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Ignace Paderewski speaking to crowd somewhere in the United States, circa 1917.
Credit: Library of Congress
On April 4, 1917, the day after President Woodrow Wilson asked Congress to declare war on the Central Powers, Polish falcons president Theo Starzynski convinced Ignacy Paderewski to speak at a Falcons' convention in Pittsburgh, PA. There Paderewski called for the formation of a Polish Army to fight in Europe alongside the United States' armed forces.