Slovak President Ivan Gašparovič, Defence Minister Martin Glvač and two Slovak WWII veterans – Ondrej Bubniak and Stefan Miklanek – are set to attend the commemorative event marking the the Normandy landings known as D-Day in Ouistreham, France on Friday, Defence Ministry spokesperson Martina Ballekova told TASR on Thursday.
Bubniak, who moved with his parents to France in 1924, cooperated with the French resistance as early as the beginning of the war. "I got the opportunity to fight against armed German troops on June 8, 1944 - while I was trying to be involved since the beginning of 1944, but there was a lack of arms at the time," said Bubniak. Later he joined the French Forces of the Interior. Miklanek left Slovakia in 1939, as he had decided to fight against Germany instead of joining forces with them. Via the Balkans and Lebanon, with other volunteers, he eventually reached France, and joined the Czechoslovak division in battles near Marne and Loire. After the French-German armistice was signed, the brigade left for Britain. Eventually Miklanek took part in the D-Day invasion at Normandy in June 1944. Miklanek was awarded back in 2004 by then-French President Jacques Chirac with the Knight's medal of the French Légion d'honneur. Slovak President Ivan Gašparovič awarded him with a Medal of the Slovak President. Miklanek is also a holder of the National Order of Merit, which he received from former (1981-95) French President Francois Mitterand.
