Since Tadeusz Kosciuszko helped Gen. George Washington turn a ragtag bunch of Colonial farmers into the Continental Army, the Polish and American peoples have shared a common bond built on the Polish motto “for our freedom and yours.”

President Reagan steadfastly supported Poland and the other peoples held captive behind the Iron Curtain under Soviet oppression. Of Reagan, former Polish president and Solidarity Movement leader Lech Walesa wrote in 2004: