Born: April 10, 1926, Starogard Gdański, Poland
Died: April 2, 2021, Gdańsk, Poland
Buried: Gdańsk, Poland – Srebrzysko Cemetery – part V, section TAR-X, row 1, grave 54
Family: parents – father Bernard, mother Waleria (nee Bellon)
Medals: Polish – Knight’s Cross of the Order of Polonia Restituta, Army Medal, Pro Bono Poloniae Medal
Fates before World War II:
Wacław Butowski graduated from Junior High School in Starogard Gdański (Poland). He also learned to play the violin from an early age.
Fates during the war:
After the outbreak of World War II and the Germans’ incorporation of Pomerania into the Third Reich, Wacław studied at a vocational school, while at the same time was forced to work in a German construction company. In 1943, he was deported to forced labor in Lower Saxony for the construction of the airport in Quakenbrueck. In January 1944, he was forcibly conscripted into the Wehrmacht – he served in the south of France and Normandy. After a few months, he defected to the Allied side and in September 1944, he volunteered to join the 1st Polish Armored Division under a changed name – Wacław Rogowski. As a soldier of the 24th Uhlan Regiment (radio operator – tank driver), he took part in battles in the Netherlands and Germany. On April 20, 1945 he was seriously wounded near Aschendorf (Germany). He ended his service in the Polish Armed Forces with the rank of senior sergeant.
Post-war fate:
He returned to Poland in July 1947. He graduated from secondary music school and worked in the Baltic Philharmonic in Gdańsk until his retirement in 1981. Distinguished in social and veteran’s activities. Member of the Association of Circles of the 1st Armored Division in London. Participant in many celebrations dedicated to the Division in Poland and abroad. Promoted to the rank of major. He died in Gdańsk in 2021. His funeral on April 10 was attended by soldiers of the 10th Armored Cavalry Brigade of the Polish Army, whose 2nd Tank Battalion took over the traditions of the 24th Uhlan Regiment.
author: Aneta Hoffmann
source: wojsko-polskie.pl