On 25 April, former soldiers of the 62nd Special Company—often from distant parts of Poland—came to meet Jarosław Rybak, an employee of the National Security Bureau and author of several books devoted to military subjects. “Commando.pl”, Rybak’s latest work, tells the story of the commandos from Bolesławiec.
Those who came to the county office had many attractions awaiting them. A film about the Bolesławiec special unit was shown in the lobby. A weapons display also attracted attention. During the author’s meeting in the conference room, former commandos recalled their time serving in the Company. They shared many soldiers’ anecdotes. As they emphasized, the military taught them resilience, responsibility, reliability, punctuality, truthfulness and friendship.
The Bolesławiec special unit was established in 1967. “It was one of the most elite units of the Polish military. For several decades, it belonged to the absolute top,” Jarosław Rybak told Boleslawiec.org / IstotneInformacje.pl. — “Then it was suddenly disbanded—for reasons that remain unknown to this day.”
While working on a book about GROM, the author of “Commando.pl” met several military personnel from Bolesławiec who invited him to a meeting of former soldiers of the 62nd Special Company. This is how the idea for a book about the Bolesławiec special unit was born. The work took about seven years to complete. “The text contains a great deal of information that most people were unaware of,” Jarosław Rybak points out. Some documents concerning the Company were declassified only a year ago.
Association
More than 200 people belong to the “Commando” Association. The former soldiers founded it when it became clear that there was no chance of reactivating the unit. They usually meet twice a year—on the first weekend of September and at a Christmas Eve wafer-sharing gathering. A year ago, they celebrated the 40th anniversary of the Company’s founding at Kliczków Castle.
During Jarosław Rybak’s author’s evening, the commandos signed an agreement with the 23rd Silesian Artillery Brigade. “It is about promoting the idea of the military and national defence,” explains Edward Mroczek, a member of the association’s chapter and former commander of the Special Company. “The state is focusing on professionalizing soldiers. That is easy to say. But where are we supposed to get the people? We have to encourage them somehow,” he adds.
The book by Jarosław Rybak was very well received by the former commander of the 62nd Special Company. “Thanks to Jarek, we may not have become famous so much as been preserved in the written word,” says Edward Mroczek.
(GA/KG report)