Hieronim Dekutowski

Hieronim Dekutowski (noms de guerre "Zapora", "Odra", "Rezu", "Stary", "Henryk Zagon") was a Polish boyscout and soldier, who fought in Polish September Campaign, was a member of the elite forces Cichociemni, fought in the Home Army and after World War II, fought the communist regime as one of commanders of Wolnosc i Niezawislosc.

Dekutowski was born September 24, 1918 in Dzików (now a part of Tarnobrzeg). He was the youngest of nine kids of Jan Dekutowski, patriotic member of Polish Socialist Party and follower of Józef Piłsudski. His mother Maria (née Sudacka), did not work and stayed at home, taking care of the kids. The family was very patriotic, Hieronim's older brother died in the Polish-Soviet War in 1920.

Young Dekutowski between 1930 and 1938 attended Middle School and High School of Hetman Jan Tarnowski in Tarnobrzeg. At the same time, he was a member of local branch of Związek Harcerstwa Polskiego, where he was a leader of a group of teenagers, as well as Catholic organization Marian Sodality. After graduation and failing final exams (May 1938), Dekutowski worked for Count Artur Tarnowski, one of the biggest landowners in the 1930s Poland. In May 1939 Dekutowski finally completed his high school education, passing all final exams. He wanted to study at the University of Jan Kazimierz, but German and Soviet invasion on Poland made it impossible.

At the beginning of September 1939, Dekutowski together with a sister evacuated to Lwów. His exact role in the Polish September Campaign has not been established; he volunteered to the Polish Army and fought in the Battle of Lwów (1939). On September 17, 1939, finding out about Soviet aggression on Eastern Poland, he crossed the Hungarian border, together with a group of soldiers. After escaping from an internment camp, across Yugoslavia and Hungary, he got to France, where volunteered to the Polish Army in France (1940) and was assigned to the 2nd Division of Infantry Rifles.

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