Photo By Sgt. 1st Class Justin Geiger | U.S. Army Staff Sgt. Kristina Bajis, an aviation operations specialist with the 3rd...... read more read more
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ZAGAN, Poland - In a crowd of about 700 competitors, jockeying for space is quite common, dispersed throughout the starting point are soldiers with the 3rd Armored Brigade Combat Team, 4th Infantry Division, Fort Carson, Colorado searching for a bit of a competitive advantage in The Great Escape anniversary race at the Prisoner of War camp museum, March 25, 2017 here.
The POW camp museum held its 43rd annual Cross Zaganski 10K race as part of a two-day ceremony to honor pilots of 14 nations who were held as POWs at Camp Stalag Luft III during World War II.
24-hours before competitors from across the world participated in the Cross Zaganski, Marek Lazarz, Historical and Military Coordinator with the POW camp museum hosted the 73rd annual Great Escape commemoration ceremony.
The Great Escape consisted of three underground tunnels, Tom, Dick and Harry [The code names of each tunnel], built to allow about 200 POWs to escape the prison camp.
On the night of March 24, 1944 it was planned that the escapees would leave in stages. Of the 76 men who escaped, 50 didn’t survive the escape, 23 were recaptured and 3 made it back home to the United Kingdom.
“Today we commemorated the anniversary of the Great Escape,” said Lazarz “One of the biggest escapes from a POW camp during World War II happened here, 73 years ago, at Stalag Luft III. It was an important event because 76 allied airmen escaped from the camp and 50 of them didn’t survive.”
The distinguished visitors in attendance during the ceremony were Col. Christopher R. Norrie and Command Sgt. Maj. Christopher D. Gunn, Command Team for the 3rd ABCT, 4th ID, Polish Brig. Gen. Stanislaw Czosnek, Daniel Marchewka, Mayor of Zagan, and Charles Clark, President of the Former Prisoners' Association of the British Royal Air Force and former prisoner of camp Stalag Luft III.
“The construction of the tunnels was probably the most audacious operation of the war,” said Clarke. “People often see the film and think there were no Americans to make it through the tunnel. I always explain that they helped to build it but were transferred to another compound just before the Great Escape.”
Training alongside NATO allies as part of Operation Atlantic Resolve is vital for the soldiers with the 3rd ABCT, 4th ID, however, participating in local traditions to understand Polish culture builds relationships with the nation’s local communities.
To demonstrate the commitment to strengthening the relationship with the host nation’s communities, 34 “Iron Brigade” soldiers volunteered to honor the Great Escape anniversary by competing in the 10k race.
“Soldiers that are coming to Europe for Operation Atlantic Resolve should immerse themselves into the host nation’s culture,” said Staff Sgt. Kristina Bajis, Aviation Operations Specialist, 3rd ABCT, 4th ID. “It’s a great way to meet new people and really see the local community come together. It just makes your experience much more enjoyable.”
Bajis placed first in her age group and was awarded a special award from race organizers for “Best Mud Jump.”
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U.S. Army Europe is uniquely positioned in its 51st country area of responsibility to advance American strategic interests in Europe and Eurasia. The relationships we build during more than 1,000 theater security cooperation events in more than 40 countries each year lead directly to support for multinational contingency operations around the world, strengthen regional partnership and enhance global security.
| Date Taken: | 03.25.2017 |
| Date Posted: | 03.27.2017 02:57 |
| Story ID: | 228096 |
| Location: | ZAGAN, PL |
| Web Views: | 121 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
This work, Prisoners of War ceremony commemorates international heritage, by SFC Justin Geiger, identified by DVIDS, must comply with the restrictions shown on https://www.dvidshub.net/about/copyright.
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