Independent Poland was a dream of all Polish communities and organizations in the US. Professor Tomasz Siemiradzki (1850-1939), (Professor at St. Mary's College in Orchard Lake, Mich, and president of Nest 31 of Polish Falcons of America in Detroit, Mich 1889-1901) was one of the first persons to suggest in 1900 the employment of Polish American soldiers in a Polish uprising. He proposed to base the future national army on the members of the Polish Falcons of America organization. During World War I this idea became a reality. The Polish American community and the Canadian Army had developed a good working relationship starting in January 1917, when Colonel Le Pan had trained the first group of Polish officer candidates in the Canadian Officer Training School at York University (now University of Toronto). The United States was still neutral and the Polish Falcons dealt directly with the Canadian government. In April 1917, the US declared war against Germany and Maestro Paderewski urged the formation of a Polish Force of 100,000 as part of the Army of the United States. This was unrealistic as the Americans looked upon service in the American Armed Forces as a great opportunity to "Americanize" the various immigrant groups. In June 1917 the president of France signed a decree that created the Polish Army in France, but only 2,000 men were recruited in Europe. A compromise between the French and American governments allowed those Poles who had not yet become American citizens to enlist. Citizens subject to the American draft and those in jobs essential to the war effort were not allowed to join. Recruitment in states with large Polish populations was started in October 2017. By February 1918 there were 48 recruitment centers in the US, (one of them in the building of the Polish Roman Catholic Union of America, now occupied also by the Polish Museum of America). Camp Kosciuszko at Niagara on the Lake in Ontario Canada, commanded by Canadian Colonel Arthur D. Le Pan, played an important role in the creation of the Polish Army. Of the 25,000 who entered the camp, nearly 23 000 volunteers sailed to France. It may seem like a small number considering four million of Polish-speaking US citizens. It is important to note that only men under 21 and over 31 were allowed to volunteer. All others were liable for conscription into the US Armed Forces and about 300 000 Polish Americans volunteered or were conscripted. On December 28, 1917 headlines of Polish papers in the US announced that first Polish troops from America landed in France. These two groups left New York on 16 and 19 December, abroad the troopships Niagara and Touraine. They were greeted with joy in the ports on the west coast of France as were following groups of volunteers, continuing to arrive until early 1919. There are some who refer to the force as "General Haller's Army". While Haller did take command of the force in October of 1918 and took it to Poland in April and May of 1919, the recruitment and support was strictly a Polish American undertaking.
