finally in 1999 Poland is where it should have been in 1949. Late, but we Poles are proud of it.

GEORGE W. KIELAK

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