Farewell to Admiral Unrug, a true freedom mainstay - president
The last farewell to Admiral Józef Unrug, Poland's coastal defence commander during the 1939 defensive war against Germany, is one of the last elements in building a truly free Poland, President Andrzej Duda said on Tuesday at Unrug's funeral in Gdynia, northern Poland.
"In accompanying Admiral Unrug on his last journey, we are adding one of the last stones to the fundament of a truly free Poland, on which we will be able to continue building this great structure," Duda said at Gdynia's Naval Cemetery.
Recalling Unrug's role in Poland's 1939 war with the invading Third Reich, Duda stressed that his funeral in Gdynia signified a "great day" for Poland, and especially the Polish Navy. He added that the admiral's burial in Gdynia symbolised the necessity to restore the Polish naval command to the city.
Born a German national, Admiral Józef Unrug commanded the Polish coastal defence during Poland's 1939 defensive war against Nazi Germany. Unrug died in Lailly-en-Val, France in 1973, and was buried in Montresor, central France. His and his wife's remains were brought to Poland for the state burial in Gdynia. (PAP)
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