Roman Wal, born on April 24, 1916, in Boryslaw, Poland (today Boryslav,
Ukraine), passed away on July 13, 1998, in Bellevue, Washington, USA. He held
the rank of Captain in the Polish Air Force (PAF), equivalent to Flight Lieutenant,
Royal Air Force (RAF), and later served as Flying Officer in the Royal Canadian
Air Force Reserve.
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Biography

Roman was born on April 24, 1916 in Boryslaw, Poland, to Franciszek and
Katarzyna (nee Mazur). He graduated from High School in Sambor, Poland
(now Sambir, Ukraine) in 1932, and with honors from the Technical College in
Drohobycz, Poland (now Drohobych, Ukraine) in 1936.

While studying at the Technical College, at age 18 years, he obtained his
pilot’s license at a flight school in Stanislawow, Poland (now Ivano-Frankivsk,
Ukraine). Between 1934 and 1938, he actively engaged in events and training at
the University Aeroclub in Lwow (now Lviv, Ukraine), which included touring,
aerial acrobatics, and rallies.

In 1936, he enrolled in the Mechanical Engineering section at the Polytechnic
of Science in Lwow. He continued his studies at the Polytechnic until May 1938
when he was conscripted into the Polish Armed Forces.

After completing boot camp in Przemysl, Roman gained admission to the
Polish Air Force Officer Cadet School in Sadkow, near Radom, Poland. Upon
graduating in 1939, he qualified as a combat pilot and Reserve Officer,
subsequently being assigned to an Army flight squadron operating in southwest
Poland.

On September 1, 1939, Germany advanced on Poland from the west. The
German Air Force, Luftwaffe, commenced hostilities at 0440 hours by bombing
air bases and other critical infrastructure throughout the country, including the
Reserve Officer Cadet School. Following the evacuation from the school, Roman,
along with nine other pilots, received orders on September 4 to fly the school’s
planes eastward toward an airfield in Luck (now Lutsk, Ukraine). En route, he
was instructed to divert to Romania to assist in retrieving French airplanes that
had been scheduled for delivery to Poland in August.

On September 17, the Soviet Union launched an attack on Poland from the
east. Faced with a second front from a superpower, the Polish government
ordered the emergency evacuation of all troops from Poland to join the Western
Allies in their fight against Nazi Germany, forming a new entity known as the
the Polish Armed Forces of the West. By early October, Poland was fully
occupied by Germany in the west, and the Soviet Union in the east. In the
aftermath, the Polish government went into exile, initially locating in France in
1939 and later relocating to Great Britain in 1940, following the fall of France.
 

During the final day of his flight out of Poland en route to Romania, Roman
was pursued by a Soviet Army motorized unit on the ground, as well as German
aircraft from above. He made a brief landing in Romania on September 20,
where over 9,000 evacuated Polish Air Force personnel faced internment.
Wanting to avoid internment camp, he, along with five other pilots, decided to
fly to Bulgaria. With the assistance of Polish, English and French embassies in
Sofia, Bulgaria, he navigated through Yugoslavia and Greece, eventually reaching France. Roman arrived in Marseille in November 1939.

He joined other Polish pilots at the French Air Force base in Lyon-Bron, where
he was assigned to the 24 Squadron (Escadrille) to aid in the defense of Finland
during the Soviet-Finnish war. On May 2, 1940, the Luftwaffe attacked Lyon-
Bron airfield while the airmen were asleep. Panic stricken personnel ran out of
barracks into an open field. Many were killed. Survivors were evacuated to
nearby villages.

Before France capitulated to Germany on June 10, 1940, over 6,900 airmen and
85,000 soldiers from Poland were located in the country. Roman was evacuated
to Great Britain on the S/S Arandora Star, the last British ship to leave France
from St. Jean de Luz, where Polish troops were trapped. The captain successfully rescued approximately 1,700 troops and refugees just before the Luftwaffe bombed the town.

In August 1940, the British government granted independent status to the
Polish Air Force (PAF), agreeing to integrate it into the overall Royal Air Force
(RAF) command structure on matters related to organization, training,
equipment, discipline, promotions and operations. By spring 1941, the PAF had
organized 13 fighter squadrons that became operational over the next year. The
squadrons were manned by Polish pilots and ground crews, including control
tower operators. PAF insignia was added to RAF uniforms and applied to
airplanes.

Roman arrived in Liverpool, Great Britain on June 15, 1940. After training
with Polish and RAF units, he was assigned to Polish Fighter Squadrons 317 and
315. He flew escort cover for bombers, engaged in fighter sweeps to draw out
enemy aircraft, and participated in ground attack operations. Additionally, he
performed air-sea rescue, photo reconnaissance, anti-aircraft support, and
convoy escort. On September 11, 1943, he shot down a Luftwaffe Focke-Wulf
(FW) 190 over France (see Appendix 1).

On December 13, 1943, Squadrons 315 and 306 provided fighter escort to 72
bombers, part of a larger operation involving 199 bombers bound for Schipol Air
Base (see Appendix 2). This key airport in the Netherlands was controlled by
German military and heavily fortified with anti aircraft batteries. The combined
bomber and fighter units approached the target from the south and southeast,
releasing 780, 1000-pound bombs between 1436 hours and 1508 hours. Pilots
reported encountering heavy flak above Schipol during the operation.

During a fighter sweep, Roman was hit by a German fighter, FW 190F, and
struck by anti-aircraft artillery over Amsterdam. PAF records indicate that he
went missing in action at approximately 1510 hours. He detached from the
squadron over the Netherlands, 15 miles southeast of Amsterdam, intending to
make an emergency landing due to engine failure. Dutch Air War Study Group
(SGLO) records indicate a forced landing of a Spitfire Vc PK-6/AA969 at 1545
hours near Bleiswijk, Netherlands in the province of South Holland. After
descending from high altitude, he pulled up the nose of his damaged plane at the
last moment and executed a belly landing in a polder (low-lying field). Artillery
fire had pierced his engine and fire wall, and jammed his canopy, preventing him
from bailing out on descent. The cockpit filled with flames, smoke, and fumes,
obscuring his vision and engulfing his legs in flames. The hard impact of landing
on frozen ground caused the canopy to fly open. After escaping the smoldering
cockpit, he submerged himself in a water-filled ditch to avoid detection by a
German light plane circling above the crash site. Once darkness settled in, he
moved quickly away from the site in his injured state until he reached a
farmhouse three hours later, around 1800 hours.

He found momentary respite at the house until authorities arrived around
2200 hours. German military police took him to a hospital in Amsterdam to tend
to his injuries. After being released from hospital, he was transferred to a prison
in Rotterdam. On December 23, 1943, he was again transferred to Dulag Luft
(Auswertestelle West) at Oberusel near Frankfurt am Main, a transit camp and
interrogation center operated by the Luftwaffe. While still recovering from his
injuries, he was forced to witness the execution (likely staged) of a fellow
prisoner sitting next to him during one of several interrogations. He endured
solitary confinement in unbearably overheated cells and encounters with fake
Red Cross officials and inquiries. These tactics were also documented in trials of
some of the Dulag Luft interrogators after the war.

Roman was assigned to the POW Camp at Stalag Luft 3 in Sagan, Germany
(now Zagan, Poland) on January 12, 1944, arriving on February 4 after a
temporary stay of a few weeks at Stalag Luft 4 in Belaria. At Stalag Luft 3, he
aided tunneling operations by distributing excavated soil loaded into trouser
bags as he strolled around the camp. His barracks were adjacent to the building
where 76 prisoners escaped through a tunnel named “Harry” on March 24, 1944.
Only three prisoners successfully escaped while others were recaptured. Fifty of
them were executed. The escape became known as the Great Escape.

As Soviet troops approached on the eastern front, on January 28, 1945,
German High Command ordered the evacuation of 80,000 Allied POWs,
including 10,000 from Stalag Luft 3. The series of forced marches under German
guard has been referred to as the Long March. Prisoners from his camp traveled
on foot to Spremberg railway station in eastern Germany, where they were
transported by rail to Tarmstedt. From February 10 to April 10, Roman was
detained with others at Marlag und Milag Nord, a naval POW camp near the
village of Tarmstedt. From there, they proceeded on their final journey toward
Lubeck, where he was liberated by the British Army just outside the city on May
2. The total length of their journey was around 1,120 km, with at least 500 km
covered on foot.

Without adequate shelter, food, or clothing, approximately 3,500 Allied
servicemen evacuated from prisoner of war camps perished during the Long
March from exposure, fatigue, starvation, and disease, as temperatures hit lows
of -25 degrees C during the unusually cold winter and spring in Germany.
Roman spent nights on the ground or in minimal shelters, securing food by
barter and bribery when possible. On the final leg of his journey to Lubeck,
Roman was attacked by Allied planes that mistook marching prisoners for
German troops. After being liberated, he rejoined Squadron 315 in England on
May 6.

Germany surrendered on May 8, 1945. By the end of the war, around 19,400
Poles served in the PAF in Great Britain across fighter, bomber, coastal and
special duties squadrons. The Polish Armed Forces in the West (across all
military branches) numbered 195,000 personnel in 1944. RAF Museum records
show that during wartime Polish fighter pilots destroyed 957 enemy aircraft,
with 58 men claiming five or more victories, and Polish squadrons in Bomber
and Coastal Commands dropped a total of 14,708 tons of bombs and mines on
enemy targets.

After the dissolution of the PAF in Great Britain, Roman continued to serve in
the RAF until November 1948 . He resumed his studies at the University of
Nottingham from 1945 to 1947. In June 1946, he married Romana Anna
Hanytkiewicz, second lieutenant in the Women’s Auxiliary Air Force (WAAF),
who survived imprisonment as a member of the Polish resistance in the Soviet
Union Gulag, an extensive system of Soviet camps and prisons that housed
political prisoners and criminals. Under an amnesty agreement, she was released from prison in Tobolsk in western Siberia and joined General Anders’ forces in Kermine, Soviet Union (today Navoi, Uzbekistan). She was evacuated through
the Middle East and Mediterranean Sea to Great Britain where she joined the
WAAF and worked at the Headquarters of the Polish Air Force in London. Their
daughter was born in 1948. (https://www.polishexilesofww2.org/romana-wal)

 

Roman was appointed on November 8, 1948 as Executive Officer with the
National Assistance Board, assigned to a Polish Hostel in Amersham-
Buckinghamshire, a resettlement camp where he lived with his wife and
daughter. He became a naturalized British citizen on November 1, 1949.
 

At the conclusion of the war, under terms agreed to by Russia, Great Britain,
and the United States, Poland became a satellite state of the Soviet Union. In a
blow to Polish forces, which had fought alongside Britain and Western Allies,
they were not invited to attend the Victory in Europe Day (VE-Day) parade in
London, out of fear that their participation would cause a diplomatic incident
with the Soviet Union. After the war, many Polish pilots relocated in other
countries in the British Commonwealth, the United States, and South America.

Those who returned to Poland faced retribution from Soviet authorities.

Roman departed from Liverpool on the RMS Franconia with his wife and
daughter, arriving in Quebec, Canada, in July 1951. He continued his journey to
Toronto, Canada, where he was employed by de Havilland Aircraft Company
from 1951 to 1958 as Test Flight Engineer and Supervisor.

Roman joined the Canadian Royal Air Force Reserves with the rank of Flying
Officer in October 1952 and was discharged in July 1958. He trained pilots and
provided technical support for several aircraft, including Lockheed T-33
(subsonic jet trainer), North American F-86 Sabre (transonic jet fighter), de
Havilland Vampire (British jet fighter), and Gloster Meteor (British jet fighter).
 

He moved with his family to Seattle, Washington, USA, in July 1958 to work
for Boeing Aircraft Company until July 1982, when he retired. As Senior
Specialist Engineer, he supported the structural design and manufacturing of
Boeing’s 707, 727, 737, 757 and SST, specializing in material technology and
fabrication.

He passed away on July 13, 1998 in Bellevue, Washington, USA, where he is
buried next to his wife, who passed away on September 22, 2012.

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Decorations

• Cross of Valor (One of the highest military honors in Poland awarded for exceptional courage and heroism, particularly in combat situations)
• British War Medal for World War II (Awarded to military personnel for
service in operational theaters of war)
• Defense Medal (Awarded to military personnel for non-operational
service during the War)
• Air Crew Europe Star (Awarded by to individuals who participated in
operational flights over Europe)
• The 1939-1945 Star (A military campaign medal for operational service in armed forces for a minimum of 180 days)
• Croix de Combattants Volontaires (French military decoration awarded
for volunteer combat service during World War II)
• Canadian Forces Decoration (CD) (Awarded to members of the Canadian Forces who completed 12 years of consecutive and honorable service, taking into account Roman’s years of service with RAF)
• GAPA (Aviator Badge), with green laurel wreath (Polish national eagle
suspended on a chain worn by Polish Air officers during World War II,
along with their RAF wings. Green wreath symbolizes combat experience in at least 7 flights in combat conditions)

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