A Hero's Welcome, 65 Years Later

Walter Borowski enters town hall for a celebration in his honor. Credit: Carol Robidoux

By CAROL ROBIDOUX

Union Leader Correspondent

DERRY – Walter Borowski buried his face in his hands as town historian Rick Holmes pulled rank on him.

     “You have always denied you are a hero. Today, Mr. Borowski, you are out numbered. This room is filled with friends and family who know otherwise. Sgt. 'Whitey' Borowski, you are outranked,” said Holmes, in the preamble to the big event.

Walter Borowski.

     Borowski, 90, whose heroism during World War II went unheralded for decades, yesterday received a Legion of Honor medal, France's highest military award. It was presented by the French Consul General, Christophe Guilhou, who is based in Boston.

     Upon learning of Borowski's participation in the D-Day invasion of Normandy as one of “Rudders Rangers,” cliff climbers who scaled the impossible cliffs under heavy attack by German forces, Holmes set out to see if he could arrange for Borowski to receive the medal.

     Adele Boufford Baker, NH's honorary French Consul, said yesterday that Borowski's fragile health made the trip overseas impossible. That's when she and Holmes got to work, and solidified arrangements to bring the medal ceremony to Borowski.

     Friends and family were joined by state and local officials, including the Town Council, several members of the legislative delegation, Gov. John Lynch, and staff and administrators from Borowski's alma mater, Pinkerton Academy. It was standing room only, as the atmosphere was festive and full of song, poetry, laughter and applause – and peppered with quips by Borowski made to the various speakers from his front-row seat.

     After Guilhou pinned the medal on Borowski's pinstriped suit, Borowski took the microphone and said, simply, “For my fellow Rangers. We went through hell, but we did it. Thank you.”

     Other touching moments included an impromptu rendition of “Taps” played by one of Borowski's fellow veteran's, Buddy Madden.

     The room fell silent as Madden hit every note of the simple but moving traditional ode to those who fought and died for our country.

     “For you, Walter – and all those who never made it home,” Madden said.

     “Thank you, Buddy,” answered Borowski from across the room, as if no one else were there.

     WWII Veteran Lewis Basquil of Manchester, who read about Borowski's story in the newspaper and came out to shake his hand, stood up from his wheelchair toward the end of the ceremony and shared his own story. He, too, had landed at Normandy on D-Day. And like Borowski, he, too, had lost a brother in combat on foreign soil.
  "I was with you out there, Walter, and I chased you in the morning, swimming into shore. It took two good men to chase those Germans out of there,” Basquil said. “Maybe one day we will go back there together, and take a picture in the cemetery, with our brothers.”

   

Tessa Borowski, 2, (right) will one day appreciate the legacy of her great-grandfather, Walter Borowski. But yesterday, she was content to be playing in Town Administrator Gary Stenhouse's office while Borowski received the French Medal of Honor.

Derry WWII hero finally feted by France

WWII hero Staff Sgt. Walter Borowski, at home in Derry

DERRY – When Walter Borowski receives the French Medal of Honor next week, he will dedicate it to the memory of all of those who did not survive the horrors of World War II. He will accept it humbly, on behalf of his older brother, Jerry, a paratrooper who flew in on D-Day ahead of Borowski and was killed in combat the next day.

     Borowski will receive the ribbon of honor as one of the last surviving Army Rangers who landed by sea on June 6, 1944, wading to shore and scaling the impossible cliffs at Pointe du Hoc in drenching rain under a relentless hail of German machine gun and canon fire.

     Their motto, “Rangers lead the way,” was more like a sworn duty. Only the strongest and bravest of soldiers made it through the rigorous training to become a Ranger; Borowski emerged from the elite pack as a true leader – mind, body and spirit.

      Today, his body is frail. But his mind is sharp and his spirit is stronger than ever.

     “Maybe I'm the last of the surviving Rangers -- I don't know,” said Borowski, who celebrated his 90^th birthday on January 5. “All I know is I was one of the first ones over the cliffs that day. We spent the next six days in hell. After the war – after I lost my brother and saw all the bad things in this world, the camps where thousands upon thousands of human bodies were bulldozed – I had enough. I just wanted to come home.”

     For his service to his country, Borowski earned Bronze and Silver stars, a Good Conduct Medal, European/African/Middle Eastern Service Medal, a Presidential Citation and three Purple Hearts. Next Thursday, the French Consul General will belatedly award him the Medal of Honor, France's most coveted honor.

     He says the medals are nice to look at, but he didn't do what he did for the recognition. He did it because it was part of his journey, something he was meant to do, simply because he could.

     Borowski was born in Derry to Polish               immigrants,  one of a dozen kids and the first in his family to graduate high school. He was the son of a factory worker who farmed for survival; Borowski quickly learned the meaning of hard work and family pride. A kid who came straight from the heart of New Hampshire, stubborn as he was strong, who grew up playing hard, even in the coldest of winters, and never backed down from a challenge – or a fight.

     He enlisted in the service, expecting to join his brother as an Army paratrooper, but instead found his way to the Rangers, where he excelled.

     “I remember saying back then, that if I ever did make it back to Derry, I would get a few acres, build a house, find a wife, have some kids and live the rest of my life here. All my dreams came true,” said Borowski, looking out across his property on a recent sunny winter afternoon, outside to enjoy the warm sun as it filtering down through the trees on his Madden Road lot.

     His kidneys have recently failed him, but he's not one to give up so easily. He shares a home with his son, who takes him to his regular doctor appointments and dialysis three days a week. Although wheelchair bound, Borowski said he continues to farm every year.

     “I crawl out there on my belly, are you kidding? Nothing can stop me,” he said, flexing both his arms in a strong man pose.

     Like most veterans of WWII, Borowski lived out his post-war life without much recognition of his service to his country. Only through documented research by town historian Rick Holmes did Borowski's tour with the Army Rangers come to light.

     He dedicated a chapter to Borowski in his 2007 historic tome, “Nutfield Rambles,” detailing Borowski's life and, in particular, his heroics. And then he put the word out, contacting Adele Baker, Honorary Consul to France for New Hampshire.

     “Rick told me if anyone deserves the Legion of Honor, it's Walter. He asked me to talk to the consulate in Boston, and so we did. Normally, this is done in Paris, but due to Walter's medical condition, they are bringing the ceremony to him,” Baker said.

     Boston's French Consul General, Christophe Guilhou, will do the honors Feb. 4 at 3 p.m. at the Derry Municipal Complex.

     “Talk about being scared back in Normandy, I'm more nervous about this whole award ceremony, but I will be there, come hell or high water,” Borowski said. “It's been a bad year. I've been in excruciating pain with my kidney problem. You know, they gave me last rites. They thought I was all done in October, but I'm still here.”

     As much as he likes to recall his glory days, Borowski likes to share the greatest lesson life has taught him, with whoever will listen.

     “No matter where you go on this planet, people are people and they are just as human as we are. Don't try to change anyone's nationality just because of the way they pray or the way they walk. People are good, all in all, and I feel I could get along with anybody. I don't have an enemy in the world, and why should I? I don't hate anyone because of color or race,” Borowski said.

     “Most of all, just stand up and be proud of who you are in this life. Do the best you can. That's all you can do. God knows what's in your heart.”