Unveiling the monument in Warsaw's Powązki Military Cemetery on Tuesday, Polish President Andrzej Duda said it was a sign of Poles' "remembrance and gratitude to the people who stand guard over Polish skies."
"They have the courage and fantasy to raise themselves above the world," the president continued, in praise of all Polish pilots who have sacrificed their life in the service of Poland.
"I'm very pleased that in this exceptional year, a year which is the centenary of Poland regaining independence, but is also the centenary of Polish aviation, of 'Polish wings,' we are unveiling this beautiful and eloquent monument," Andrzej Duda commented.
He went on to express gratitude "in the name of the Republic and all Poles" for the service of military pilots. "May God always keep Polish pilots in His care," the president stated.
The monument resembles a child's paper aeroplane taking off from a symbolic runway and honours not only "all the fallen in aerial battles, murdered and lost," but also pays tribute to this year's centenary of Polish aviation.
"Aviation is created by people who are always professional, full of dedication and engagement in the mission entrusted to them," Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki wrote in a letter read out at the ceremony, which also marked Polish Aviation Day.
"The 'Glory to Polish Pilots' monument is a monument that connects," the letter continued. "It was built by people with social strength. It remembers all pilots who were killed fulfilling service in wartime and peacetime, in the country and abroad, before and during the Second World War, and also in the post-war period."
PM Morawiecki noted that the monument remembers military and civilian pilots, aeroclub pilots, aviation constructors and instructors as well as engineers and ground crews.
"I wish to express gratitude to the initiators of this undertaking: the Association of Military Aviation Veterans, the Association of Polish Pilots and the committee for the monument's construction, for the idea of honouring Polish pilots, its fruition and its wonderful effect."
Defence Minister Mariusz Błaszczak, also present at the ceremony, said: "Today the air force of the Republic of Poland defends Polish skies, but also ensures the security of our allies within the framework of NATO."
Referring the twin centenaries of independence and aviation, Błaszczak continued by saying: "Those were exceptional times, in which people realised their dreams, in which people distinguishing themselves through courage and strength of character created from nothing something very great, something very valuable, they rebuilt our motherland."
Polish Aviation Day is celebrated on August 28 in memory of famous Polish pilots Francziszek Żwirko and Stanisław Wigura's victory in the biggest international air race in 1932, in Berlin.
Autor: gf / Źródło: TVN24 International, PAP
Źródło zdjęcia głównego: PAP | Jacek Turczyk