They fought for their family. They fought for their freedom. They fought for those who came before them. Most of all, they fought for their beloved homeland - Poland.
When the First World War erupted in Europe in 1914, Polish patriots all over the world eagerly seized the opportunity to actively promote the idea of a free and independent Poland. Since the end of the 18th century, Poland had ceased to exist as an independent nation, being partitioned by Russia, Prussia and Austria. Nevertheless, the idea of a free and independent Poland never died. Throughout the 1800's, Polish patriots rose up but were denied the chance at nationhood.
With the outbreak of World War One and the impending breakup of the old Empires, many ethnic groups across eastern Europe sought independence, including Poles. It was a multi-layered effort, with groups working in France, Austria and the United States. National Democratic politician Roman Dmowski and the world famous pianist Ignacy Paderewski sought the sympathies for the Western Allies for Polish independence. Woodrow Wilson became a supporter and included the cause of Polish independence as Point number 13 in his "14 Points" war aims proclamation.
The Polish National Committee, which achieved recognition by President Wilson on November 10, 1917, was formed to organize regiments of Polish speaking people for active service on the French war front. Soldiers were recruited in the United States and Canada and sent to a training camp at Niagara-on-the-Lake in Canada before being sent abroad. Monies were raised and men were recruited from Polish communities across the upper Midwest and Northeast. There were 48 recruiting centers in the United States.
On October 4, 1918 the Polish National Committee appointed General Jozef Haller Commander-in-Chief of the Polish Army in France.
Stevens Point, with its rich Polish heritage, eagerly embraced the cause of Polish freedom and became the recruiting center for Northern Wisconsin and the Upper Peninsula of Michigan and Minnesota (one of twelve recruiting centers in the United States). Recruiting and fundraising continued for several months.
The committee was headed by Jacob Wojak, Joseph Przewlocki, Rev. S.A. Elbert and Joseph Worzalla. Over $12,000 was raised in Portage County to support this effort and over 300 recruits passed through Stevens Point to be registered and screened for this Army, many of them from Portage County. John Deptalo served as the key recruiter for Stevens Point, recruiting men from Portage County and as far north as the Upper Peninsula of Michigan. St. Peter's parish and Sacred Heart parish played key roles in raising funds and recruiting men. St. Peters' parish members hosted recruits traveling from distant locations prior to their entrainment for camp.
Of course, it was a difficult time, as the recruiting efforts for the Polish Army were seen to compete with the draft boards efforts to secure enlistments. Washington decided that only men who had not completed their citizenship could join the Polish Army. Further it was decided that men could only enlist in the Polish army if they were younger than 21 or older than 31. Despite these complicating factors for the enlistment effort, Poles across the nation responded to the call to fight for Poland's liberty.
John Deptalo, the primary recruiting officer for the Stevens Point center, having initiated his citizenship process, was ultimately called up to join the United States army, but ever loyal to the Polish independence cause, he left for France before he could be drafted and no further record of him has been located.
The men who left North America to serve in the Blue Army did not return after Armistice in November, 1918. In the spring of 1919, a well-equipped army of 70,000 men who had fought as a Polish army during "The Great War", then departed for Poland to continue Poland's struggle for independence and establish the borders of the newly reborn country during the years of 1919-1920. They fought in territorial wars against bordering countries including Russia, Ukraine, Germany, Silesia, and Galicia. When the army was finally demobilized in March, 1920, troops either stayed in Poland or returned to America. Shiploads of these volunteers set sail for America in April, 1920 with the last 285 volunteers arriving in America on February 17, 1921 on the transport vessel "The President Grant."