The Brown Bear corporal is famous in the Polish army

An orphan brown bear named Wojtek became a corporal in the Polish army at World War II and was honored many years after his death.

Corporal brown bear Wojtek in the Polish army

Wojtek's strange military career began in 1942. A local boy found a new Syrian brown bear near Hamadan, Iran. The boy sold it to Lieutenant Anatol Tarnowiecki.

Brown bear Wojtek was brought up by soldiers of the 22nd artillery company of Division II of Poland.(Photo: Imperial War Museum).

Tarnowiecki then gave the bear to Irena (Inka) Bokiewicz, a Polish refugee crossing the Elbruz mountain range. When the bear became too large, the woman sent it to the Polish army.

Wojtek loves to play wrestling with soldiers.(Photo: Imperial War Museum).

The soldiers of the 22nd artillery company, the Polish Division II fed the bear to the condensed milk until it was possible to eat fruit, marmalade, honey, syrup and sometimes enjoy a favorite drink, beer. He also likes smoking, wrestling and saluting. The soldiers gave the bear the name "Wojtek" , meaning "someone who likes to fight" or "cheerful warrior" in ancient Slavic in Poland.

Wojtek quickly enlisted soldiers and people around the area, and was an unofficial lucky symbol of all units stationed nearby. It followed the 22nd artillery company to Iraq, Syria, Palestine and Egypt to fight against the Nazis.

The image of Wojtek carrying shells was used as the official badge of the 22nd company. (Photo: Wikipedia).

In order to bring Wojtek onto the ship when the unit crossed the sea from Egypt to Italy, the bear was formally enlisted in the Polish army with the rank of corporal and named in the list of soldiers of the 22nd artillery company. Polish Division II. Henryk Zacharewicz and Dymitr Szawlugo are appointed caregivers of Wojtek.

The bear lived with soldiers in the tent or in a special wooden box transported by truck. In the battle of a battle, Wojtek contributed by transporting ammunition and never dropped a barrel of ammunition. In recognition of Wojtek's contribution, the commander used the image of a bear carrying artillery shells as the official badge of the 22nd company (later the transport company 22).

After his discharge, Wojtek lived in Edinburgh Zoo, England, until his death in 1963. (Photo: Imperial War Museum).

After his discharge on November 15, 1947, Wojtek was taken to Edinburgh Zoo in England. The old comrades often visited the bear and threw it cigarettes. Wojtek died in December 1963 at the age of 21. When he died, he weighed nearly 230kg and was taller than 1.8m.