In Niagara-on-the-Lake, near the US-Canada border, there was a training camp for General Haller's Army (the so-called 'Blue Army') - Camp Kosciuszko - in the years 1917-1919. Volunteers coming from the Polish communities of Canada and the USA to join the Polish Army in France to fight in Europe for the independence of the country of their ancestors were trained here. In total, more than 22,000 volunteers were trained, who were gradually sent to Europe after training. In the St. Vincent de Paul Cemetery, at the junction of Wellington Street and Byron Street, a cemetery was created where 25 soldiers of the Blue Army were laid to rest out of 41 who died mainly during the Spanish Flu epidemic, but also from other diseases. Also buried here is the Rev. Col. Jan Józef Dekowski, a cavalier of the Order of Virtuti Militari, former chaplain in the Niagara-on-the-Lake camp and later chaplain of the 3rd Regiment of Polish Riflemen of the Polish Army in France, who died on 26.03.1949 in St. Catherines, Ontario.

The cemetery is meticulously maintained. The stone headstones are arranged in three rows, each bearing an eagle and the soldier's name and date of death. Behind the graves, a stylish altar has been erected, sheltered by a roof in the Zakopane style; among the symbols engraved on the altar is the Order of Virtuti Militari. An inscription is engraved on the altar: "TO THE FALLEN FOR THE FREEDOM OF POLAND DURING THE 1ST AND 2ND WORLD WAR / POLONIA OF THE UNITED STATES AND CANADA / FOR THOSE WHO DIED FOR THE FREEDOM OF POLAND DURING WORLD WAR I & II".

In the corner of the cemetery stands a monument in the form of a cross. Years ago, the Order of Virtuti Militari was embedded here, with which Lieutenant General Józef Haller awarded the monument to Polish soldiers on 27.11.1923, but it was stolen. Nowadays, the order is placed on the ribbon on the monument only during the ceremonies that take place every year - Polish people from Canada and the USA meet at the graves to pay tribute to the Polish soldiers.

Photo of the commemoration: Balcer~commonswiki, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons, 2006