Willow Springs in Cook County, Illinois — The American Midwest (Great Lakes)

Płk Antoni Skarbek-Szacki

"Bohun", "Dąbrowski"

— Legendarny Dowodca Brygady Świętokrzyskiej NSZ —

Płk Antoni Skarbek-Szacki Marker image. Click for full size.

Photographed by Sean P. Flynn, March 6, 2025

1. Płk Antoni Skarbek-Szacki Marker

Inscription. Click to hear the inscription.

Urodzie sje 1 marca 1902 r. w Wilnie. W 1919 r, wstapil do wojska polskiego-pierwszego pułku Ulanów Krechowieckich. Brae udział w Wojnie Polsko-Bolszewickiej.

W 1924 r. wstąpił do oficerskiej szkoły piechoty w Warszawie. W czasie Zamachu Maiowego 1926 r. bral udział w walkach po stronie rządu. Uczelnie ukończył w 1927 r. w stopniu podporucznika służył w 76 Pulku Fiechoty w Grodnie. W trakcie Wojny Obronnej 1939 r. peanie funkcje oficera sztabowego w armii, Prusy.

W 1940 r. wstarie do zwiazku jaszczurczego. Od 1942 r. był szefem sztábu v okrequ Kielce Narodowych Sił Zbrojnych. W sierpniu 1944 r. zostal dowódca Brycady Świętokrzyskiej NSZ. Pod jego dowództwem Wstycznio 1945 r. jednostka wycofała się na zachód przed nagierajaga armia czerwona. 5. Μαια 1945 r. Brygada Świętokrzyska Wyzwolya Niemiecki oboz koncentracyjny dla kobiet w Holiszowie.

Po wojnie przebywał na przymusowei emigracji w Niemczech i Francji. Od 1956 r. Zamieszkal wraz z rodziną w Stanach Ziednoczonych. Zmari

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2 mpca 1992 r. w Costa Mesa w Kalifornil odznaczony Krzyżem Narodowego Czynu Zbrojneoo.

„Zjednał sobie miłość wszystkich podwładnych za sprawiedliwe podejście do każdego żołnierza. Za mocną postawę w walkach z Niemcami i komunistami. Za odsunięcie ambicji własnych dla dobra kraju. Może dopiero historia oceni to czego dokonał i to, o co walczy!". Kpt. Jerzy Jaxa - Maderski o „Bohunie"

[English translation of the second subtitle:]
Legendary Commander of the Holy Cross Brigade of the NSZ

[English translation of the text of the plaque:]
Born on March 1, 1902 in Vilnius. In 1919, he joined the Polish army - the first regiment of Krechowiecki Uhlans. He took part in the Polish-Bolshevik War.

In 1924, he joined the officer's school of infantry in Warsaw. During the May Coup of 1926, he took part in the fight on the side of the government. He graduated from school in 1927 as a second lieutenant and served in the 76th Infantry Regiment in Grodno. During the Defensive War of 1939, he held the position of staff officer in Poland's Prusy Army.

In 1940, he joined the Lizard Union. Starting in 1942, he was the chief of staff in the Kielce district of the National Armed Forces. In August 1944, he became commander of the Holy Cross

Photographed by Sean P. Flynn, March 6, 2025

2. Płk Antoni Skarbek-Szacki Marker

Brigade of the NSZ. Under his command, in January 1945, the unit withdrew west from the advancing Red Army. On May 5, 1945, the Holy Cross Brigade liberated the German concentration camp for women in Holiszów.

After the war, he was forced to emigrate to Germany and France. In 1956, he settled with his family in the United States. He died on March 2, 1992, in Costa Mesa, California, and was awarded the Cross of National Armed Action.

"He won the love of all his subordinates for his fair approach to each soldier. For his strong attitude in the fights against the Germans and communists. For putting aside his own ambitions for the good of the country. Maybe only history will judge what he has done and what he is fighting for!"
Capt. Jerzy Jaxa-Maderski about "Bohun"

Erected 2016 by National Armed Forces-New Generation Chicago.

Topics. This memorial is listed in these topic lists: Immigration • Military • War, World II. A significant historical year for this entry is 1902.

Location. 41° 44.436′ N, 87° 51.568′ W. Memorial is in Willow Springs, Illinois, in Cook County. It is on Hilton Street south of Archer Avenue (Illinois Route 171), on the right. The marker is to the right of the entrance to Our Lady Mother of the Church Polish Mission. Touch for map.

Our Lady Mother of the Church Polish Mission image. Click for full size.

Photographed by Sean P. Flynn, March 6, 2025

3. Our Lady Mother of the Church Polish Mission

Memorial is at or near this postal address: 116 Hilton Street, Willow Springs IL 60480, United States of America. Touch for directions.

Regionally, this memorial is in Greater Chicago.

It is also in the American Midwest

and on the Great Lakes.

Globally, it is in North America,

the Western Hemisphere,

the Western World,

and the Anglosphere.

Historically, it finds itself in what was once the Viceroyalty of New France,

the territory of the Mississippian Culture,

and the Northwest Territory.

Other nearby markers. At least 8 other markers are within 2 miles of this marker, measured as the crow flies: Ssg. Stanley (Bendorius) Bender (approx. 0.6 miles away); Darius-Girenas American Legion Post 271 (approx. 0.6 miles away); Veterans Memorial (approx. 0.6 miles away); Lithuanian National Cemetery (approx. 0.6 miles away); Dr. Kazys Grinius (approx. 0.7 miles away); Willow Springs Honor Roll (approx. 1.1 miles away); Original Illinois & Michigan Canal (approx. 1.1 miles away); The Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) (approx. 1.1 miles away). Touch for a list and map of all markers in Willow Springs.

More about this memorial. The Płk on this plaque is a Polish abbreviation for Colonel. "Bohun" and "Dąbrowski" were codenames for Szacki that he often used as nicknames during and after the war; internet searches find him often referred to as Antoni Bohun-Dąbrowski or simply Antoni Szacki.

Regarding Płk Antoni Skarbek-Szacki. The NSZ (from the Polish for National Armed Forces) was a right-wing military group in Poland during World War II, and the Holy Cross Brigade — Catholic fighters led by Antoni Szacki, aka "Bohun" or "Dąbrowski"

Close-up of the image of Antoni Skarbek-Szacki on the plaque image. Click for full size.

Photographed by Sean P. Flynn, March 6, 2025

4. Close-up of the image of Antoni Skarbek-Szacki on the plaque

— was one of its best-known units. The NSZ was not aligned with the Polish government-in-exile during the war, and both during and after the war it was particularly anti-communist and anti-Soviet, views that led to accusations that the group collaborated with the Nazis. In 1945, Szacki's brigade broke through the Soviet-German line and ended up with American troops for the liberation of the women's concentration camp at Holýšov in Czechoslovakia. Immediately after the war, Szacki lived in exile in France, but attempts to extradite him failed, in part because of testimony about his participation in the liberation of Holiszów. Szacki moved to the United States in 1955 and died in California in 1992.

Also see . . . Antoni Szacki "Bohun" - commander of the Holy Cross Brigade of the National Armed Forces. A Polish-language article from 2017 looks at the life of Antoni Szacki, the famed commander of Poland's Holy Cross Brigade. "Bohun," as he was called, led a group of resistance troops against both the Soviets and Nazis during World War II.

Translated excerpt: "In his closing speech before a French court, Szacki, accused of collaboration, said: 'My only guilt is that I was born a Pole, I love my country and I fought in World War II for the freedom and independence of my homeland and I am ready, as a Polish officer,
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to fight anyone who finds themselves on Polish soil without the consent of the Polish Nation.'"

(Submitted on March 7, 2025, by Sean P. Flynn of Oak Park, Illinois.)

Credits. This page was last revised on March 7, 2025. It was originally submitted on March 6, 2025, by Sean P. Flynn of Oak Park, Illinois. This page has been viewed 186 times since then and 20 times this year. Photos: 1, 2, 3, 4. submitted on March 6, 2025, by Sean P. Flynn of Oak Park, Illinois.

Editor’s want-list for this marker. A confirmation of the Polish translation • Can you help?