10 Soviet servicemen who were awarded by the U.S.
U.S. awards were awarded to not only major Soviet military leaders and famous ace pilots, but also to ordinary privates, sergeants and lieutenants, who demonstrated their bravery on the battlefield. Here are ten of them.
1. Semyon Bakhtin
During the ‘Battle of the Dnieper’ in the Fall of 1943, Junior Lieutenant Bakhtin and a group of soldiers captured a bridgehead on the right bank of the river and held it for two days until reinforcements arrived. During that time, the soldiers managed to repel 16 enemy attacks.
The command nominated him for the title of ‘Hero of the Soviet Union’ and the U.S. allies awarded him the ‘Silver Star’. Among other things, it is awarded to individuals who have demonstrated heroism during combat operations against a military enemy of the United States.
2. Nikolai Zhuzhoma
Senior Sergeant Zhuzhoma was also awarded the ‘Silver Star’ for his bravery during the ‘Battle of the Dnieper’. While holding the bridgehead, his platoon destroyed two enemy tanks and three machine gun crews. Later, the unit was the first to break through to the outskirts of the city of Cherkasy and successfully repelled a German counterattack.
3. Ivan Zinenko
Sergeant Zinenko's anti-tank gun crew participated in lifting the siege of Leningrad in January 1944. At one point, the commander was left alone at his gun, but continued to fire and managed to destroy four enemy tanks. Zinenko was awarded the title ‘Hero of the Soviet Union’ and the ‘Silver Star’.
4. Trofim Pukov
Another ‘Hero of the Soviet Union’ and holder of the ‘Silver Star’, Guards Junior Lieutenant Trofim Pukov served as a commander of a sapper squad. During the crossing of the Dnieper, he skillfully organized a ferry crossing across the river. For almost two weeks, the soldiers had to work under heavy enemy fire almost around the clock.
5. Pavel Golovko
In March 1944, during the crossing of the Southern Bug River in Ukraine, a group of soldiers under the command of machine gunner Pavel Golovko secretly crossed to the other bank at night and took a bridgehead. After discovering the Soviet soldiers, the enemy threw tanks and aircraft at them, but they held out until their own troops arrived. Golovko was awarded the title of ‘Hero of the Soviet Union’ and, later, awarded the ‘Silver Star’.
6. Tikhon Kralya
A group of sappers under the command of Guard Senior Sergeant Kralya effectively built pontoon crossings across the Desna, Dnieper and Pripyat rivers while under constant massive enemy fire. On October 16, 1943, he was awarded the title ‘Hero of the Soviet Union’.
In addition, Kralya was awarded the ‘Distinguished Service Cross’, the second-highest military award in the United States.
7. Mikhail Mironov
During the lifting of the siege of Leningrad on January 23, 1944, Senior Lieutenant Mironov led two companies into an attack and drove the enemy from the defensive line near the Gatchina-Vladimirskaya railway embankment. The commander was wounded twice, but did not leave the battlefield. Mironov was awarded the title ‘Hero of the Soviet Union’ and the U.S. ‘Distinguished Service Cross’.
8. Janis Vilhelms
Second Lieutenant Vilhelms was wounded three times in battles near Moscow, commanded a company of a rifle regiment and, as a sniper, killed more than 150 enemy soldiers and officers. For his bravery and heroism in battle, he was awarded the title ‘Hero of the Soviet Union’ in 1942 and, in 1943, he was awarded the ‘Distinguished Service Cross’.
9. Fyodor Trofimov
In March 1944, in less than two weeks, scout Senior Sergeant Trofimov captured 25 "tongues". Later, during the battle for the Moldovan village of Medvezha, he, as part of a group of scouts, killed more than 100 enemy soldiers and officers. The Red Army serviceman was awarded the title ‘Hero of the Soviet Union’ and the ‘Distinguished Service Cross’.
10. Alexey Paradovich
During the ‘Battle of the Dnieper’, Guards Senior Sergeant Paradovich crossed to the opposite bank with a group of soldiers under heavy enemy fire. He was the first to rush to the barbed wire and made a passage through it, through which his fellow soldiers then made their way. Paradovich and his soldiers held the bridgehead until the main forces arrived, repelling nine German attacks.
For his feat, Guards Senior Sergeant Alexey Paradovich was awarded the title ‘Hero of the Soviet Union’ and the ‘Distinguished Service Cross’.
