Ivan Vasilievich Bozhko was born in 1914. He lived in the city of Parkommuna (now the city of Perevalsk, Luhansk region) before the war, was married, raised four children: Victor, Galina, Claudia and Nikolai. He worked as a miner. Ivan Vasilyevich was drafted to the Red Army at Southern Front from the first days of the War. Since April 18, 1944, Ivan Vasilyevich fought on the 3rd Baltic Front, which was formed on the Supreme Command Headquarters’directive (April 18, 1944) from the formations of the left (southern wing) Leningrad Front to break through the “Panther” line near the cities of Pskov-Ostrov. Ivan Vasilyevich was appointed as a Commander of the 3rd Baltic Front by Colonel General Ivan Maslennikov. The 3rd Baltic Front began its offensive on July 17, 1944. On the morning of July 21, the troops of the 3rd Baltic Front entered the city of Ostrov from the south, and during the day they occupied more than 150 small settlements in battles. On July 23, they liberated the city of Pskov, later (July 30-31) they conducted offensive battles south-west of Pskov. As a result of this offensive, the Red Army advanced 50-130 km westward. After the liberation of the city of Riga, on October 16, 1944, the Front was disbanded. Front’s field management with front-line units and institutions and the 54th Army were transferred to the reserve of the Supreme Command Headquarters. The rest of the troops were transferred to the Leningrad (67th Army), 1st Baltic (61st Army) and 2nd Baltic (1st Shock Army and 14th Air Army) fronts. Ivan Vasilyevich Bozhko died in battle near the village of Vadrino (now the village of Vadrino, Ostrovsky district, Pskov region) on July 15, 1944, two days before the start of a major offensive of the 3rd Baltic Front. As it was indicated in the funeral he showed much of his heroism and courage. According to the commendation list (July 8, 1944), I.Bozhko repeatedly showed examples of courage and resistance in battles with the German invaders: -On October 12, 1941, as part of a unit covering the detachment of the 714th Regiment of the 395th Rifle Division, he was wounded in the battle near Mariupol, but did not leave the battlefield; -On July 5, 1942, he was wounded again in a defensive battle for the Shterovsk plant (Southern Front). He destroyed an officer and two enemy soldiers in that battle; -On March 21, 1943, he was wounded for the 3d time in the battles for the Okhotnichy settlement (Dnepropetrovsk region). He attacked and captured the enemy's dugout, destroyed enemy’s garrison of 7 people, including one officer. Worked together with a group of soldiers from the 3rd brigade -On March 31, 1944, during a breakthrough of a heavily fortified enemy’s strip on the Mnoga River (the Leningrad region, now the Pskov region) he was one of the first to burst into the enemy trench. Under heavy artillery and rifle fire, showing courage and braveness, he destroyed one German officer and a soldier in hand-to-hand combat. The Red Army soldier Ivan Vasilyevich Bozhko, the deputy commander of the PTR section of the 1st company of the 40th separate machine gun and Artillery battalion, was awarded the medal "For Courage" by order to the troops of the 67th Army of the 3rd Baltic Front (July 13, 1944). The Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR marked his valor and courage during combat missions against German invaders.