Dr. Col. Dariusz Kossakowski

Medical doctor, initiator and perennial Chair of the Piotr Wysocki Reservist Club of the Warka State Defense League (Klub Żołnierzy Rezerwy Ligi Obrony Kraju Warka), Warka Honorary Citizen, history enthusiast. He was born on March 1, 1928 in Janów Lubelski in the south-east of Poland. He finished elementary school in 1939 in Modliborzyce near Janów Lubelski, and passed his maturation exam in Lublin. In 1947, he started medical studies at the Faculty of Medicine of the Medical University in Warsaw. From 1952, he worked in the City Hospital in Warsaw, and from 1955, he was a board-certified pediatrician. In the years 1955-1956, he headed a Health Center in Modliborzyce. Toward the end of 1959, he left for Warsaw and started a job with the Children’s Clinic at the hospital at Madalińskiego Street and with the EMS.

In 1959, he was delegated to work at the 106^th Military Garrison Hospital in Gliwice (106. Wojskowy Szpital Garnizonowy w Gliwicach), where he took the position of Chief of Pediatrics. In the years 1962-1963, he treated patients in Stalowa Wola in the south of Poland. From September 1963 through 1994, he worked in Warka in a children’s clinic and a substation of the EMS. He continued working there until his retirement in 1994. After he reached retirement age, he was still active in the EMS until 2002 and only stopped working after an automobile accident. It must be said that he derived much satisfaction from being able to professionally help others.

His entire life, Kossakowski was a social activist. He was a scout, supporting the Caritas and Polish Red Cross organizations. He held talks on medical subjects in Warka. He was a town councilor for seven terms, and worked in the Health, Education, and Culture Commission (Komisja Zdrowia, Oświaty i Kultury). From 1973, he headed the Piotr Wysocki Reservist Club of the Warka State Defense League. He remained President for thirty years, and was an Honorary President thereafter.

He received several dozen awards, distinctions, honorary mentions, and diplomas for his life-long service. He became Warka Honorary Citizen in 2003. In 2007, he was awarded a Medal of Merit for rendering great service to the district of Grójec; in 2012, he received a gold medal as the “Protector of Polish Historic Sites” (Opiekun Miejsc Pamięci Narodowej). In 2013, the town celebrated the 40^th anniversary of the Piotr Wysocki Reservist Club of the Warka State Defense League. During the event in the Casimir Pulaski Museum, Kossakowski was promoted to the rank of Colonel in reserve (retired) by the Minister of National Defense.

During his entire course of life, he was dedicated to serving people as their doctor and compatriot. Kossakowski died on June 8, 2015 and was buried at a Warka cemetery. He fell in love with Warka as if it were his hometown. He rejoiced in its successes and worried about its problems. Regionalist, social activist, man of great merit, and a true WARKA LEGEND.