Gold Star medal
Stepped into immortality: little-known heroes of the Great Patriotic War
During the years of the Great Patriotic War, the highest Soviet award – the Gold Star of the Hero of the Soviet Union – was awarded to 11,657 soldiers and officers of the Red Army, 3,051 posthumously. Feats were performed on land, sea, in the air. Not all heroes are widely known. RIA Novosti recalls some of them.
Tankman
Guard Captain Vladimir Bochkovsky is a true ace in tank combat. During the war years, he destroyed 36 units of enemy armored vehicles. He was on the verge of death more than once, seriously wounded four times, burned five times. Continue reading
Double, Triple and Quadruple Heroes
The concept of “twice, thrice, four times Hero” today seems somewhat strange, probably it would be more correct to talk about awarding several Gold Star medals. But this is a fact of our history, and it cannot be bypassed.
For the first time, three pilots became Heroes twice for the feats of arms shown in battles with the Japanese interventionists on the Khalkhin Gol River in 1939: Major Sergei Ivanovich Gritsevets and Colonel Grigory Panteleevich Kravchenko (Decree of August 29), as well as commander Yakov Vladimirovich Smushkevich (Decree dated 17 November). The fate of all three was tragic. Continue reading
Evstigneev Kirill Alekseevich
After a severe wound in the legs in July 1943. escaped from the hospital and in September 1943. returned to his 240 IAP who fought in the Kremenchug region over the Dnieper crossings. The first time I got to the plane on crutches. In October 1943 shot down 13 enemy planes over the Dnieper crossings Fighter pilot, twice Hero of the Soviet Union (1944, 1945), Major General of Aviation (1966). He served as an instructor at the Biysk aviation school. Member of the Great Patriotic War since March 1943. Continue reading
