A large crowd assembled on Sunday to remember the soldiers who died at Camp Kościuszko in NOTL more than 100 years ago.

Twenty-six soldiers who died of influenza while in training are buried at the Haller Army Cemetery. This year was the site’s 106th pilgrimage in their honour, and the 108th year since the first volunteers arrived at the training camp.

Members of the Polish community, including those in NOTL and beyond, gathered to honour the Polish and Canadian volunteers who left home to train at Camp Kościuszko before heading to Europe to fight for Poland’s independence.

Zig Misiak, an author and historical reenactor whose family fled Poland when he was an infant in 1950, said the connection between Canada and Poland is long-lasting and significant, especially in NOTL.

“This goes back to pre-World War I when Canadian soldiers of Polish ancestry were already joining the Canadian Army,” Misiak said. “(Thousands) trained here and then ended up going over to Europe and fighting alongside the Canadian soldiers.”

He added that after the war’s official end date on Nov. 11, 1918, now known as Remembrance Day, some Canadian soldiers went to Poland to support the country’s restoration after receiving its independence.

“It really just started to become a Poland on its own again,” Misiak said.

This vast history makes the high number of Polish figures who attended the pilgrimage unsurprising.

In a speech to the assembly, Witold Dzielski, ambassador of Poland to Canada, said coming to NOTL and the pilgrimage feels like “coming home.”

“This place is very dear to me personally,” Dzielski said. “This is a place which is well recognized by Canadians, not only the Polish community.”

“Most of the highest-level conversations between Polish and Canadian leaders begin with talking about this place,” he added.

Other members of the community, such as Sophie Poradzisz, also hold a special place for Haller Army Cemetery and the pilgrimage.

She came from Mississauga with two of her friends to commemorate the people who stayed in town.

“Every year, we commemorate this place, because we are so grateful that these soldiers, in 1918, when Poland was still under partition … decided to come here,” Poradzisz said.

Poradzisz also said she attends the pilgrimage every year to honour Elizabeth Ascher, a NOTL-born journalist who cared for the soldiers in training during the 1918 influenza outbreak.

“This is unbelievable because she could have gotten contaminated helping the sick soldiers,” Poradzisz said.

Ascher received several Polish medals. One was the Polonia Restituta, which is the highest honour a foreigner could receive in 1922, according to NOTL Museum archives. Ascher received the medal for her efforts in restoring Poland during and after WWI.

The pilgrimage, which included a Catholic mass and parade to the nearby cenotaph to lay wreaths, was well-attended, speaking to the strength and size of the local Polish community.

“We are patriots. We love everything related to Polish people, Polish freedom,” Poradzisz said. “That’s why we’re here.”