West Point Celebrates Kosciuszko
- PostEagle
- March 23, 2014
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NEW YORK – On May 2nd and May 3rd, the American Association of Friends of Kościuszko at West Point will hold the 11th conference and 186th commemoration in honor of Tadeusz Kościuszko at the U. S. Military Academy at West Point in New York.
The conference on Friday, May 2nd will be held in the Eisenhower Room of the Thayer Hotel starting at 9:30 am and will end at 5:30 pm. Panelists will include, among others, noted scholars like M. B. B. Biskupski, Ph.D., of Central Connecticut State University, James S. Pula, Ph.D., of Purdue University in Indiana, and Thaddeus Buczko, J.D., Hon. LL.D., of the Peabody Essex Museum in Massachusetts. The very appropriate theme is Kościuszko, Poland’s Constitution of May 3, 1791, and the Political, Social and Security Climate in Europe from 1791 through the Congress of Vienna. Participants are invited to continue discussion at dinner afterwards.
On Saturday, May 3rd, beginning with 9:45 am Mass at the Catholic Chapel of the Most Holy Trinity, the U. S. Military Academy and a grateful public will honor Kościuszko for the 186th time. After Mass, attendees can observe the Cadet Review on The Plain from a special reserved section and then join members of the Academy, the AAFKWP, Liga Morska/Sea League, Harcerzy/Boy and Girl Scouts, Polish Singers Alliance of America, Polish American Congress, other Polish American organizations and the general public in the tribute to Kościuszko at his monument which faces the glorious Hudson River. The Keynote speaker will be Thaddeus Buczko.
Those who had attended the Saturday Mass and observance previously remember well the erudite homilies of Father Carl Urban of Schenectady, NY and the glorious singing of prize-winning Aria chorus of Wallington, NJ. The enthusiasm for promulgating Kościuszko’s legacy at the conference and during the observance exhibited by Anthony J. Bajdek, Associate Dean (ret.) of Northeastern University and Stephen N. Olejasz, Lieutenant Colonel, U. S. Army (ret.) and former Professor of History at the U. S. Military Academy has enticed many professional and amateur historians to join the AAFKWP. Meeting cadet members of the Kościuszko Squadron is exciting, especially for youngsters. It is gratifying to see how the numbers attending the two events have grown in the last few years in this homage to Kościuszko, but, there is always room for more.
After the ceremony at the monument, participants can attend the luncheon in the George Washington Room of the Thayer Hotel, tour the grounds of the academy, sit in Kosciuszko’s own garden, and/or visit the museum and library. Make the Saturday observance an annual pilgrimage by car, bus or train to the academy. It’s a great event – socially, historically and spiritually.
For information about access to the U.S. Military Academy grounds, costs for the conference and/or meals, or for any other aspect of the two days’ events, please check the AAFKWP site at www.kosciuszkoatwestpoint.org or make contact with F. X. Gates at 917-913-3133, 718-852-6812, fxgates2@aol.com or Anthony Bajdek at 603-718-1351, a.j.bajdek@comcast.net.