Waldemar Milewicz
Waldemar Milewicz (August 20, 1956, Dobre Miasto, Poland – May 7, 2004, Latifiya, Iraq) was a Polish journalist and war correspondent.
Life and career[edit]
Milewicz obtained a degree in psychology. In 1981, he began working at the public Polish Television (TVP). In 1991, he transitioned to the news division, where he focused on producing television reports and documentaries. Through his work, he extensively traveled to conflict zones across the globe,[1] including Abkhazia, Bosnia, Cambodia, Chechnya, Ethiopia, Kosovo, Somalia and Rwanda. Notably, his documentary series titled Dziwny jest ten świat ("This is a Strange World") propelled Milewicz to becoming one of the most recognized reporters in Poland.[1] In 2003, he reported on the Iraq War while stationed at a Polish military base. Due to declining health, Milewicz had intended to conclude his career as a war correspondent after the Iraq mission. Tragically, he was killed in a drive-by shooting in Iraq by members of the extremist group Jama'at al-Tawhid wal-Jihad.
Honours[edit]
Milewicz received many awards and prizes for his work, among them the SAIS-Ciba Prize for Excellence in Journalism by Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore in 1995 (for his work in Chechnya), the Polish Grand Press Journalist of the Year Award in 2001, as well as several state awards, including two Order of Polonia Restituta medals (Knight's Cross in 2002 and Officer's Cross posthumously).
The urn with his ashes was rested in the Military Cemetery in Warsaw.
He was a fan of an English synthpop band Depeche Mode. According to his last will, their song I Feel You was played during his memorial service.