Stefan Plichta

Born:

24 June 1924, Kraków

Death:

07 October 1944

Number:

30835

Rank:

corporal

Department:

1st (Polish) Independent Parachute Brigade, Transport and Supply Company

Cemetery:

Oosterbeek, Airborne begraafplaats (Arnhem Oosterbeek War Cemetery)

Section/row/number:

Plot XXXIII Row A Grave 11

Earlier grave:

Roomskatholieke begraafplaats, Neerloon

After the British withdrew across the Rhine from Oosterbeek, the Poles were able to leave Driel. They set up camp near Neerloon. On the evening of October 6, the message came that they had to prepare for a move. Finally back to England they must have thought.

That night, British troops in the Neerloon area encounter soldiers who do not speak English. They open fire, killing Bolesław Mania and Plichta. Two days later Jozef Szkwarek dies in hospital, most likely also due to this incident.

The date October 7 is stated on the gravestone and in various sources. The text from the book ‘De Polen van Driel’ (or Poles Apart) by George F. Cholewczynski suggests that the incident took place on the evening of October 6.

The names of Mania and Plichta are missing from the list of the book ‘All men are Brothers’ by Andries Hoekstra, which limits itself to the victims who fell during the battle.