Ambassador, Consul General Celebrate American Independence Day in Wroclaw

July 2, 2007

Consul General Anne Hall and Ambassador Victor Ashe at Cake Cutting Ceremony (photo gallery)

Ambassador Victor Ashe, Consul General Anne Hall and US Consulate staff were joined by Wroclaw Mayor Rafal Dutkiewicz and 300 guests for the celebration of America’s 231st birthday in the beautiful City Hall Museum in Wroclaw on July 2.  The Governors and Marshals of Lower Silesia and Opole also attended, along with Polish and European Parliamentarians, rectors, artists and local business representatives.  In his speech, Ambassador Ashe noted the long-standing Polish-American friendship that dates back to Tadeusz Kosciuszko’s participation in the American War for Independence.  Consul General Hall spoke about the excellent relationship between the US Consulate and the city of Wroclaw, and Mayor Dutkiewicz quoted from the American Declaration of Independence in his speech.  Jaroslaw Bodakowski, a local singer, sang the Polish national anthem, and special guest Scott Warwick, a firefighter from Ambassador Ashe’s home of Knoxville, Tennessee, sang the American anthem.  The US Army Europe Dixieland band entertained the crowd with American folk and jazz favorites.