April 3 marks the 100th birthday of General Edward Rowny, a retired Ambassador and U.S. Army General. Rowny was a commanding officer in WWII, Korea and Vietnam, a military advisor to five U.S. Presidents and a chief negotiator in arms reduction talks with the Soviet Union. General Rowny received many awards for valor in combat and, in 1989, was presented with the Citizens Medal from President Reagan for being one of the chief architects for “Peace Through Strength” policy. A graduate of John Hopkins University, West Point Academy, Yale University, and National War College, General Rowny was also one of the very first Kosciuszko Foundation grantees who studied at the Jagiellonian University in Krakow, Poland.
In the early 1990s, Gen. Rowny was an initiator and mastermind behind returning the remains of musician, politician and patriot Ignacy Jan Paderewski to Warsaw, which he considers one of his biggest accomplishments. Read an article by Gen. Rowny on “Why a Polish pianist is a model for today’s youth” here: thehill.com
At 100 years old, Gen. Rowny hasn’t lost his drive to serve. He is the President of the American Polish Advisory Council and has been involved in many philanthropic activities, like running the Paderewski Scholarship Fund, which provides scholarships to Polish students to study at Georgetown and George Mason Universities. General Rowny is this year’s Kosciuszko Foundation Medal of Recognition recipient. The Award will be presented during the KF Annual Ball on April 29 at the Plaza Hotel in New York City. Congratulations!
[Source: press release]