At the regiment’s assembly held on 7 November, commanding officer Colonel Paweł Świtalski thanked two trainees: Private Trainee Dominik Puterla and Private Trainee Mateusz Spałek, who saved the life of a 70-year-old man while travelling home on leave.
The incident occurred on Friday evening. The soldiers were waiting for a train. Suddenly, they noticed that an elderly man had fallen on the stairs. “Although many people were walking past, no one reacted,” says Private Trainee Puterla. “Without thinking twice, we quickly ran over to the man and began giving him assistance.”
The trainees say that the man, who suffered minor injuries as a result of the fall, did not want an ambulance to be called. Seeing that the soldiers had helped him, he asked for their names and where they served. A great surprise came on Monday morning, when the man personally arrived at the barracks to thank the servicemen once again. As he said: “If it had not been for the help of these two young men, it is not known how this would have ended, because I eventually went to the doctor and the examination showed that I had suffered a heart attack.”
Both trainees have served in the 23rd Silesian Artillery Regiment since September as part of the third round of preparatory service for the National Reserve Forces. They will complete their training in December.