Senior Polish officials, including Defence Minister Mariusz Błaszczak, and V Corps took part in the event held at a forward command post in Poznań, western Poland.
During the Saturday ceremony, the post, home of U.S. Army V Corps officially known as Forward Operating Site Poznan, officially received the name "Camp Kościuszko."
In a speech given during the ceremony, Polish Defence Minister Błaszczak said that close relations with the USA are one of the pillars of Poland's security, but also of the countries on the eastern flank of NATO.
These relations are "very much rooted in the history of both our countries, (…) and one of the symbols of these relations is the figure of Tadeusz Kościuszko, a hero of the two nations," Błaszczak said.
Born in 1746, Tadeusz Kościuszko was a Polish-Lithuanian engineer and military leader who fought for both American and Polish independence, winning admirers amongst both his political allies and foes.
In 1794, after the Second Partition of Poland between Tsarist Russia, Prussia and Austria, Kościuszko led an insurrection against Russia.
During the American War of Independence, he served as a colonel in the Continental Army. He designed and oversaw the construction of state-of-the-art fortifications, including those at West Point.
In July, during a NATO summit in Madrid, US President Joe Biden announced that Washington would create a permanent headquarters for its Army V Corps in Poland in response to threats coming from Moscow after Russia's invasion of Ukraine.
(ał)
Source: PAP