Have you all noticed that in almost all movies where there is a military presence there is almost always someone named Kawalski. Yet anyone I know who has been in the military has never met anyone named Kawalski. What's up with that?

TRIVIA: What does Kawalski want on his sandwitch? Whatkind of bread does he want?

TRIVIA: What does Kawalski want on his sandwitch? Whatkind of bread does he want?

The correct answer on both counts... was meat.

Have you all noticed that in almost all movies where there is a military presence there is almost always someone named Kawalski. Yet anyone I know who has been in the military has never met anyone named Kawalski. What's up with that?
Me neither, but I have three theories here;
1)there might be someone that many sci-fi writers & directors want to honor in memory,
2)the writers want a typical (yet safe) E. European, so they use a common Polish name, like so:
http://www.houseofnames.com/xq/asp/sId./kbId.240/qx/knowledgebase.htm
Kowalski is one of the most common surnames in contemporary Poland; its unusual popularity can be explained in linguistic terms: it is a derivative of the word "kowal" meaning "blacksmith" in Polish and, since this used to be a rather common profession, there were many bearers of the name. In addition, variations of the name exist including Kowalski, Kowalsky, Kowelski, Kowelsky, Kowalewski, Kowalowsky, Kowalowski, Kowal, Kowalczyk, Kowalek, Kowalewski, Kowalewsky, Kowalkowski, Kowalkowsky, and many more. It is thus virtually impossible to track the lineage down to one original house.
3) Or they remember “Killer Kowalski”, as kids:
http://canoe.ca/SlamWrestling/kowalski.html
Killer Kowalski
REAL NAME: Wladek Kowalski
6'6", 280 pounds
BORN: Windsor, Ontario
RETIRED: 1977
AKA: Masked Executioners, Masked Destroyer