My Wall Street Journal story generated some nice emails, including one from a former Marine who served at the U.S. embassy in Warsaw in the late ’60s. I used to feel sorry for the Marines, whom I would greet on my way into the embassy library, as they seemed cut off from the country and its people. The letter writer said that he had fond memories of his time in Poland – he wrote of his certainty, from his experience with Poles, that they would eventually attain independence – and occasionally met to reminisce with fellow Marines from his posting. I was both surprised and delighted by this news.
