Pelikan 101N After 72 Years In The Grave.

[rwilsonedn]

A wonderful profile of a restoration and an amazing piece of history. Thank you very much for this!

ron

[Ghost Plane]

Salute! Truly an honorable and loving restoration for a perfect means of remembrance.

[Dexter FOP]

Battle of Wizna is the theme of one of the songs on the "The Art of War" album by the Swedish Metal band Sabaton, entitled "40:1"

 

 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AoQj8GGHNxU&feature=related

[1point1mm]

Truly fascinating. Thank you for sharing!

[Parcival]

[JLS1]

Simply amazing! Thanks for sharing this with us!

[kazoolaw]

I appreciate the meticulous work you did in the pen restoration.

 

I appreciate as well shedding light on a battle little or unknown here in the US.

 

Thank you for you efforts.

 

I gather that the Polish pen site linked in your posts requires registration, though Google translate is not working this morning.

 

I would be interested in information regarding vintage Polish pens. The only brand I've heard of is Kawuska, but I have found only very limited information here in the West.

 

Best wishes,

 

gary

[SimonOW]

Very enjoyable. Thank you for that. It's a shame we so rarely get to see restoration work on pens with a known history.

[OMASmaniac]

All this is amazing!!

 

Amazing story, amazing pen and amazing owner!

 

Greetings from Vilnius (Wilna), in a country that suffered from a not dissimilar history of occupation and invasion.

[danahn17]

Wow... that was really amazing work and an even more amazing story. It must have been an honor to restore that pen!

 

One question though:

 

Seweryn Biegański, who was the last to leave the shelter, describes the moment;

"The captain looked at me warmly and softly urged me to leave. When I was at the exit, I was hit on my back with strong gust and I heard an explosion."

Raginis then decided to end the resistance and committed suicide by throwing himself on a grenade.

Does that mean the pen was also damaged in the explosion? Or was it buried with him later? Either way, still an incredible story. Thanks for sharing!

Edited January 13, 2012 by danahn17

[Federalist Pens]

Wow! An amazing story, and restoration!

 

Congrats!

Frank

[fhhcpen]

I cannot help but to leave words: this is the most stunning pen story I ever heard of. Salute to Captain Raginis and your restoration work.

 

 

[Dexter FOP]

Wow... that was really amazing work and an even more amazing story. It must have been an honor to restore that pen!

 

One question though:

 

Seweryn Biegański, who was the last to leave the shelter, describes the moment;

"The captain looked at me warmly and softly urged me to leave. When I was at the exit, I was hit on my back with strong gust and I heard an explosion."

Raginis then decided to end the resistance and committed suicide by throwing himself on a grenade.

Does that mean the pen was also damaged in the explosion? Or was it buried with him later? Either way, still an incredible story. Thanks for sharing!

 

 

Unfortunately, we do not know how the pen has been damaged. This probably occurred during the transfer of corpses after a battle.

It is certain that it is not damaged by a grenade.

 

German commanders are not allowed to bury dead for several days.

Someone probably tried to unscrew the pen and broke it.

Damaged, put into uniform pocket captain.

[WanderingAuthor]

An amazing pen, an amazing restoration, and an amazing account - but I hope you'll forgive me for saying the pen's owner was more amazing than all the rest put together. I had never heard of Captain Raginis before, or the Battle of Wizna, before, but now that I know about him, I am shocked no one has ever made a movie of his life.

[pmn]

What a great story!

Can´t avoid adding one more salute in respect for the outsatnding work and the events revived.

[aeinstein]

Very well

[aeinstein]

Very well...........

[aeinstein]

Very well...........

[bobk977]

I found an interesting link on Wikipedia about Capt. Raginis: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/W%C5%82adys%C5%82aw_Raginis

You'll probably have to copy it into your browser. Very informative.

[Colourfingers]

Having just read the story of Captain Władysław in this post I feel strangely humbled and ashamed. I hope I'll remember this corageous man the next time I feel ready to moan about losing a job because I've been undercut by a Polish decorator or builder.

Have there been any books written about him because it would make a welcome addition to my little library.