Since I lived by the sea for a few decades, the Navy is the military formation which has always been closet to my heart.
The uniforms of the Polish Navy are always of the navy blue color + black shoes, not white as in the US.
During various kind of the Polish Armed Forces parades it was the "sailors" units that caught my attention the most.
I was so very used to their presence in the area where I lived, and the sight of a Navy officer and/or a regular Navy service person was quite a frequent and usual experience, part of life at the seashore. You could see those men and women on the city streets and on TV all the time.
There is Naval Academy in my home city in Poland. The academy is over 100 years old. Its motto is "Amor patriae suprema lex"/ "Love of the fatherland is the supreme law".
Another thing is the patriotic part. On All Souls' Day, we always lit lanterns at the monument dedicated to defenders the Polish shore at the WW2 time. It is a pity I do not have a photo of that monument taken on November 1. It was always surrounded by the light of dozens of lanterns.
Monument to the Polish Sailor in Kosciuszki Square, Gdynia
When I was younger, everybody who lived in our region, knew the song "Sea, our sea" know also as "Although each of us is young". It was the school song of quite a few elementaries but not only. The song was commonly sang by scouts among others. It is one of the tunes played most often by the Polish Naval Forces Representative Orchestra.
The song was written in the 1920s/30s by captain Adam Kowalski at the beginnings of the Polish Navy and the naval port/ city of Gdynia.
Loose translation of the first part of the song main part:
Although each of us is young, we are called old salt sea dogs.
We, the guardians of Polish waters, Polish sailors we are.
Ref. Sea, our sea, we will guard you faithfully.
We have orders to hold you, or at the bottom, at your bottom fall,
or at the bottom with honor fall.
No force, no storm, will take Gdynia from us.
Our fleet, though not big, faithfully guards the port gates.
Sea, our sea, we will guard you faithfully.
We have orders to hold you, or at the bottom, at your bottom fall,
or at the bottom with honor fall.
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Photos taken at the Naval Academy and Kosciuszki Square in Gdynia (2008).Other posts related to this topic:
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