Not long ago, we wrote about the Silver Star awarded to one of Staten Island’s own, Staff Sgt. Michael Ollis.
Ollis died a year ago in eastern Afghanistan. But this soldier didn’t lose his life; he gave it. When his base came under attack, Ollis ran toward the gunfire and stepped between a Polish officer and a Taliban insurgent who exploded his suicide vest.
But the story doesn’t end there. The Polish officer’s name is Lt. Karol Cierpica. He has become like a son to Ollis’ parents, who recently returned from a trip to Poland to visit with Lt. Cierpica and other Poles who served with Staff Sgt. Ollis in Afghanistan.
Now the Staten Island Advance reports more wondrous news: In January, Cierpica’s wife will give birth to a baby boy whom they will name after Michael Ollis.
It’s a splendid tribute to a US hero, and a reminder that when our troops go into harm’s way, they represent the best of America.
In Staten Island the street his parents live on has already been renamed SSG Michael H. Ollis Way; a local Veterans of Foreign Wars post also bears his name.
These are all fine honors. But somehow we believe that a Polish boy named for an American sergeant may be the most fitting of all.
Because it highlights the difference between our men and women in uniform and the enemies they go up against: The bombers and beheaders offer death; our fight to preserve life.
And a soon-to-be-born Polish baby boy wouldn’t be here if they didn’t.