Leon Pająk (October 5, 1909 in

Krasna Dąbrowa Krasna Dąbrowa is a village in the administrative district of Gmina Pionki, within Radom County, Masovian Voivodeship The Masovian Voivodeship, also known as the Mazovia Province ( pl, województwo mazowieckie ) is a voivodeship (province) in ...

, November 26, 1990 in

Kielce Kielce (, yi, קעלץ, Keltz) is a city in southern Poland, and the capital of the Świętokrzyskie Voivodeship. In 2021, it had 192,468 inhabitants. The city is in the middle of the Świętokrzyskie Mountains (Holy Cross Mountains), on the bank ...

) was an officer in the Polish Army who fought in the

Battle of Westerplatte The Battle of Westerplatte was the first battle of the German invasion of Poland, marking the start of World War II in Europe. It occurred on the Westerplatte peninsula in the harbour of the Free City of Danzig (now Gdańsk, Poland). In the mi ...

during the

Invasion of Poland The invasion of Poland (1 September – 6 October 1939) was a joint attack on the Republic of Poland by Nazi Germany and the Soviet Union which marked the beginning of World War II. The German invasion began on 1 September 1939, one week aft ...

in 1939. He was awarded the Order of Virtuti Militari.

Military service and the Battle of Westerplatte

He began his military service in 1930 as a private in the 20th Infantry Regiment of the Krakow Land in

Kraków Kraków (), or Cracow, is the second-largest and one of the oldest cities in Poland. Situated on the Vistula River in Lesser Poland Voivodeship, the city dates back to the seventh century. Kraków was the official capital of Poland until 1596 ...

. In 1931 he enrolled at the Infantry Cadet School in

Ostrów Mazowiecka Ostrów Mazowiecka is a town in eastern Poland with 23,486 inhabitants (2004). Situated in the Masovian Voivodeship (since 1999), previously in Ostrołęka Voivodeship (1975–1998). It is the capital of Ostrów Mazowiecka County. History Ostr ...

. He was commissioned as an officer on 15 August, 1934. Pająk received his first assignment in the 4th Legions Infantry Regiment in

, where he took command of an infantry platoon. In March 1938, he became commander of a heavy machine gun

company A company, abbreviated as co., is a Legal personality, legal entity representing an association of people, whether Natural person, natural, Legal person, legal or a mixture of both, with a specific objective. Company members share a common p ...

. On March 15, 1939, he was promoted to the rank of

lieutenant A lieutenant ( , ; abbreviated Lt., Lt, LT, Lieut and similar) is a commissioned officer rank in the armed forces of many nations. The meaning of lieutenant differs in different militaries (see comparative military ranks), but it is often sub ...

and together with the formation of a guard platoon, was sent to the Military Transit Depot in Westerplatte. During the defense of the WST, he commanded the "Prom" outpost where he took command of the 75mm field gun, laying down heavy suppressing fire on the advancing Germans and knocking out several machine gun nests set up across the harbor. Later in the fight, he was seriously wounded in the

abdomen The abdomen (colloquially called the belly, tummy, midriff, tucky or stomach) is the part of the body between the thorax (chest) and pelvis, in humans and in other vertebrates. The abdomen is the front part of the abdominal segment of the torso. ...

, perineum and

legs A leg is a weight-bearing and locomotive anatomical structure, usually having a columnar shape. During locomotion, legs function as "extensible struts". The combination of movements at all joints can be modeled as a single, linear element ...

, and transported to the barracks where, despite his hopeless condition, he survived the battle due to the actions of the head medic, Capt. Mieczysław Słaby. He spent until January of the next year recovering in a German hospital. Subsequently, he was imprisoned in the POW camps, Oflags XII A in Hadamar and VII A in Murnau. After being liberation from captivity, he was accepted into the

2nd Polish Corps The Polish II Corps ( pl, Drugi Korpus Wojska Polskiego), 1943–1947, was a major tactical and operational unit of the Polish Armed Forces in the West during World War II. It was commanded by Lieutenant General Władysław Anders and fought wit ...

in Italy where he commanded the 4th company of the 9th Bologna Carpathian Rifle Battalion.

Later life and death

He returned to Poland on 5 December, 1946. He settled in

, where he worked in the metalworking industry. On September 1, 1971, during the ceremony of laying the ashes of Major Henryk Sucharski, commander of the Westerplatte garrison, he submitted his last report to his commander, in which he said the words: "Mr. Major, Westerplatte is Polish again!". In 1985 he was entered into ''The Honorary Book of Soldiers' Deeds.'' He became an honorary citizen of

Gdańsk Gdańsk ( , also ; ; csb, Gduńsk;Stefan Ramułt, ''Słownik języka pomorskiego, czyli kaszubskiego'', Kraków 1893, Gdańsk 2003, ISBN 83-87408-64-6. , Johann Georg Theodor Grässe, ''Orbis latinus oder Verzeichniss der lateinischen Benen ...

and

. He was also a member and long-term president of the Kielce branch of

ZBoWiD The Society of Fighters for Freedom and Democracy ( pl, Związek Bojowników o Wolność i Demokrację, ZBoWiD) was an official Polish state-controlled veterans association in the People's Republic of Poland. Initially headed by Franciszek Jóź ...

(The Society of Fighters for Freedom and Democracy). Pająk died on November 26, 1990 and was buried in the Old Cemetery in Kielce.

Awards

Order of the

Virtuti Militari The War Order of Virtuti Militari (Latin: ''"For Military Virtue"'', pl, Order Wojenny Virtuti Militari) is Poland's highest military decoration for heroism and courage in the face of the enemy at war. It was created in 1792 by Polish King Stan ...

No. 11940

Cultural depictions

In the 1967 film Westerplatte, directed by

Stanisław Różewicz Stanisław Roch Różewicz (16 August 1924 – 9 November 2008) was a Polish film director and screenwriter. He directed 26 films between 1947 and 1989. His 1967 film ''Westerplatte'' was entered into the 5th Moscow International Film Festi ...

, Lt. Pająk was portrayed by Bogdan Niewinowski. In the 2013 film

Tajemnica Westerplatte ''1939 Battle of Westerplatte'', originally titled in Poland as ''Tajemnica Westerplatte'' ("The Secret of Westerplatte"), is a 2013 Polish-Lithuanian war film written and directed by Paweł Chochlew. It portrays the Battle of Westerplatte between ...

or 1939 Battle of Westerplatte, Lt. Pająk was portrayed by Bartosz Obuchowicz.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Pajak, Leon 1909 births 1990 deaths Polish Army officers