Two days later, Gnyś was shot down over Rouen by flak, was wounded and captured by German forces. Despite his wounds, he escaped from a POW field hospital a few days later, found by the French Maquis and returned to the Allied lines safely. He settled in Canada after the war. Awards Croix de Guerre (France) Distinguished Flying Cross (United Kingdom) Cross of Valour (Poland) 3 times Silver Cross of the Order of Virtuti Militari Commander's Cross with Star of the Order of Polonia Restituta (2 September 1999) Bronze Cross of Merit (18 June 1935) References Bibliography Bartłomiej Belcarz: Grupa Myśliwska Montpellier 1940. Sandomierz: Wydawnictwo Stratus, 2012 Tadeusz Jerzy Krzystek, Anna Krzystek: Polskie Siły Powietrzne w Wielkiej Brytanii w latach 1940-1947 łącznie z Pomocniczą Lotniczą Służbą Kobiet (PLSK-WAAF). Sandomierz: Stratus, 2012, p. 199. Jerzy Pawlak: Absolwenci Szkoły Orląt: 1925-1939. Warszawa: Retro-Art, 2009, p. 200. Jerzy Pawlak: Polskie eskadry w Wojnie Obronnej 1939. Warszawa: Wydawnictwa Komunikacji i Łączności, 1991 Piotr Sikora: Asy polskiego lotnictwa. Warszawa: Oficyna Wydawnicza Alma-Press. 2014, p. 401. Józef Zieliński: Lotnicy polscy w Bitwie o Wielką Brytanię. Warszawa: Oficyna Wydawnicza MH, 2005, pp. 60–61. External links 1910 births 2000 deaths Recipients of the Croix de Guerre 1939–1945 (France) Polish World War II flying aces Recipients of the Distinguished Flying Cross (United Kingdom) Recipients of the Silver Cross of the Virtuti Militari Recipients of the Cross of Valour (Poland) Commanders with Star of the Order of Polonia Restituta Recipients of the Bronze Cross of Merit (Poland) Shot-down aviators World War II prisoners of war held by Germany Polish emigrants to Canada