The faces of WWII Heroes

Rank: Red Army Soldier_x000D_ My great-grandfather, Pyotr Alekseevich Potapov was born on June 19, 1918 in the village Konstantinovskoe. On May 25, 1941, he was called up for military service. The war came when he, together with others, was building an airfield near Kharkov in 553rd Construction Battalion. They had to retreat together with their Battalion. In July 1941, the Battalion was defeated. Pyotr Alekseevich, miraculously survived, joined 535th Sumy Construction Battalion and was building a fortification on the outskirts of Stalingrad. _x000D_ In August 1942 he was transferred to Kamyshin. Here he built bridges for crossing the Volga. In February 1943, he was restoring 51st Red Army Military Plant in Stalingrad. Moving to the west following the advancing troops, he took part in the restoration of the “Hammer and Sickle” plant in Kharkov, and restored the city from the ruins. _x000D_ Until the middle of the summer of 1947, he carried out the hard service of a soldier. As my great-grandfather later recalled, it was especially hard near Stalingrad, when I often had to put aside the tool, take up arms and fight off the furiously advancing enemy. For military and labor exploits, Pyotr received many state awards, including medals "For Defense of Stalingrad", "For Victory over Germany in the Great Patriotic War of 1941-1945", "For the development of virgin and fallow lands". In 1957 he was awarded the Order of the Red Banner of Labor. Pyotr Alekseevich passed away in 1996.

CITY: Kirov Region Kotelnichsky District, village Petukhovy _x000D_ DATE OF BIRTH: 08/20/1919 _x000D_ DATE OF DEATH: 09/26/1987 _x000D_ Rank: Lieutenant _x000D_ Branch of troops: Armored and Mechanized troops_x000D_ Petukhov Pyotr Grigorievich was born in the Kirov Region (then Vyatka province) into a simple peasant family. He began to work early, helping his parents with the housework, graduated from a seven-year school and a worker’s school. He was drafted into the Red Army in the fall of 1939 by the Kotelnichsky District military enlistment office of the Kirov Region. In 1940-1941 he worked his way up from an ordinary Red Army soldier to the Commander of a Chemical department. Graduated from the Kuibyshev Military Infantry School in 1942. _x000D_ He had been a participant of the Great Patriotic War since August 1943. He fought in the 1st Mechanized Krasnograd Red Banner Corps, which was part of the 53rd and 37th Armies of the Steppe, since October 1943 of 2nd Ukrainian Front. He took an active part in the liberation of the Belgorod Region, the cities of Kharkov and Poltava, Kremenchug, the crossing of the Dnieper. _x000D_ In the late autumn of 1943, he was seriously wounded. He underwent treatment in the hospital, however, many years later we learned that from the hospital, my grandfather and his friend escaped without finishing treatment not to stay behind their military unit. Since June 1944, Lieutenant Petukhov, had been a Head of the Chemical service of a Company, then of the 3rd Motorized Rifle Battalion of 37th Mechanized Brigade of 1st Mechanized Corps. _x000D_ He took an active part in the operation "Bagration" for Liberation of Belarus. The cities of Slutsk, Slonim, Brest, hundreds of villages and villages, these are the milestones of the combat path of Peter Grigorievich across the Belarusian land. The corps, in which my grandfather fought, was part of the Mechanized Cavalry Group of General I.A. Pliev, then 28th Army of General A.A.Luchinsky, and since the fall of 1944, he had been part of 2nd Guards Tank Army of S.I. Bogdanov. _x000D_ For the distinction in the liberation of the city of Slutsk, 37th Mechanized Brigade was awarded the honorary title "Slutsk". Further, the corps went for Poland, the battles to cross the Vistula and the assault on the Warsaw suburb of Prague. In January 1945, Pyotr Grigorievich's combat path ran through the Polish capital Warsaw, the cities of Sochaczew, Skierniewice, Lowicz and Bydgoszcz. He took part in the liberation of these cities, for which he was distinguished with the Commendation of the Supreme Commander-in-Chief. In February 1945, Pyotr Grigorievich was awarded the Order of the Red Star for his successful reconnaissance behind enemy lines.

Rank: KGB Captain_x000D_ Branch of troops: the USSR Navy and the Naval Forces of the NKVD border troops. _x000D_ Pavel Fedorovich had served in the army since 1932, he met the beginning of the war in Molotovsk. During the war, he served as an operative of the counterintelligence department of the Northern Fleet "SMERSH" on Novaya Zemlya. _x000D_ During the Great Patriotic War, Molotovsk and Arkhangelsk were among the country's seaports, which received lend-lease cargo from allied countries. To protect them, bases and airfields were built on Novaya Zemlya, Pavel Fedorovich Postoev took an active part in this in the polar winter, for which in 1943 he was awarded the medal "For Courage". When the territory of our country was liberated from the Nazis, the struggle did not end for Pavel, he continued to fight against armed nationalist formations in Western Ukraine (“Banderites”) and in Latvia (“forest brothers”). _x000D_ In addition, Pavel Fedorovich also had medals "For Military Merit", "For Defense of the Soviet Polar Region", "For Victory over Germany in the Great Patriotic War of 1941-1945", the Order of the Red Star and the Red Banner. _x000D_ Pavel Fedorovich lived with his family in the city of Orel in the post-war years, where he passed away in 1986.

Title: Junior Lieutenant _x000D_ Branch of troops: Aviation_x000D_ Pakhomov Artem Evstigneevich was born in 1922 in the Petrushin farm in the Volgograd Region. Since 15 years old he had a dream to become a geologist. This romantic profession attracted him. But destiny had other plans for him. On the day when he was handed a school graduation certificate of maturity with excellent grades, the postman served a summons to the Pakhomovs' house. The summer of 1940 was peaceful. _x000D_ The years of study at the Stalingrad Aviation School were passing by painfully long. The cadets eagerly caught the reports of the Information Bureau on military actions and looked forward to the day of graduation. Everyone was eager to go to the war front. For three years he learned the art of piloting and air combat. And finally, he made farewell to the school, to friends, to pilot-instructors. _x000D_ He flew his first combat mission in 1944. In total, he made 632 flights during the war, flying more than 200 hours in the air. In less than two years, he participated in 78 air battles. He has three shot down German fighters on his account. The first Focke-Wulf -190 was shot down by my grandfather on February 22, 1945. _x000D_ The squadron consisting of Ponomarev, my grandfather Pakhomov, Supkhankulov and Budilin was preparing for the combat mission. The command was given to the pilots: "Readiness # 1". Each of them was in the cockpit of the fighter. Red rocket soared, the signal for takeoff. _x000D_ Artem Yevstigneevich buttoned up his headset and heard on the radio: "A large group of German air-crafts coming to the river crossing. The mission is to prevent them, meet them on enemy territory and frustrate the enemy's plans." _x000D_ The squadron Commander Semyon Ponomarev led the flight. His wing man was Artem Pakhomov. A few minutes later they crossed the front line. Ponomarev shouted: “Дook, I have counted 18 bombers.”_x000D_ Artem peered into the clouds. Flickering crosses, twin-e ngined aircrafts sailed, carrying heavy bombs. “Like striped perches in the depths of the river,” thought grandfather Artem and was surprised at this comparison. An unequal fight had started, led by an ace, Semyon Ponomarev, an experienced military pilot. The actions of four brave pilots violated the targets of the fascist bombers. They were forced to dump the deadly cargo on their territory. _x000D_ During the combat, Artyom Evstigneevich's aircraft was torn off from the others. And at that moment, when grandfather Artem looked around, turned the car on the course to his own, he noticed "Focke-Wulf". He went to it. He went to the frontal and, closing his eyes, pressed the trigger. When he opened his eyes, he noticed: a parachute was floating under the clouds. And below, with strong smoke, two aircrafts were rapidly falling. Already at the airfield, he learned that the aircraft of Sashka Sapkhankulov, a Tatar by nationality, had burned down. _x000D_ Friends silently lowered their heads: he could hardly go down alive, and if he were alive, then he landed on the territory of the enemy. And what was their surprise when on the second day this Sashka entered the barracks, safe and sound. _x000D_ Sashka looked at Artyom with gratitude. “Not only mine, but also the fascist aircraft that you knocked out burned down, Artyom. I could see how you collided. Otherwise, I would not make it.” _x000D_ The second aircraft was shot down by Artem Evstigneevich on the Oder, when he and Alexander Shigaev were defending the river crossing. The fight was short. Grandfather Artyom came in from the tail and hit it from the first turn. But he almost ran into the Messerschmitts himself. The third "Focke-Wulf"190 was shot down by his grandfather over Berlin. _x000D_ Artem Yevstigneevich returned from the front at the age of 23. For participation in the Great Patriotic War, he was awarded the Order of the Red Banner", the Order of the "Patriotic War of 2nd degree", medals: "For Capture of Berlin", "For Liberation of Warsaw", “For Victory over Germany.” He passed away in 1981.

Title: Sergeant _x000D_ Branch of troops: Artillery. _x000D_ Unit: 19th Vienna Artillery Order of Kutuzov Breakthrough Division. _x000D_ My uncle, Vasily Nikitovich Penkov, a participant in the Great Patriotic war, was born in the village of Sukmanovka, Zherdevsky District, Tambov region, on February 25, 1917, in a large peasant family with 9 brothers and one sister. All the brothers fought on the fronts of the Great Patriotic war. Four of them never returned from the war. My uncle was conscripted into the Red Army by the Radchinsky Comissariat of the Voronezh region in 1939. _x000D_ In June 1941, he went to the war front. He was enlisted in the 19th Guards Artillery Regiment, which was part of the Bryansk front, an artillery reserve of the Supreme Command for the quantitative and qualitative strengthening of artillery groups in the direction of the main blow. He was Sergeant, Deputy Political Commissar, a Commander of the Regiment's Department. He took part in the Voronezh-Voroshilovgrad strategic defensive operation as part of the Bryansk front, which was formed in August 1941. _x000D_ The fate of the 1st Bryansk front was generally tragic. The front could not stop the advancing forces of German Wehrmacht and was surrounded. In the end, having suffered a crushing defeat, the partially encircled 1st Bryansk front was liquidated in November 1941. The 2nd Bryansk front was formed a month after in December of the cold and terrible year for the Soviet people in 1941. The front participated in the defense of Moscow, in terrific and hard battles near Voronezh, in the offensive operation on Kharkov. _x000D_ My uncle did not like to think about the deadly battles near Voronezh. We didn't know anything about them. “It was the second Stalingrad,” we sometimes heard him saying. It turns out that the enemy's offensive on Voronezh was a surprise for our command. It was assumed that the enemy would again launch an offensive in the Moscow direction. But it was the other way around. The Germans struck at the junction of two fronts – the Bryansk and Southwestern. The bloody battle for Voronezh began. _x000D_ On July 6, 1942, the Germans captured part of the city, while destroying it from the air. The city did not give up, there were combats for every house and street. Not only the soldiers, but also the generals were killed in the battles. More than 20 thousand soldiers and officers were captured. Among them was my uncle Vasily Nikitovich Penkov. But a miracle happened! _x000D_ A few days later, our troops released a group of captured fighters during the battle, among them was Sergeant Penkov. This happened on July 15, 1942. What happened next, we can only guess. We know for sure that these days of captivity made his life difficult later. He never spoke about his life at the war front. He forbade us even to ask questions on military matters. _x000D_ Addressing our soldiers and commanders who fought for Voronezh, the poet A. Bezymensky wrote: _x000D_ Drown the enemy in the Don, burn it with fire, drive it to the grave! A fighter saving the whole country, You must defend Voronezh! _x000D_ Voronezh was defended in January 1943. My uncle is also responsible for this victory. The battle lasted 212 days and nights. The city was completely destroyed. Here is buried the entire 2nd Hungarian Royal army, 320 thousandth grouping of Romanian, Italian, and German units. The city became a city of Military glory. The memory of its defenders still lives in the hearts of all the people today. _x000D_ My uncle survived that terrible war. He married and lived all his life not in his Homeland in the Tambov region, but in the city of Chelyabinsk. There he passed away in 2008, having lived to his 90th birthday.

"HITLER - KAPUT, STALIN - GUT": _x000D_ HOW A SOVIET SOLDIER CAPTURED SEVEN GERMAN PRISONERS. _x000D_ My grandfather, Ivan Trofimovich Pavlov, was born in 1911 in the village of Sofievka, Ponomarevsky District, Orenburg Region. He worked as a driver at an oil base. At the very beginning of the war, he was mobilized to the front. He also fulfilled his military duty as a driver. He was wounded more than once. The car was wrecked, but he was alive and just injuried, had some treatment in a hospital and returned back to front-lines.So, he reached Berlin, stormed the Reichstag. After the war, he returned home only in 1946, he worked one year in Germany. _x000D_ Upon arrival in his native village, got a job, got married. He had two sons and a daughter. My grandfather told little about the war. He was laconic, and he did not like to remember those hard times. _x000D_ Once he told me this extraordinary incident that happened to him at the front: he rode early in the morning through the forest in a lorry one and a half on an military mission, and usually with a colleague. But the colleague was wounded on the eve of the trip and went to the hospital. The front line was far, and he was confident that the road would be safe. There was silence in the winter forest. The crunch of trees seemed to be heard from the severe frost. Suddenly he noticed a group of 7 people in camouflage coats with automatic weapons emerged from the forest. The Germans ... _x000D_ “Apparently, they lagged behind and made their way out … ” thought my grandfather. His heart sank with fear. A thought flashed: “That's it, the end!” He increased his speed, but the Germans stood in the middle of the road and directed their machine guns in his direction. I stopped the car involuntarily. The chilled Germans came closer and began to raise their hands up. At the same time, their Commander said loudly: "Hitler is kaput, Stalin is gut." My father was slowly coming to his senses. I expected a trick from them, but the Nazis behaved humbly. The Commander said in broken Russian that they were surrendering and gestured to the car and the road. Father realized that he needed to take them to our command. And he had no other way out. The soldiers got into the back, the German officer in the cockpit. They looked exhausted, and then it turned out that they were also hungry. When the father opened the glove compartment of the car, the German saw a loaf of bread and asked him to break it and give it to the soldiers. The road back seemed like an eternity to my father. At any moment, enemy soldiers could shoot at it through the rear window of the car. But it did not happen. He arrived safely at the unit and handed over voluntary prisoners. For a courageous act, the grandfather was presented for an award. There were many awards, it is a pity that we could not keep them. My grandfather passed away on May 7, 1964, a few days before the festivities in the country. He was 53 years old ... _x000D_ My grandmother Maria Zakharovna will soon be 91 years old. During the war, she worked on the the swamps for three years, extracted peat, cut it into pieces and dragged an overweight stretcher. She worked on a par with adults. During that harsh time, all Soviet people brought closer the long-awaited Victory Day as best they could. _x000D_ Low bow to you, front-line soldiers and home front workers for the feat of arms and selfless labor.

Rank: Lieutenant Colonel _x000D_ Branch of troops: Artillery_x000D_ Unit: 108th Infantry Bobruisk Order of Lenin Red Banner Division. _x000D_ Panteley Mikhailovich was born in the village of Chervone, Sitkovetsky District (now Nemirovsky), Vinnytsia Region on August 07, 1926. He was enlisted on 04.24.1944 by the Sitkovets military enlistment office. He took the oath on 05/29/1944. Since August 1944, he had been at 1st Belorussian Front, 84th mortar Battalion, mortar operator of a training company, 09/20/1944 he left for the marching company No. 17872. _x000D_ On September 23, 1944, he was a mortarman of the Motorized Rifle and Machine Gun Battalion of the 108th Tank Brigade. _x000D_ Commander-in-Chief Marshal of the Soviet Union, Comrade I. Stalin, expressed gratitude for participation in the battles against the Nazi invaders: _x000D_ 1. For breaking through the German defense on the western bank of the Vistula. Order of the VG I. Stalin No. 221 of January 16, 1945; _x000D_ 2. For capture of the large industrial center of Poland, the city of Radom. Order of the VG I. Stalin No. 222 of January 16, 1945; _x000D_ 3. For capture of the largest industrial center in Poland, the city of Lodz and the cities of Kutno, Tomaszow (Tomashov), Gostynin and Leczyca, the important communication centers and strongholds of the Germans' defense. Order of the VG I. Stalin No. 223 of 01/19/1945; _x000D_ 4. By the end of January 23, they seized the city of Kalisz by attack, an important communications center and a strong stronghold for the German defense in the Breslav direction. Order of the VG I. Stalin No. 250 dated 01.24.1945; _x000D_ 5. For a successful offensive west and south-west of Poznan, crossing the German border, invading the Brandenburg province, capturing the cities of Landsberg, Meseritz, Schwibus and Züllichau, large communication centers and powerful German defense strongholds covering the approaches to Frankfurt on the Oder ... Order of VG I. Stalin No. 226 of 01/31/1945; _x000D_ 6. For breaking through the heavily fortified German defense east of the city of Stargard, moving forward in four days of offensive battles up to 100 kilometers and reaching the coast of the Baltic Sea near the city of Kohlberg. The capture of the cities of Berwalde, Tempelburg, Falkenburg, Dramburg, Wangerin, Labes, Freienwalde, Schiefelbein, Regenwalde and Kerlin, important communication centers and strong strongholds of the German defense in Pomerania. Order of VG I. Stalin No. 288 of 03/04/1945; _x000D_ 7. For capture of the cities of Stargard, Naugard, Poltsin, important communication centers and powerful strongholds of the German defense in the Stettin direction. Order of VG I. Stalin No. 290 dated 03/05/1945; _x000D_ 8. For capture of the cities of Gollnov, Stepenitz and Mass - important strongholds of the German defense on the outskirts of Stettin. Order of VG I. Stalin No. 295 of 03/05/1945; _x000D_ 9. For capture of the city of Altdam and liquidation of the heavily fortified German foothold on the right bank of the Oder River east of Stettin. Order of the VG I. Stalin No. 304 of 03/20/1945; _x000D_ 10. For an offensive from footholds on the western bank of the Oder, with the support of massive Artillery and air strikes, breaking through the heavily fortified, deeply echeloned German defense that covered Berlin from the east, moving forward from 60 to 100 kilometers. Capturing the cities of Frankfurt an der Oder, Wandlitz, Oranienburg, Birkenwerder, Hennigsdorf, Pankow, Friedrichsfelde, Karlshorst, Köpenick and the entrance to the German capital Berlin. Order of VG I. Stalin No. 339 of 04/23/1945; _x000D_ 11. For the completion of the defeat of the Berlin group of German forces and on May 2, for the complete capture of the capital of Germany, the city of Berlin - the center of German imperialism and a hotbed of German aggression. Order of VG I. Stalin No. 359 of 05/02/1945; _x000D_ Pantelei Mikhailovich continued to serve in the city of Berlin until 1950. He was transferred from the Armed Forces of the USSR to the reserve on 01/28/1977.

Rank: Seargeant_x000D_ Branch of troops: Armored and Mechanized troops_x000D_ Subdivision: 34th Infantry Middle Volga Order of the Red Star Division named after V.M. Kuibyshev. _x000D_ Popovich Grigory Vasilievich (02/14/1922 – 02/08/1981) was born in the east of Ukraine in the Donetsk Region, Zhdanov (now Mariupol). He began his military service in August 1941 as a cadet of the Frunze Military School, after graduating in April 1942 he was sent to the 83rd Infantry Regiment of 34th Infantry Division as the Commander of a mortar squad. _x000D_ On September 5, 1942, near Kursk, he was seriously wounded and only in October 1943 he was able to return to the ranks of the same 83rd Regiment as the Commander of a rifle squad. Then he continued to serve in the 35th Tank Regiment as the Commander of the Chemical protection department (January 1944 - January 1945). On January 2, 1945, on the outskirts of Berlin, he was slightly wounded, aтв had to stay in the hospital for a month. _x000D_ He continued to serve in the 100th Tank Regiment (February 1945), and after defeating Nazi Germany, he was mobilized to the Far Eastern Front to participate in the Soviet-Japanese War. _x000D_ He was ddemobilized on December 22, 1945 with the rank of Guard Senior Seargeant. He was awarded the medal "For Courage". In the award list, his feat is described as follows: “In the breakthrough of the enemy's defenses in the area south of Pilkallen, comrade Popovich, together with his squad, made two passes through the minefields and led the tanks through, ensuring their further successful advance”. _x000D_ He was also awarded the medal "For Victory over Germany in the Great Patriotic War 1941-1945" and the Order of the Patriotic War, 1st Class.

Rank: Red Army _x000D_ Subdivision: 7th Guards Airborne Cherkasy Red Banner Order of Bogdan Khmelnitsky Division _x000D_ When the war began, my grandfather turned 16 years old. But his desire to protect his homeland from the fascist invaders was very strong. When in July 1943 he turned 17, he did not hesitate to come to the military registration and enlistment office to get to the war. Having attributed to himself an extra year, he went to defend the Motherland. _x000D_ He served in 7th Guards Airborne Cherkasy Red Banner Order of Bogdan Khmelnitsky as a scout. A fragment from his memoirs:_x000D_ “It happened in Ukraine, our reconnaissance group came to a village. We were greeted there like the heroes, were fed, bathed and put to sleep. We knew from local residents that there were no fascists in the village, but we had examined vicinities before we went to rest. And suddenly in the middle of the night we heard noise outside. We were betrayed by someone. In front of me my friends were killed, only few had miraculously survived.” _x000D_ My grandfather received the “Medal for Courage”. On March 27, 1943, during the German counterattack in the village of Kolbasnaya, despite the retreat of his right neighbor, he fearlessly fired at the advancing enemy, pinned them to the ground and destroyed several dozen Germans. _x000D_ When my grandfather passed away I was very little and did not have time to learn about his years of service. I know he was wounded and treated in hospital, that one shell fragment had never been taken out of him. _x000D_ My grandfather was very modest, it seems to me even shy, he never complained about anything, knew how to endure pain, worked a lot for his family, tried first for the children, and then for the grandchildren. That was my grandfather, a War Hero, a Hero of my family, a real example for my sons.

DATE OF BIRTH: 01/01/1908 _x000D_ DATE OF DEATH: 07/06/1953 _x000D_ Branch of troops: Ground Forces_x000D_ My grandfather, Putz Konstantin Ivanovich, was born in 1908. He had been in the Red Army since 03August 1941, he was drafted by the Frunze Comissariat in the city of Frunze of the Kirghiz SSR. On January 14, 1942 he was wounded. _x000D_ Since September 1942 he was fighting on the Stalingrad Front, Red Army soldier, scout of the 70th Separate Motorized Rifle Reconnaissance Company of 38th Rifle Division. _x000D_ In February 1943, he was awarded the medal "For Courage" (order No. 15 / n of February 13, 1943). From the order: _x000D_ “Fulfilling the Commander's combat order, the brave scout Puts was the first, unnoticed by the enemy, to get to the dugouts on the railway. In the area of height 149.0, he clarified the location of the enemy and informed the Commander in a timely manner, which made it possible for the company in a short time and with small losses to occupy the enemy's dugouts, where he wanted to gain a foothold. In combat, Comrade Putz showed himself as the best recon … ”. _x000D_ He was awarded the medal “For Defense of Stalingrad”. On May 11, 1943, he was wounded. In October 1943, a Red Army soldier, a rifleman of the 2nd Rifle Company of the 284th Guards Rifle Regiment of the 95th Guards Poltava Rifle Division, was awarded the medal "For Courage" (order No. 017 / n dated 07.10.1943) ... _x000D_ Then there were combats for the city of Poltava, the crossing of the Vorskla River. From the order: “In the battles for the city of Poltava, he was distinguished as an exceptionally brave and decisive defender of the Motherland. Following the order of his Commander, he was always the first to attack, skillfully using the terrain, dragging his comrades forward. During the crossing of the Vorskla River, he crawled on his belly to the river, tracked down 4 sub-machine gunners sitting on the other bank, destroyed them with the fire of his rifle and with a group of fighters swam to the other bank, where he gained a foothold and made it easier for the rest of the soldiers to cross. ”_x000D_ On October 20, 1943 he was wounded. In January 1944, a candidate member of the All-Union Communist Party of Bolsheviks, Guard Senior Sergeant, Commander of the communications department of 1st Rifle Battalion of the 284th Guards Rifle Regiment of the 95th Guards Poltava Rifle Division, was awarded the medal "For Military Merit" (Order No. 01 / n from 01/20/1944). _x000D_ The next was the Kirovograd offensive operation, west of Kirovograd, in the Lelekovka village. From the order: _x000D_ “On January 15, 1944, in the midst of the combat, two telephone operators were wounded. Under continuous artillery and mortar fire of the enemy, the communication line was constantly torn. Comrade Putz, despite the heavy shelling, personally eliminated 12 gusts of the communication line, thereby ensuring uninterrupted communication with the battalion command post with the companies for the entire period of the combat.”_x000D_ In January 1945, a member of the All-Union Communist Party of Bolsheviks, Senior Sergeant, Commander of a branch of the Motorized submachine gun Battalion of the 237th tank Brigade of 5th Army of 1st Ukrainian Front, was awarded the Order of the Red Star (Order No. 04 / n from 01/30/1945). _x000D_ The war roads came to liberation of Poland, battles for Czestochowa and Breslau (Wroclaw), the road from Czestochowa to the station Ostrovy. (On January 23, 1945, 5th Army crossed the Oder River near the town of Olau (Olawa) and reached Breslau (Wroclaw) from the southeast. From the order: _x000D_ “In battles with the German invaders, on 01/19/1945 Senior Sergeant Putz bravely led the squad, fulfilled the assigned mission, saddling the railroad and roads from the city of Czestochowa to the station Ostrovy and held the approaches to the road until the arrival of reinforcements. He repulsed the enemy's attack of up to an infantry company. Being wounded, Comrade Putz did not leave the battlefield , but still commanded a squad and continued to destroy the Germans. In this combat, he killed 2 officers and 3 enemy soldiers …”_x000D_ There he was seriously wounded. While the wounded lay unconscious, he was robbed, all documents and all awards were stolen. He came disabled from the war, he was carried off the train on a stretcher. _x000D_ My grandfather was able to recover some of the stolen awards by a pure chance. His neighbors procured him a ticket to the Crimean sanatorium. While in Simferopol, grandfather told a story to a military man about his injury and theft. This military man turned out to be the Marshal of the USSR Clement Efremovich Voroshilov. With his help, the award documents were restored and presented. Unfortunately, the orders and medals themselves were no longer issued. The treatment extended the life of the grandfather for a very short time; he passed away on July 6, 1953.

DATE OF BIRTH: 03/15/1919 _x000D_ DATE OF DEATH: 11/17/2007 _x000D_ Title: Major _x000D_ Branch of troops: Armored and Mechanized troops_x000D_ Division: 101st Tank Division_x000D_ Pronkin Semyon Petrovich had been in the Red Army since September 1939. He began his military service in peacetime by studying at the Supreme Soviet of the RSFSR Infantry School and continued his studies at the Borisov Tank School. After graduating from a military school, he fought in command positions in tank units. _x000D_ Pronkin S.P. took an active part in hostilities as part of the Western Front from October 1942 to February 1943, as part of the Central Front from April 1943 to July 1943, as part of the Southern Front and the Ukrainian Front from October 1943. As part of the 432 Tank Battalion, he fought to liberate the settlements of Zaporozhye and the Luhansk Region from the enemy. The settlements of Chekhograd, Novo-Aleksandrovka, Darmstadt, Gutertal, Nizhnie Serogozy were liberated. _x000D_ During October 28, 1943, in the area of the lower reaches of the Dnieper, the troops had advanced in some areas from 5 to 20 km and captured the regional center Nizhnie Serogozy, and also occupied more than 30 other settlements, including Zlatopol, Krasovich, Gogolevka, Novo-Aleksandrovka, Verkhniye Serogozy, etc. Captain Pronkin took part in active hostilities of his tank brigade in the liberation of Crimea in 1944. _x000D_ For the feats accomplished on the fronts of the Great Patriotic War, Captain Pronkin Semyon Petrovich received state awards: the Order of the Red Star (07.29.1943), the Order of the Patriotic War 2 degree. (06.11.1943), the Order of the Patriotic War 1 degree (30.04.1944).

Vasily Grigorievich Popov, Lieutenant, Lviv, 1945.

CITY: Yakunino village Kubeno-Ozersky District, Vologda Region _x000D_ DATE OF BIRTH: 08/20/1920 _x000D_ Title: Senior Sergeant _x000D_ Sergei Ivanovich Petukhov was born on August 20, 1920 in the village of Yakunino, Kubeno-Ozersky District, Vologda Region, into a peasant family. He graduated from the Nesvoiskaya 7-year school. He worked as a carpenter in a construction team. He graduated from the courses of tractor drivers. In October 1940 he was drafted into the army. He served in an Artillery Regiment as a driver-mechanic (tractor driver) on a V-2 tractor. _x000D_ He faced a war at 9 am on June 22, 1941 in the town of Yavoriv, Lvov Region, near the border with Poland, and brought 202-millimeter howitzers and shells to the main positions. Then there was a retreat, the defense of Kiev, and again a retreat. _x000D_ In November 1942 the regiment was thrown at Stalingrad. In hard battles he earned a medal "For Courage". In January 1943 he was seriously wounded. He was treated for a long time in a hospital in Kudymkar. He returned to service in June 1943, but already joined to infantry near Leningrad as a Senior Sergeant, Commander of a rifle platoon. After lifting the Siege of Leningrad, he took part in the liberation of Estonia and Latvia, then Poland. For the successful execution of one of the military operations near the city of Gdansk, he was awarded the medal "For Military Merit". In the same place, in one of the battles, he was seriously wounded in both legs and concussed in March 1945. He celebrated Victory Day in the hospital. _x000D_ After the hospital he served as a clerk for a long time, drawing up award documents for soldiers leaving home, since he had a calligraphic handwriting. Like all participants of the Great Patriotic War, he was awarded the Medal “For Victory over Germany in the Great Patriotic War of 1941-1945.” _x000D_ He was demobilized only in September 1946. He arrived in Vologda, became a builder in the Vologdaselstroy trust. Since 1953 he was a foreman (construction master), built many residential buildings and institutions in Vologda and the Krasnaya Zvezda sovkhoz, including Maternity Hospital No. 2 on the Chernyshevsky street and the City Party Committee House on the Lenin street. _x000D_ In 1962 he was awarded the medal "For Defense of Kiev". He passed away in 1968 at the age of 48.

DATE OF BIRTH: 04/12/1925 _x000D_ DATE OF DEATH: 02/20/2012 _x000D_ Branch of troops: Artillery_x000D_ Alexandra Stepanovna was born on April 12, 1925 in the village of Gostishchevo, Belgorod Region. When she was one and a half years old, her father was sent to work in Donbass, in the city of Kramatorsk. She lived there until the beginning of the war. She entered a medical school, where she had been for 2 years. _x000D_ When the war began, the father was immediately taken to the front, the family members of the plant workers were evacuated. During the evacuation, the convoy, which included Sasha and his mother, came under fire near Kharkov. There were many victims, but they managed to survive. Alone, in a strange city, without shelter, without food. They decided to go to the Belgorod Region, where there were relatives. They walked along the railway tracks for a whole month, spent the night wherever, and ate what God would send. _x000D_ In 1941 Belgorod was occupied by the Germans, but there was nowhere else to go. For a year and a half Sasha was a messenger in a partisan detachment. At this time, the Nazis massively sent Russian people to Germany as free labor. They chose young, healthy and hardy girls. Sasha was 17 years old, she just met all the criteria. To stay home, Sasha treated her body with lapis, a substance that causes burns. The body was covered with spots and blisters, everything hurt wildly. But the Germans were afraid that she was sick and left her at home._x000D_ Later, after the war, Alexandra talked with her aunt, who ended up in Germany labor camps. In 1942 she was only 18 years old. They sent her and other girls in a boxcar, standing. They were forced to work in pigsties, where they spent the night, and fed them, too, along with the pigs. And all this continued until the liberation by our troops. Our young beautiful girls were treated like animals! _x000D_ Later after liberation of Belgorod, Alexandra moved to the village of Prokhorovka to dug trenches. Once she was walking with a friend for water. A soldier walked in the distance across the field. A friend told Sasha that the soldier looked like her father, whom Sasha had not seen for 2 years. Sasha did not believe it, but decided to shout: "Daddy!" He responded. They hugged each other and cried. _x000D_ My father served nearby. He began to take care of his daughter. Food then was very hard to find, and the father regularly brought something to Sasha, she shared with her friend. This went on for about two months. The girls knew that he came at about the same time. And one day at that time they heard the sound of a mine exploding in the field, and ran there. Sasha saw her father already on the cart without both legs. The last thing he said to her was: “Sweetie, now I am not able to bring you food.” _x000D_ He was taken to the hospital. It was on this day that the hospital was bombed. Sasha never saw her father. Many doctors and medical workers were also killed. The head of the hospital started looking for people who have at least some medical education. Sasha had 2 years of medical school behind him. So Sasha joined the Red Army. _x000D_ It was July 1943, the village of Prokhorovka was the very village that went down in history with the famous tank battle on the Kursk Bulge. _x000D_ From the stories of Alexandra Stepanovna: A huge field of ripening rye was growing like a golden sea with no shores. And on this field appeared tanks, a huge number of tanks. The nice summer glitter of morning sun rays turned to a sea of fire. There was nothing to breathe. A drunken fascist with a naked torso and a rifle in his hands, shooting right and left indiscriminately. Shouts of "Sister!" were heard from everywhere. And Sasha hurried to these screams, dragged the wounded on herself, provided first aid. She did not have time to be scared, it was hard work and desire to help those in pain and take revenge for the death of the father. _x000D_ Alexandra went through the whole war with a line from a song as a motto: “I want an instant death, and if I am wounded let it be small… ”_x000D_ And truly, there was only a single wound at the end of the war in Austria in 1945, on the border with Germany. Until 1945, Alexandra, as part of the 136th Artillery Brigade, went through Ukraine, Bessarabia, Romania, Yugoslavia, and Austria. _x000D_ In 1944, near Budapest, the Brigade was pressed by the Germans to the banks of the Danube. There was a catastrophic lack of resources, there were many lethalities. It was a matter of honor to save the Brigade banner. They built a raft. The banner was wrapped around Sasha. She did not know how to swim, they put an inflated tire on top as a circle. She was sent to the other side, accompanied by two soldiers. While they were crossing, a German aircraft began bombing. Sasha knew that she could not drown, because she must save the banner by all means. She lay down on the raft, grabbed hold of it with her hands. When exhausted, she went ashore, there was only one soldier with her. The second was wounded and carried away by the current. On the shore, they were met by our tank division, which drove the Germans 10 kilometers away. The banner was saved. _x000D_ Alexandra was about to reach Berlin. But she was wounded on April 16, 1945 on the border of Austria and Germany. She ran to the aid of a wounded soldier. The shell hit him directly. In front of her, it tore apart, and one of the fragments hit her right cheek. Sasha was concussed. Wounded, she was admitted to the hospital. When she began to recover, she was doing some work for the wounded. _x000D_ A colonel with severe burns lay in one of the chambers. 3 weeks before the Victory, a burning German aircraft fell on his car passing over the bridge. Miraculously, he managed to escape. He got out of the car and, covering his eyes with his hands, walked straight through the fire. He survived, but was very badly burned. Especially the hands. They even wanted to amputate them, if not for Sasha. She became very attached to this Colonel. Through a German woman who worked as a nurse, she learned that there was an Austrian professor in the city who specialized in treating burns. Sasha found a captain who spoke German and went with him to persuade the professor to help. He said that he could help, but did not know how to get to the hospital. Then Sasha and the Captain dressed the professor in Soviet uniforms and brought them to the Colonel. The treatment prescribed by him saved his hands, on which he promised to carry his Sasha all his life. _x000D_ He wrote a letter to her mother asking for her hand. Mom blessed them, despite the 15-year age difference. So they lived together all their life. They celebrated Victory Day in 1945 in the hospital. Everyone was crying with happiness. And then for many years they did not like the sound of fireworks. It reminded them a sound of the war.

DATE OF BIRTH: 04/29/1912 _x000D_ DATE OF DEATH: 04/20/1984 _x000D_ Title: Red Army Soldier_x000D_ Branch of troops: Ground Forces_x000D_ Subdivision: 202nd Korsun Rifle Red Banner Orders of Suvorov and Kutuzov Division. _x000D_ Red Army soldier Pichugin Afanasy Ivanovich (born on April 29, 1912, dшув on April 20, 1984), is a native of the Verkhneuralsk Region, Estonian settlement. He had been a member of three wars: Finnish, Mongolian and WWII. He was a very brave man. He was wounded near the Kursk Bulge, was in a hospital in Leningrad. He went through all the wars: the Finnish, Mongolian, World War II, was a signalman-telephone operator of 581 Separate Battalion, 77th communications company, 202 Infantry Division of the Korsun Red Banner Orders of Kutuzov and Suvorov division, pulled wires on the territory of the enemy army, thereby maintaining continuous communication with our command. He finished the WWII near the city of Berlin, 40 km, then was sent by an echelon to the Japanese war, but in October 1945 he was returned home. He was awarded the Order of the Red Star and Medals, a gratitude from Comrade Stalin for excellent military service: for liquidation of the Korsun group of Germans on 10/18/1944; for Capture of the city of Uman and Khristovka on 03/10/1944; for capture of the city of Vapnyarka on March 16, 1944, for capture of the city of Mogilev-Podolsky on 08/20/1944; for reaching the state border with Romania on 09/28/1944; for crossing the Prut River on 04/08/1944; for capture of the city of Roman, Baheo, Byrlad, Khushi on 24.08.44 in Hungary; for capture of the city of Fokshtany and Rymzhitul, Sarat on August 27, 1944; for capture of the city of Cluj on 10/11/1944; for capture of the city of Satu Maare and Kars and liberation of Transylvania; for liberation of the city of Miskolc on 12/03/1944; for the breakthrough of the defense of northern Miskolc and liberation of the cities of Czechoslovakia Rotnava and Netlshava on 01.24.1945; for repelling the German attacks of 11 tank divisions and their defeat, for capture of the city of Vesprom on 03.24.1945; for capture of the city of Zalaegerszeg 03/30/1945; for capture of the city of Kerment 31.04. 1945 of the year. _x000D_ At the end of the war, he worked as a feldsher. He had bred pedigree horses and was awarded a diploma of the Exhibition of Economic Achievements, participating in this exhibition with his followers in Moscow.