Rank: Senior Lieutenant _x000D_ Branch of troops: Armored and mechanized troops_x000D_ _x000D_ Vasily Ivanovich Dust was born on August 11, 1920 in the village of Striguny, Borisov district, Kursk region. In 1940 he was called up for military service. He began his service as an anti-aircraft gunner. He met the war in Latvia, near Libava. He fought surrounded on Lake Ilmen, then as part of the troops of the Bryansk Front. In 1943 he received an officer's rank and transferred to the armored forces. _x000D_ He participated in Operation Bagration as part of 2nd Belorussian Front. In 1945 he took part in the storming of Königsberg, in a historic link-up with the Allies on the Elbe. He ended the war with the rank of Senior Lieutenant. _x000D_ During the hostilities, he received four wounds, in the shoulder, in the eye, twice in the leg. He was awarded the military orders of Alexander Nevsky, the First Class of the Patriotic War, medals "For Courage", "For Military Merit", "For Capture of Konigsberg", the Polish medal "Victory and Freedom". During the war with Vasily Ivanovich, there were many remarkable episodes. _x000D_ He had to fight as a sniper, fight off a German with a porridge bowler after getting out of a wrecked tank, fall into the tank under the ice during a crossing, shake off German soldiers trying to capture a stalled tank from the armor. But the most notable episode in the life of Vasily Ivanovich was in January 1945 in Poland. At that moment, Vasily Ivanovich commanded a SU-85 battery or a company of T-34 tanks (the memories of the front-line soldier himself and the data indicated in the award documents differ). _x000D_ At 7 o'clock in the morning, the offensive of the front troops was scheduled, the Commanders of the armored units were ordered to move to their starting positions and disguise the equipment. However, half an hour before the appointed time, German aircraft made a massive raid on the positions of the Soviet troops. The troops suffered losses, communications were disrupted. The vehicles of Senior Lieutenant Dust were not damaged, as they were well camouflaged. _x000D_ By the appointed hour of the offensive, Vasily Ivanovich still did not have communication with the headquarters, but made an independent decision to launch the attack. Seeing that one of the units began to attack, other units followed, and the offensive began. _x000D_ The front Commander, Marshal Rokossovsky, who was at that moment at the observation post of the Regiment, had not yet made a decision on whether to start or postpone the start of the offensive, but saw that after one of the tank subunits, the troops moved forward. The offensive was successful, the enemy was driven back. _x000D_ After thecombat, Marshal Rokossovsky summoned Senior Lieutenant Dust to the front headquarters. When the officer announced his arrival, the marshal replied: “What dust you are! You are hero!". With these words, he personally awarded Vasily Ivanovich the Order of Alexander Nevsky. _x000D_ After the war, Vasily Ivanovich continued his service in the Red Army, served in Germany as a Soviet military adviser, then on the territory of the USSR. He was discharged in 1960 with the rank of Major. After completing military service, he moved to Belgorod. He passed away in 2004.