[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 157 (2011), Part 3]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages 3513-3514]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




HONORING CASIMIR PULASKI, POLISH-AMERICAN HERO OF THE REVOLUTIONARY WAR 
       AND HONORARY AMERICAN CITIZEN, AND CELEBRATING PULASKI DAY

                                 ______
                                 

                          HON. DANIEL LIPINSKI

                              of illinois

                    in the house of representatives

                         Tuesday, March 8, 2011

  Mr. LIPINSKI. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to honor the life of Polish 
and American freedom fighter Casimir Pulaski. Yesterday in my home 
state of Illinois, we celebrated Casimir Pulaski Day, which is observed 
on the first Monday of March. Prior to the Pulaski Day celebration at 
the Polish Museum of America in Chicago, I joined with Representative 
Mike Quigley and Senator Mark Kirk to announce the introduction of a 
new bill to push for Poland's inclusion

[[Page 3514]]

in the Visa Waiver Program. Certainly there is no better day than the 
one honoring Casimir Pulaski to promote the strengthening of America's 
ties with Poland.
  Born in Warsaw, Poland, on March 6, 1745, Casimir Pulaski was a 
skilled commander who fought against Russian forces in Poland. Based 
upon his work fighting for freedom in Poland, Pulaski was recruited by 
Benjamin Franklin to join in the American Revolution. In his first 
correspondence to George Washington, Pulaski famously wrote, ``I came 
here, where freedom is being defended, to serve it, and to live or die 
for it.'' In his first battle of the Revolution, the Battle of 
Brandywine on September 11, 1777, Pulaski helped alter the course of 
history by rallying a counterattack against advancing British forces 
that afforded Washington and countless American troops the time needed 
to successfully retreat. As a result, Washington promoted Pulaski to 
brigadier general of the American cavalry.
  His influence on American independence did not end there. Pulaski 
organized the Continental Army's first successful cavalry unit, often 
using his own money to finance equipment for his men. He introduced 
modern military tactics to the Americans and led troops in numerous 
battles and sieges up and down the eastern seaboard.
  On October 9, 1779, during the Battle of Savannah, Pulaski was struck 
by grapeshot while attempting to lead a secondary charge against the 
entrenched British. He was taken aboard the USS Wasp and died from his 
wounds two days later. On October 15, he was buried at sea. Today 
Pulaski is remembered as the father of the American cavalry and one of 
the heroes of the American Revolution.
  In 2009, on the 230th anniversary of his death, Congress honored 
Pulaski posthumously as an honorary citizen of the United States, 
marking only the seventh time in America's history that an individual 
has been granted such an honor. Today, I ask all Americans to remember 
a true Polish-American hero who devoted and ultimately sacrificed his 
life to the pursuit of freedom.

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