One of President Wilson's "Fourteen Points" following World War 1 ensured the reestablishment of the sovereign nation of Poland which had been partitioned off of the map by Russia, Prussia, and Austria. With Europe withdrawing from the Great War, the Bolsheviks in the East began to mobilize and threaten Poland. Nobody came to Poland's aid. Veteran WWI American pilot Merian Cooper formed a group of American volunteer pilots to fight for a free Poland against the Westward marching Bolsheviks. This group of pilots called themselves the Kosciuszko Squadron in honor and remembrance of Thaddeus Kosciuszko, a Polish military engineer who selflessly volunteered to fight for liberty in the American Revolution against Britain. Kosciuszko was the mastermind behind military fortifications against the British which included West Point, New York. Cooper and the newly formed Kosciuszko Squadron would repay Poland for Thaddeus Kosciuszko's service to the United States. Elliott Chess joined the Kosciuszko Squadron, serving from the end of 1919 until an armistice was declared on 18 Oct 1920. The American Kosciuszko Squadron was highly successful in assisting the Polish victory against the Bolsheviks. The victory assured a free and sovereign Poland for nearly two decades until the beginning of World War II.
Elliott entered a common-law marriage with Elaine (Gottlieb) Hemley and they had a daughter, Nola Elian Chess. See Nola Elian Chess Hemley
(NOTE 1: Kosciuszko is pronounced Kawsh-CHOO'-shko.)
(NOTE 2: Following his service flying for Poland, Merian Cooper returned to America and became a movie producer in Hollywood. One movie that he made was based upon a nightmare that he had about a giant ape attacking New York City. That move was "King Kong.")
(NOTE 3: After the Nazi Blitzkrieg on Poland at the beginning of World War II, the dispersed pilots of the Polish Air Force came back together in Britain to form the 303 Squadron. They also called themselves the Kosciuszko Squadron and used the same squadron patch designed by the American Kosciuszko Squadron in 1919-1920.)
One of President Wilson's "Fourteen Points" following World War 1 ensured the reestablishment of the sovereign nation of Poland which had been partitioned off of the map by Russia, Prussia, and Austria. With Europe withdrawing from the Great War, the Bolsheviks in the East began to mobilize and threaten Poland. Nobody came to Poland's aid. Veteran WWI American pilot Merian Cooper formed a group of American volunteer pilots to fight for a free Poland against the Westward marching Bolsheviks. This group of pilots called themselves the Kosciuszko Squadron in honor and remembrance of Thaddeus Kosciuszko, a Polish military engineer who selflessly volunteered to fight for liberty in the American Revolution against Britain. Kosciuszko was the mastermind behind military fortifications against the British which included West Point, New York. Cooper and the newly formed Kosciuszko Squadron would repay Poland for Thaddeus Kosciuszko's service to the United States. Elliott Chess joined the Kosciuszko Squadron, serving from the end of 1919 until an armistice was declared on 18 Oct 1920. The American Kosciuszko Squadron was highly successful in assisting the Polish victory against the Bolsheviks. The victory assured a free and sovereign Poland for nearly two decades until the beginning of World War II.
Elliott entered a common-law marriage with Elaine (Gottlieb) Hemley and they had a daughter, Nola Elian Chess. See Nola Elian Chess Hemley
(NOTE 1: Kosciuszko is pronounced Kawsh-CHOO'-shko.)
(NOTE 2: Following his service flying for Poland, Merian Cooper returned to America and became a movie producer in Hollywood. One movie that he made was based upon a nightmare that he had about a giant ape attacking New York City. That move was "King Kong.")
(NOTE 3: After the Nazi Blitzkrieg on Poland at the beginning of World War II, the dispersed pilots of the Polish Air Force came back together in Britain to form the 303 Squadron. They also called themselves the Kosciuszko Squadron and used the same squadron patch designed by the American Kosciuszko Squadron in 1919-1920.)
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