Lukasz Gaszewski

War does not determine who is right. Only who is left.
(Attributed to Bertrand Russell)

Hi Chris,

Ah, that Monsieur René Mittenaere!

I am not sure if he is still alive. A couple of years back I was kind of interested in that guy and his war record. I tormented myself with French, trying to read his "L'héroïque Épopée" and I did a quick research regarding his gongs, he had indeed plenty of.

From what I found, that amiable legionnaire was a real soldier, serving in the Norwegian Campaign in 1940, then in the Middle East, North Africa and Europe. Still, following some other combatants, some time after the war he decided to "tune up" his chest, by accepting practically any medal he could add to his collection.

Regarding his Polish medals, found out that Mr.Mittenaere  had something to do with general Antoni Zdrojewski. That really brave soldier, an officer of the Polish Armed Forces and organizer of Polish Resistance in France also wished to tune up a bit after the war.  Promoted to Brigadier General by the Government in Exile in 1964, in 1975 he accepted the rank of full General and Army Inspector from the self-styled "President" of Poland, Juliusz Sokolnicki and finally in 1979 he was appointed Marshal of Poland (!) by him. I cannot prove this, but my personal opinion is that Mittenaere obtained both the Virtuti Militari and the Gold Cross of Merit with Swords just from Sokolnicki via Zdrojewski. While it was absolutely possible for any Polish or allied soldier to obtain the Virtuti Militari for gallantry in action, it was more than unlikely for a French NCO to receive a Cross of Merit w. Swords in Gold. It was a very prestigious award, comparable to U.S. DSM and conferred practically only to higher commissioned ranks for outstanding merit in organizing and commanding armed  forces during war. As far as I know, even Zdrojewski himself did not receive it. And although Mittaenere's Virtuti and Cross of Merit are dated 1944, I believe they were awarded to him later and backdated. Anyway, on a well-known photo of his from early 1970s he is not yet wearing either of them. Instead, you can spot there the Cross of Valour, and it is one Polish decoration he was most likely to be entitled to. In his official record he says he received it in 1945 and indeed in that year some CV awards were made retroactively for the Norwegian Campaign in which Polish troops also participated. And although Mittenaere's name is not on the roll, the list is most probably incomplete. Interestingly, on another photo, made in 1980s or 1990s, he is wearing not only the Virtuti Militari, but also the officer cross of Polonia Restituta, probably again from Sokolnicki.

What regards the other two Polish awards, the Medal of Polish Resistance in France (a commemorative decoration recognized by Polish authorities) and the Grand Officer of the Cross of Merit of Polish Resistants in France (a purely organizational award), he probably received both through his contact with Zdrojewski and both can be seen on the photos.

Regards,

Lukasz