When the motorized convoy was on the move, Voytek sat in the passenger seat of one of the jeeps, hanging his head out of the window and shocking people walking on the streets.
When the motorized convoy was on the move, Voytek sat in the passenger seat of one of the jeeps, hanging his head out of the window and shocking people walking on the streets.
The Poles’ Finest Hour of the war came in the battle for Monte Cassino. The campaign was proving to be on of the bloodiest battles of the Western Front, and the Poles were brought in to make the final push to capture the fortress. During the fighting, Voytek actually hand carried boxes of ammunition, some weighing in at over 100 pounds, from supply trucks to artillery positions on the front lines.
His actions were so inspiring to his fellow soldiers that after the battle the official insignia of the 22nd Artillery was changed to a picture of Voytek carrying an armful of howitzer ammunition.
Voytek lived out the rest of his days in the Edinburgh Zoo. He always perked up when he heard the Polish language spoken by zoo guests, and during his life in there he was always being visited by his old friends from the Polish Army – some of whom would throw cigarettes down into his open arms, and some would even jump into the bear enclosure and wrestle with him for old time’s sake.
The bear was a hero of World War II, and there are statues of him and plaques memorializing his brave service in Poland, Edinburgh, the Imperial War Museum in London, and the Canadian War Museum.
Sadly, Wojtek passed away in 1963, at the age of 22
A statue of Wojtek can be now found in the city of Krakow