Lithuanian, Polish presidents honor pilots' cross-Atlantic flight

  • 2008-07-14
  • In cooperation with BNS

VILNIUS- Events begin today to commemoratethe 75-year anniversary since Steponas Darius and Stasys Girenas' flight acrossthe Atlantic Ocean.  

Lithuanian President ValdasAdamkus arrived in Polandon Sunday to participate in the ceremony of commemoration of the anniversarytogether with his Polish counterpart, Lech Kaczynski.

Speaking at the monument constructed in 1936 in the forest of Pszczelnik, the place where thesmall airplane crashed, the two presidents underscored the symbolic importanceof the trans-Atlantic flight of the two Lithuanianpilots.

"We commemorate the anniversary of the tragic death of two men who hadembarked on a mission impossible, demonstrating their courage and determinationto bring fame to their homeland. They achieved their goal," Kaczynski said.

The Polish leader made a brief overview of the interwar events, noting thatin the face of difficult historic events that tested the two nations haveindependent countries that foster mutual cooperation and friendship.

Meanwhile, Adamkus said that the day of the tragic death of the two pilots,July 17, also commemorated the World LithuanianUnity Day.

"They were the first to carry trans-Atlantic air mail from Lithuanian Americans to their lovedones and friends in Lithuania, heralding regularair flights across the Atlantic," Adamkus noted.

Among other persons, the delegation at the events included Darius' grandsonSkirmuntas Mastaras of Kretinga, a town in western Lithuania.

"My heart skips a beat while I'm standing here (at the crash site).Viewing from the positions of these days, the flight indicates enormous love oftheir homeland. Today it seems some kind of venture," Mastaras toldjournalists.

The events to mark the 75-year anniversary since the trans-Atlantic flightof Darius and Girenas are held in Polish towns of Pszczelnik, Mysliborz and Szczecin.

On July 15th of 1933, Steponas Darius and Stasys Girenas departed with theLituanika airplane for New Yorkfrom central Lithuanian city Kaunas,and despite of difficult weather conditions and absence of radio devices,crossed the Atlantic Ocean in the time period of 37hours.

With 650 km remaining to cover before reaching Kaunas,the aviators were both fatally injured as their plane crashed near Pszczelnik(then Germany,currently Poland).Causes behind the crash are not fully clear. According to the official version,the crash was caused by the storm or motor failure. There is another version,however, that the plane was shot down by Germans, who mistook it for an enemyaircraft.