Lech Wałęsa stared down the entire Soviet Union as leader of Poland's Solidarity movement. He, probably more than any other single figure helped bring about their collapse, ending the cold war, and bringing about democracy in Poland. For his efforts, he was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 1983. He became their first elected president in 1990.

So, when the state trooper and native of Poland got the call he was beyond thrilled. Trooper Lukasz Lipert came to America as an 18-year-old, with limited English so easily spoke with Welesa in their native Polish. Lipert's family lives in Poland and he's travelling their next month for his honeymoon.

Source: Hartford Courant

A Connecticut state trooper and native of Poland got a chance Wednesday to help one of the most famous Poles of all time with a roadside repair.

Trooper Lukasz Lipert was called on to assist former Polish President Lech Walesa with a flat tire on I-84 in Tolland, state police said. Lipert helped ensure safety at the scene while an auto service worker changed the tire on the SUV in which Walesa was a passenger.

Lipert said he spoke to the Nobel Peace Prize winner in Polish about the history of their homeland and the anti-communist movement in which Walesa was a key figure.
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At first, Lipert said, he thought a fellow trooper was joking when he called for backup at about 11:30 a.m., saying that a former Polish president was in a disabled vehicle.

“What are the odds there’s going to be a former Polish president on the side of 84 in Tolland,” Lipert said.

But he talked with Walesa on the phone as he made his way to the scene, “and sure enough,” Lipert said, “it was him.”

Welesa is in the United States to champion the cause of Ukrainian refugees, with upwards of 3.2 million now in Poland.

And the Facebook post of their meeting.