The United States Senate yesterday unanimously passed Congressman Kucinich’s resolution, H. J. Res. 26, to grant Brigadier General Casimir Pulaski honorary posthumous citizenship for his service during the American Revolutionary War.

“I thank Senator Durbin for his strong advocacy.  This is a proud moment for Poles across the United States and in Poland and reaffirms the historic and strong ties between our two great nations. This is a powerful reminder of the freedom andcourage of the people of Poland,” said Kucinich.

General Pulaski left his native Poland and fought on the side of the colonists against the British in the American Revolution. George Washington bestowed the rank of Brigadier General on Pulaski, who organized a legion of cavalry known as the Pulaski legion. Pulaski is credited with being the ‘Father of the American Cavalry.’

He famously said, “I came here, where freedom is being defended, to serve it, and to live or die for it.”  After fighting bravely at Brandywine and ejecting the British occupiers from Charleston, Brigadier General Pulaski was mortally wounded in Savannah, Georgia and was taken aboard the American ship USS Wasp, where he died at sea on October 11, 1779.

Congress has previously granted honorary U.S. citizenship posthumously only five times, most recently to the Marquis de Lafayette in 2002.  Lafayette was a Frenchman who, like Pulaski, fought courageously on the side of America during the Revolutionary War.

Kucinich first introduced this legislation in 2005. 

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