Earlier today, a plane carrying over 130 Polish dignitaries crashed on its approach to Smolensk airport in Russia. Among the casualties were Lech Kaczyński, President of Poland and Maria Kaczyńska, First Lady of Poland. Also on the flight manifest were a number of members of the Sejm and the heads of Poland’s armed forces.

The Polish delegation was flying in from Warsaw to mark the 70th anniversary of the Katyn massacre of thousands of Poles by Soviet forces during WWII.

Polish Hill residents, in 2010, come from many ethnicities. But our neighborhood has been the home of Polish immigrants and their descendants since the late 1880’s. During this time of tragedy, the Polish Hill Civic Association offers its condolences to the people of Poland for their loss of so many important individuals today. A Wikipedia article has been mounted and will probably be updated as new information becomes available. You can check there for the full flight manifest.