St. Adalbert Cemetery in Niles in Cook County, Illinois — The American Midwest (Great Lakes)
Smolensk Airplane Crash Memorial
Photographed by Sean P. Flynn, March 12, 2025
1. Smolensk Airplane Crash Memorial Marker
[Polish text at the top of the monument:]
"A jeśli komu droga otwarta do nieba to tym, co służą ojczyznie
(Jan Kochanowski, Pieśn o Cnocie)
W holdzie pamięci 96 ofiar, ktσre zginely w katastrofie lotniczej pod Smolenskiem 10 Kwietnia 2010 roku udając się na obchody 70-rocznicy Zbrodni Katynskiej
Sp.
Prezydent RP Lech Kaczyński z zona Maria
Ryszard Kaczorowski - Były Prezydent RP na Uchodzctwie
Wojciech Seweryn - tworca pomnika ofiar Katynia w Chicago
[English translation of the text at top of the monument:]
"And if the road to heaven is open to anyone, it is to those who serve their country"
(Jan Kochanowski, Song of Virtue)
In tribute to the memory of the 96 victims who died in the plane crash near Smolensk on April 10, 2010, on their way to the commemoration of the 70th anniversary of the Katyń Massacre
Sp.
President of the Republic of Poland Lech Kaczyński with his wife Maria
Ryszard Kaczorowski - Former President of the Republic of Poland in Exile
Wojciech Seweryn - creator of the monument to the victims of Katyń in Chicago
[List of names below:]
Sp Joanna Agacka-Indecka Ewa Bakowska Andrzej Blasik Krystyna Bochenek Anna Maria Borowska Bartosz Borowski Tadeusz Buk Miron Chodakowski Czesław Cywinski Leszek Deptula Zbigniew Dębski Grzegorz Dolniak Katarzyna Doraczynska Edward Duchnowski Aleksander Fedorowicz Janina Fetlinska Jarosław Florczak Artur Francuz Franciszek Gagor Grazyna Gęsicka Kazimierz Gilarski Przemysław Gosiewski Bronisław Gostomski Robert Grzywna Mariusz Handzlik Roman Indrzejczyk Pawel Janeczek Dariusz Jankowski Natalia Januszko Izabela Jaruga-Nowacka Jozef Joniec Sebastian Karpiniuk Andrzej Karweta
this page online
Photographed by Sean P. Flynn, March 12, 2025
2. Smolensk Airplane Crash Memorial
The Katyn Massacre Memorial is immediately next to this memorial.
Wieczny odpoczynek racz im dac Panie
In memory of the 96 people who perished in the plane crash near Smolensk on April 10, 2010 en route to a memorial commemorating the 70-year anniversary of the Katyn Massacre
Give them eternal rest, Lord
Erected 2012.
Topics. This historical marker and memorial is listed in these topic lists: Air & Space • Cemeteries & Burial Sites • Disasters • Religion & Religious Structures. A significant historical date for this entry is April 10, 2010.
Location. 42° 0.311′ N, 87° 47.715′ W. Marker is in Niles, Illinois, in Cook County. It is in St. Adalbert Cemetery. It is on Milwaukee Avenue 0.7 miles north of Devon Avenue, on the left when traveling north. The memorial is just south of the front entrance to the cemetery. Touch for map. Marker is at or near this postal address: 6800 North Milwaukee Avenue, Niles IL 60714, United States of America. Touch for directions.
Regionally, this marker and 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 walking distance of this marker: Katyń Massacre Memorial (a few steps from this marker); St. Adalbert Cemetery (about 400 feet away, measured in a direct line); St. Adalbert's Cemetery Veterans Shrine (about 500 feet away); Site of the Former Niles Village Hall (approx. half a mile away); Niles Veterans Memorial Waterfall (approx. half a mile away); Land Acknowledgement (approx. 0.7 miles away); Leaning Tower of Niles (approx. Ύ mile away); The Bells of the Leaning Tower of Niles (approx. Ύ mile away). Touch for a list and map of all markers in Niles.
Regarding Smolensk Airplane Crash Memorial. On April 10, 2010, a Polish military aircraft carrying a contingency of Polish dignitaries including its acting president and its final Cold War-era president-in-exile crashed near Smolensk in western Russia, killing all 96 on board. The plane was en route to a 70th anniversary ceremony for the 1940 Katyń Massacre, in which more than 20,000 Polish military, police and intelligence officers were excecuted by Soviet secret police. The plane, attmepting to land amid thick fog, flew too low, striking trees and eventually crashing. Investigations by both Polish and Russian authorities uncovered no foul play in the crash, and blamed the crew for an unsafe landing.
This memorial, erected in 2011, is immediately next to a 2009 memorial to the Katyń Massacre, which was designed by Wojciech Seweryn, a victim of the crash whose father was a victim of the Katyń Massacre.
Also see . . .
1. NPR: Chicago's Polish Community Reels from Plane Crash. An NPR report on the crash from 2010.
Excerpt: "In the minds of many Poles in Chicago and elsewhere, this latest tragedy reopens the wounds of the 1940 Katyn massacre, which even in Poland was rarely discussed publicly until after the collapse of the Soviet Union. But [Mark] Zoritsky, who calls Chicago almost a second capital city to Poles, says tragedies like this have a way of pulling the Polish community together.(Submitted on March 13, 2025, by Sean P. Flynn of Oak Park, Illinois.)
"Mr. ZORITSKY: So regardless where we are in the world, we feel united with our country, along with our people."
2. Wikipedia: Smolensk air disaster. (Submitted on March 13, 2025, by Sean P. Flynn of Oak Park, Illinois.)
Credits. This page was last revised on March 13, 2025. It was originally submitted on March 13, 2025, by Sean P. Flynn of Oak Park, Illinois. This page has been viewed 233 times since then and 31 times this year. Photos: 1, 2. submitted on March 13, 2025, by Sean P. Flynn of Oak Park, Illinois.
