slava1stclass

Gents, A single/loose OGI with its associated Full Cavalier booklet recently sold in the former Soyuz for slightly over $9,500.00 - a solid price and that in the former Soyuz. It would be interesting to see what price would have been attained had the associated OGII and OGIII been available/included. As noted throughout this thread, in the very early days following the collapse of the USSR, many Full Cavalier sets were broken up. This was due in part to the misguided notion that the OGI alone (given its gold content) would have greater appeal/realize a greater profit in the West. Regards, slava1stclass

Gents, This thread has come a very long way over the past 12 and one-half years. Having just surpassed 50,000 unique views and with almost 700 replies, it is by far the most popular non-pinned active thread in the entire GMIC Russia forum - thank you. Here's to the next 50,000 views! Regards, slava1stclass

Gents, Should any doubt remain, and as some fellow GMIC members are already aware, this set's legitimacy has also been confirmed on a sister Russian forum. Regards, slava1stclass

The information and images associated with this group were found online. Yes, it is possible. I would think the orders/medals seen in the "on location" image were cleaned under field conditions before the image was taken. The serial numbers for the OGII, OGIII and BM all match those awarded to Vyatkin. We know that Vyatkin's unit fought in Rathenow. Relatedly, Vyatkin's OGI (serial number 1308) was offered for sale on a site in the former Soyuz in early October 2016. The last bid price of which I was aware was $7,300.00. With the rest of his award group's recent discovery, who knows, maybe a group reunion is in the works. One may assume Vyatkin received official duplicates for his OGII, OGIII and BM after the war owing to the originals' loss during combat. The podvig site confirms he was awarded the Medal for the Defense of Moscow. The Medal for the Defense of Moscow seen in Egorka's above post is a replacement. Regards, slava1stclass

Gents, In the war's final days, Vyatkin's unit was engaged in action as part of the Berlin Offensive Operation. His unit fought through Wriezen, Bernau, Glienecke (Glienecke/Nordbahn), Hennigsdorf, Elstal, Brandenburg and Rathenow (where the above orders and medals were discovered). On May 8, 1945, his combat trail ended on the banks of the Elbe River in the vicinity of Tangermünde. Vyatkin was also awarded an ORS on March 20, 1945. Evidently, he had not yet been presented with his ORS and OGI at the time the above awards were lost. Regards, slava1stclass

Gents, Score one for metal detecting. This OGII, OGIII, BM and Defense of Moscow medal group was found within the past six months just outside Rathenow, Germany (Brandenburg state). It was located under a tree in a forest. The group belonged to Full Cavalier Corporal Sergey L. Vyatkin. He was a reconnaissance scout/forward observer assigned to the 432nd Howitzer Artillery Regiment (1st Belorussian Front) when recommended and approved for his OGI on March 24, 1945. Vyatkin survived the war and died in 1986. How his orders and medals came to be located under that tree is unclear. Regards, slava1stclass

Gents, Five days prior to his OGI being approved on June 29, 1945, Senior Sergeant Писклов (Pisklov) marched in the historic June 24, 1945, Victory Parade on Red Square, Moscow. He marched in the 1st Ukrainian Front's formation. As addressed in my book, he numbers among the relatively few Full Cavaliers who marched in the Victory Parade. This fact certainly adds another unique dimension to this set. Regards, slava1stclass

Gents, Price was lowered $505.00 and is currently set at $8,990.00. Regards, slava1stclass

Gents, Interestingly, this set did not sell or was pulled from the auction at some point. Regards, slava1stclass

Gents, This well-worn OGII to a Full Cavalier is currently available for sale in the former Soyuz. You can detect just the faintest traces of gilding on the central medallion. The Full Cavalier was a junior sergeant 45mm anti-tank gun gunner assigned to a rifle regiment. Sadly, this is another example of a Full Cavalier set being broken up with little regard to preserving the complete set of three decorations. This set's OGI was on the market as a stand-alone piece within the past five years. Regards, slava1stclass

Christian, He was a rifleman serving as a private in a rifle regiment/division subordinate to the 69th Army. His final OG was awarded in late April 1945 for action during the Berlin Strategic Offensive Operation. Awarded an OGII and two OGIIIs during the war, his second OGIII was amended to an OGI in 1951 at which time he attained Full Cavalier status. Regards, slava1stclass

Gents, It's that time of year once again - "The New York Sale" auction is scheduled for January 9-11, 2018. This year's auction includes one Full Cavalier set to a Guards Junior Sergeant T-34 tank mechanic-driver. He was erroneously awarded three OGIIIs during the war. On August 19, 1955, two of his three OGIIIs were amended to an OGII and an OGI and he officially attained Full Cavalier status - 10 years after the war ended. He was also awarded a BM during the war. Full Cavalier sets to tank crew members are far and few between. The opening bid is set at $12,500.00. Regards, slava1stclass

Gents, This OGI to a Full Cavalier recently sold in the former Soyuz for $8,500.00. He was a senior sergeant artillery gun crew commander assigned to an artillery regiment in a rifle division. His OGI was awarded for valor in combat in Poland in late winter/early spring 1945. Regards, slava1stclass

Gents, Until happening upon these images, I had not realized the Russian Federation Armed Forces had reintroduced the wound stripe. HRF Senior Praporshchik Grigoriy S. Kirichenko wears the gold wound stripe (severe wound) and HRF Lt Colonel Alexandr L. Sterzhantov wears the red wound stripe (light wound). Each was awarded the Hero of the Russian Federation title (June 21, 1995, and September 25, 1999, respectively) for action against Chechen insurgents in the North Caucasus. Regards, slava1stclass

Gents, Another great photograph from the May 12, 1945, award ceremony - it's the first time I've seen this image. In this picture, GEN Patton presents Lt Gen Zakhvatayev with a U.S Third Army unit flag. This photograph recently sold on the well-known auction site for $49.95. Regards, slava1stclass

Ferdinand, Your above comment is certainly spot on. Huge credit to the Russian Ministry of Defense and other entities for the monumental feat of bringing to light primary source material that otherwise would have been too difficult for most to access. Credit, too, to the web-design team responsible for the database search tools which allow for tailored, precise and rapid queries. I've found very few instances of incorrect data input (resulting in bad search results) as they built/loaded the site e.g., actual NL on podvig is for a BM, however, the podvig web page graphics/info for that award indicate it's for a CSM. My only wish is that the powers to be would finally include all the NLs for the 15 MAY 46 PSS decree - in my case for the Full Cavaliers of the Order of Glory. While HSU NLs associated with the 15 MAY 46 decree are available on podvig (based on the official awarding stamp on these HSU NLs' reverse side), those for the Full Cavaliers approved via the 15 MAY 46 PSS decree are not. I find this odd especially considering the fact other post-1945 PSS decrees e.g., for wound awards, are available. Regards, slava1stclass

Gents, In response to many requests, my book is now also available in paperback: https://www.amazon.com/dp/197349860X?ref_=pe_870760_150889320 Regards, slava1stclass

Gents, Currently available for sale on a dealer's site. This exceptionally pristine OGI was issued close to 25 years after the war ended to replace an erroneously-issued second OGIII to the same soldier. The recipient was a corporal assigned to a rifle regiment with duties as a rifleman and later submachine gunner. He was also awarded the ORS and two BMs during the war. Price: $9,495.00. Regards, slava1stclass

Gents, This image is from a set of 15 photographs currently for sale on the well-known auction site. They depict a reciprocal award ceremony and reception involving the United States Army 80th Infantry Division and an unknown Soviet unit in Liezen, Austria in mid-May 1945. In this image MG Horace L. McBride, Commanding General, 80th Infantry Division, is seen wearing both the Order of Aleksandr Nevskiy and an unknown class of the Order of the Patriotic War on his uniform jacket's right pocket flap. The unidentified Soviet Major General wears the Legion of Merit in the degree of Legionnaire (confirmed via a separate photograph) although it is difficult to discern in this image. Regards, slava1stclass

Gents, These two images are from a set of 15 photographs currently for sale on the well-known auction site. They depict a reciprocal award ceremony and reception involving the United States Army 80th Infantry Division and an unidentified Soviet unit in Liezen, Austria in mid-May 1945. The first image depicts two Soviet officers at the post-award ceremony reception who had been awarded the U.S. Army Bronze Star Medal. The second image is a first for me. The Soviet female lieutenant wears the U.S. Army Combat Infantryman Badge below her Bravery Medal. Clearly this resulted from a soldier-to-soldier token badge swap and was not officially awarded. Regards, slava1stclass

Gents, Another "seven striper." Picture dates to July 5, 1945. Regards, slava1stclass

Gents, Currently available at auction in the former Soyuz. Order of Glory awards to aviation personnel tend to command a premium - even more so in cases of double awards let alone those to Full Cavaliers. Senior Sergeant N. Ya. Pavlenko was an IL-2 Shturmovik aerial gunner. He was awarded the OPWII, OGII and OGIII. He was credited with two confirmed shoot downs - a Fw-190 (cited in his OGIII recommendation) and a Me-109 (cited in his OPWII recommendation). He flew with the 637th Assault (Ground-attack) Aviation Regiment, 227th Assault Aviation Division. The current high bid for this low serial number set is approximately $675.00. Regards, slava1stclass

Gents, An extremely crisp image of the U.S. Army Bronze Star Medal awarded to Guards Captain V. P. Kuzyukov. During the war, Kuzyukov commanded the 101st Guards Independent Reconnaissance Company assigned to the 98th Guards Rifle Division. The division participated in the Vienna and Prague operations and was subordinate to the 3rd Ukrainian Front. Kuzyukov's Bronze Star Medal likely resulted from a reciprocal field award presentation as U.S. and Soviet forces linked up in Czechoslovakia at war's end. Kozyukhov's sole Soviet decoration was the OPWII. At the time this photograph was taken (August 1946), the 98th Guards Rifle Division had converted to/been redesignated the 98th Guards Airborne Division. Regards, slava1stclass

Gents, In the end, it sold in the $2,600.00 to $3,000.00 range. Regards, slava1stclass

Gents, I have come across a reference to two Moroccan decorations that were allegedly awarded to an American Medal of Honor recipient during WWI. He was a sergeant assigned to the 1st Division. The only information I have to work with is the following, "Recognition by the Moroccan Government, two medals, Senior and Junior." Might anyone venture a guess as to which medal(s) might be referred to here? Thank you. Regards, slava1stclass