Badge Certificate, 80th Infantry Regiment—for Cadet Witaliusz Demczuk [1937]

Witaliusz Demczuk was born on March 5, 1916, in the village of Voznesensk to a Polish family. He lived in Rivne, Volhynia, for several years. He graduated from high school in Brest-on-the-Bug, earning a diploma as a railway technician.

He performed active military service at the Sapper Training Center and was then assigned to the Sapper Officer Candidate School in Modlin, which he graduated from in 1937 with the rank of officer candidate.

Mobilized on August 31, 1939, he was assigned to the 80th Infantry Regiment in Slonim. As deputy commander of a technical platoon, he took part in the battles of the “Polesie” Independent Operational Group under the command of Brig. Gen. Franciszek Kleeberg. He took part in the defense of Kock, Serokomla, Adamów, Wojcieszków, and Krzywda, as well as in the famous crossing of the Tyśmienica River.

Following the surrender of the “Polesie” Independent Operational Group on October 7, 1939, he was taken prisoner by the Germans. He was held as a prisoner of war at Stalag II A in Neubrandenburg until April 28, 1945.

He died on January 12, 1984. In addition to his military career, he also rendered exceptional service to the Polish Tourist and Sightseeing Society. He developed and participated in the marking of approximately 400 km of trails in the Kozienice Forest. The red trail running through the forest was named after him.

Dimensions: 15 x 11.5 cm.