by Ken Perkins
Situated on a hill not far from the Italian city of Cassino with a clear view of the Abbey of Monte Cassino about 3/4 mi. away is a typical old stone Italian farmhouse. Severely damaged during WWII and now rebuilt, on one wall is a plaque in English and Polish reading “Doctor’s House”. What is a Polish inscription doing in central Italy?
In 1944, following the Allied landings in nearby Anzio, the Abbey at Monte Cassino, founded by St. Benedict himself around 529AD and home to the Benedictine religious Order, lay in the path of Allied troops advancing up the Italian peninsula against German forces.
With its commanding view of the surrounding territory, the Allied forces were certain that the abbey was being used as an observation point by the German forces occupying Italy. Consequently, on Feb. 15,
Among the many troops taking part in the battle of Monte Cassino were Polish units commanded by Lt. General Władislaw Anders. Playing a major role in the battle, Polish troops of the 12th Podolian Cavalry Regiment were the first Allied troops to make it to the top of the ruined Abbey. The nearby Doctor’s house served as an aid station for Polish troops during the battle. In 1946 the Polish Government in Exile in London issued a set of stamps (printed in Italy but not recognized by Scott) to honor the service of Polish troops in Italy.
Over 1000 Polish soldiers died in taking the Abbey. Today they lie in a Polish Cemetery nearby. At the cemetery are two inscriptions. One, echoing the Epitaph of Simonides engraved on a plaque at the top of the burial mound of the Spartans at Thermopylae, reads: “Passer-by, go tell Poland/That we have perished obedient to her service.”
The other reads:
For our freedom and yours
We soldiers of Poland gave
Our soul to God
Our life to the soil of Italy
Our hearts to Poland