Soviet KIA OGPW2 Award - Ivan Stepanovitch Scheblykin

[deptfordboy]

Hi Gents,

I was excited to receive my first piece of research into the Russian medals I own - a few of you might remember giving me advice on this (particular thanks to Dave!).

This OGPW2 was the only medal awarded to Ivan Stepanovitch Scheblykin, SU mechanic-driver, KIA october 1944. What follows are the scans of his records, plus translation kindly provided by my good friend Anton from another forum. In my opinion, he was a bit of a hero and may have deserved more than the solitary OGPW2 - what are your thoughts?

Any comments or further insights into the records gratefully received,

Cheers,

Gilbert

Edited June 14, 2006 by deptfordboy

[deptfordboy]

Medal card, showing single medal...

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citation....

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[deptfordboy]

And here is Anton's first take on the translation - many many thanks to him!

Post mortem

124

Award Sheet

Family name, Surname and last name ? Scheblykin Ivan Stepanovitch.

Rank ? sub-sergeant. 3. ? duties, unit ? mechanic-driver of an S. U. Of the 3rd battery of 62nd separate Self-running Artillery Division of 55th Guards Shooting Division.

Is a candidate to award of Order of Patriotic war 2nd class.

Year of birth ? 1918.

5. ? nationality ? russian.

6. Party membership ? none.

Participation in the Civil war, later war actions connected with defense of USSR /where and when/ - Participating in Patriotic war from march 1943.

Which wounds or contusions had during the patriotic war/ had got a wound at 12th of {april or july} 1943. Killed at 26th of October 1944.

From what time in the Red Army. ? From the March of 1943

Which Regional Military Commission applied. ? Stalin?s City Military Comission of the city of Kazan?.

What awards had got earlier/for what actions/. ? Does not have any.

Constant living address of a candidate and address of his family. ? Voronezhskaya oblast, R_khaevskiy region, Khrenovoe village. Not married. Mother?s name Vera Ilarionovna.

Clear and complete description of personal battle heroic action or valour _____________________________________________________________________

During the battles with german agressors, on the territory of East Prussia, comrade Scheblykin had shown a bravery.

At 26th of October 1944, during the battle for the inhabited location {unknown abbreviation} yard Guli{unknown} supporting the infantry during attack comrade Scheblykin, being a mechanic-driver of the self-propelled gun bravely moved forward behind the enemy lines and point-blank fired the fire points of enemy. By his exact fire comrade Scheblykin destroyed 3 stationery machine-gun units, one anti-tank gun, suppressed the fire of one enemy mine throwing battery and killed up to 15 germans. Self-propelled gun was hit by the direct strike of enemy bomb and comrade Scheblykin tragically died.

Comrade Scheblykin is to be a candidate for a high governmental award POST MORTEM.

Commander of 62nd OSRAD

Guards Captain (signature) Mishin.

Stamp: 62nd Separate AntiTank Division

{?} October 1944.

[NavyFCO]

Very nice!!!

Yet very sobering as well...

It is impressive that the top copy of the temporary certificate came with the research as well. I only have one posthumous OGPW that still has that document with it.

If it ever needs a new home............................

Dave

[Guest Rick Research]

That's RIFLES Division-- the wartime designation for infantry.

I agree, he certainly did more than this suggests. I wonder though whether it was BECAUSE he was killed that this was the only available option for a POSTHUMOUS award?

[NavyFCO]

Rick-

For posthumous awards, there were only two choices IF the command wanted the next of kin to receive the award... the OGPW1 and OGPW2. Other awards COULD technically be awarded....BUT, that was a pointless excercise since the award would never be issued, simply being returned back to the State. I would doubt that this ever happened. I know of posthumous HSU title awardings and one occasion of a posthumous Glory 1st, but I don't know of any other awards that were awarded posthumously - mostly because it would have merely been a paperwork exercise and probably considered to be a waste of time by a combat unit.

Incidentally, for a posthumous HSU awarding, no awards were given, but the next of kin was given the rights and priveleges of being the family of an HSU recipient - so that one was a pretty "good deal"... even if no physical awards ended up in their possession.

Dave

[slava1stclass]

I know of...one occasion of a posthumous Glory 1st...incidentally, for a posthumous HSU awarding, no awards were given, but the next of kin was given the rights and priveleges of being the family of an HSU recipient - so that one was a pretty "good deal"... even if no physical awards ended up in their possession.

Dave

To all:

The number of Full Cavaliers of the Order of Glory whose 1st Class award was made posthumously runs in the double figures. This detail, as well many other unique details connected with Full Cavalier winners, will be furnished in my forthcoming book.

As with posthumous HSUs, the rights and privileges accorded a Full Cavlier were also extended to a posthumous Full Cavalier's NOK. Like the posthumous HSUs, however, the actual Order of Glory 1st Class was not presented to the NOK.

Regards,

slava1stclass

Edited June 15, 2006 by slava1stclass

[Mondvor]

Great citation for posthumous GPW and really cool story behind this order. My congratulations!!! Very nice addition to any collection

[Mondvor]

I found some more information about posthumous GPW awards. Here are some pictures.

Temporary certificate K # 342300 issued to Major Zinenko Vasiliy Vasilievich (Зиненко Василий Васильевич), who was awarded with GPW 2nd class # 821824 by the decree of 31st Army # 0221 from November 28, 1944. Certificate itself was signed on November 23, 1946 by Kiev City Military Commissar Colonel Dubovenko.

[Mondvor]

And this is more interesting paper. This is a notification that was sent on March 25, 1945 to Zinenko Evgeniya Ivanovna (Major Zinenko's wife). It was sent by Kaganovich Regional Military Registration Office (city of Kiev) and signed by Kaganovich Regional Military Commissar Major Moiseev.

Notification says that Major Zinenko got sick and died on February 15, 1945 and later was buried in the cemetery of Korshen village in Eastern Prussia.

Of course it is not a posthumous award, because poor guy died almost two month after the decree. However, he did not actually receive the order before his death. So both award and certificate were sent to his widow.

Note that the date of the decree is the same for Zinenko and Sheblykin and they both died in Eastern Prussia. Of course it is nothing but coincidence...

[NavyFCO]

As with posthumous HSUs, the rights and privileges accorded a Full Cavlier were also extended to a posthumous Full Cavalier's NOK. Like the posthumous HSUs, however, the actual Order of Glory 1st Class was not presented to the NOK.

I know of one group (formerly owned by a friend of mine) that was a full cavalier of the order of Glory group (with all three awards) wherein the Glory 1st had been awarded posthumously. What I do not know is if the Glory 1st had physically been awarded before or after the limit on returning governmental awards to the state upon the recipients death...

That was the "one" Cavalier group that I know of that I was referring to - where the medal itself was actually presented to the family after the recipient was KIA.

Dave

[NavyFCO]

Here are some other documents for posthumous awards...

This one was given with the decoration to the mother of Private Puzan. It states that her son was KIA, and was awarded the OGPW posthumously. Interestingly, it was awarded with document number 210212, which when I bought the award I thought sad that it was missing. It wasn't till later that I realized that this temporary document was actually THAT document! Silly me...

Dave

[NavyFCO]

Here's another that was delivered with the award. This is the temporary document to Colonel Gavril Sharikalov. He was the Commander of Artillery for the 130th Lativan Rifle Corps.

Front:

[NavyFCO]

And the reverse....

[NavyFCO]

Here's the other half of the above document that was in the Archives that came when I researched the award...

Front...

[NavyFCO]

And the reverse. Bit more information on this one.

[Guest Rick Research]

Ahhh, VERY interesting about Dead OPWs and the 8XX,XXX serial number range.

As it happens, one of my first groups, with an Orders Book containing an unstamped photo of a Quartermaster Corps Lieutenant Colonel with 1950s long service ORB... wearing an unlisted Lenin.

contains OPW2 # 821,852, a mere 28 numbers after the posthumous one from 28 November 1944 above...

[attachmentid=43497]

Hmmmmm.

[attachmentid=43498]

"Coincidentally" the ONLY awards to come with the Orders Book WERE that OPW and ORB. Hmmm.

I never tried research on this "pair" for the very real doubts I have always had that these ARE a pair.

Hmmmm. Did an early 1990s con artist just "dress up" the Orders Book by adding an obviously incorrect photo? Or are BOTH the last two awards added on to an existing Book, ruining it?

Have I got a Dead OPW2 from 31st Army, too? Hmmm.

[Mondvor]

Hi Rick,

I beleive that GPW entry in your book is real. The ink in the digits of the number looks pretty old, slightly discolored. Of course some smart fake-makers dilute the ink to make it look older, but this one looks OK. Also the letters in the stamp "отечественной войны..." look very natural. If you own this book for at least 5 years, than this entry might be real. Only recently (one or two years ago) they started to copy original stamps with a high probability level. Of course only research and award record card will give you 100% answer wether or not it is real.

About GPW 821XXX, I think they are not related to 31 Army. Zinenko was awarded by decree of this Army, but award was issued later. I think in November 1946 31 Army was already disbanded. The order was issued by Kiev City Military Regisration Office. So we can assume that your Lt. Colonel Bukarev was served in Kiev Military District in late 1946. GPW was given to him some time after his orderbook was filled.

[deptfordboy]

Thanks for the kind words guys, I am very happy with this as a first result! I have some more researched pieces which I will scan and post up ASAP.

Cheers

Gilbert

[Gerd Becker]

Gilbert, this is just great, you are very very lucky to get something like this in your first research.

My first results were not that exiting:

http://gmic.co.uk/index.php?showtopic=1542

http://gmic.co.uk/index.php?showtopic=1541

Thanks for sharing it with us here.

best,

Gerd

[Guest Rick Research]

Thanks for the Bukharev information. Yes, I got this about 1995-96 and my two main sources have always been Kiev and Leningrad/St Petersburg so that fits. I still don't like the photo, because he's wearing a Lenin that isn't in the awards list. Maybe the "real" Bukharev will turn out to be more intersting than a Quartermaster-- but after my results with MEKH I don't want to spend research money on another "PX" guy! Rick