{"id":639,"date":"2023-12-24T01:41:26","date_gmt":"2023-12-24T00:41:26","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/maczek.wirtualnemuzeum.org\/biogram\/jan-marian-sokolowski\/"},"modified":"2023-12-29T07:49:29","modified_gmt":"2023-12-29T06:49:29","slug":"jan-marian-sokolowski","status":"publish","type":"biogram","link":"https:\/\/maczek.wirtualnemuzeum.org\/en\/bios\/jan-marian-sokolowski\/","title":{"rendered":"Jan Marian Soko\u0142owski"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p><strong>Born:<\/strong> October 5, 1919, Masznica near Vilnius, Poland<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Died: <\/strong>August 4, 2004, Elmhurst, Illinois, USA<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Burial: <\/strong>Maryhill RC Cemetery, Niles, Illinois, USA<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Family: <\/strong>parents \u2013 Antoni and Teofila (nee Kuczewska); wife Regina (nee Chytrowska); children &#8211; twins \u2013 Marek Andrzej (Mark Andrew), Bohdan (Dan) Les\u0142aw<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Medals:<\/strong> Polish: Cross of Valor, Silver Cross of Merit with Swords, twice Golden Cross of Merit (11.11.1967, 03.05.1982), Gold Badge of 1 Armored Division (no. 50, 17.10.1987), Cross of Armed Action of the Polish Armed Forces in the West (1992); British: 1939-45 Star, France and Germany Star, The War Medal 1939-45<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Fates before joining 1<sup>st<\/sup> Polish Armored Division:<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Jan Soko\u0142owski joined the Polish Army in France on November 24, 1939. On June 21, 1940, he was taken prisoner by the Germans and released on March 11, 1941. On December 14, 1943, he joined the Polish Armed Forces in the West under British command.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Military service in 1<sup>st<\/sup> Armored Division:<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Jan served in the Polish Army in Great Britain and on the European continent until final demobilization on June 11, 1949. A soldier of the 1st Armored Division, a participant in its battles in Western Europe. On September 7, 1944, he was promoted to the rank of second lieutenant. He stayed in Germany with his Division till 1947 during which with help of Red Cross he brought his future wife, known earlier, Regina from Warsaw, Poland to Germany. They married there. After returning to Great Britain on September 27, 1947, he joined the Polish Resettlement Corps, where he served until June 1949, while her wife and twin sons stayed in PRC camp in UK.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>After War:<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Jan Soko\u0142owski emigrated after demobilization from the Polish Armed Forces in the West in February 1949 to Argentina with his family. They lived in the outskirts of Buenos Aires. Due to failing economy and lack of future prospects Jan with the help of his prewar scouting friends from \u201cCzarna Trzynastka\u201d in Vilnius manage them to get family\u2019s sponsorship to USA. He left Argentina to Chicago on 1959, while his wife and sons reunited with him the year later. Active member of the Association of Soldiers of the 1st Polish Armored Division in Chicago as well as Polish scouting in Argentina and USA. On November 11, 1990, he was promoted to the rank of lieutenant of the Polish Army, and in 2000 to the rank of captain. In 2002, as proof of his services to Poland, he received the Patent of the Veteran of the Struggle for Freedom and Independence of the Homeland (no. 16835) from the Prime Minister of the Republic of Poland. He lived in Bensenville, Illinois. Died in 2004.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>author : Aneta Hoffmann, Poland<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>source: family archives of Anna Soko\u0142owski; \u201cPolish American Studies\u201d, University of Illinois Volume 78\/1, Spring 2021<\/p>\n","protected":false},"featured_media":638,"template":"","kraj":[49],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/maczek.wirtualnemuzeum.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/biogram\/639"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/maczek.wirtualnemuzeum.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/biogram"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/maczek.wirtualnemuzeum.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/biogram"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/maczek.wirtualnemuzeum.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/638"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/maczek.wirtualnemuzeum.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=639"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"kraj","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/maczek.wirtualnemuzeum.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/kraj?post=639"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}