Ferdinand

And how about the Bravery Medal with document... for $130.50! http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewI...em=300156200719

Wow, these medals are getting ridiculously expensive (on eBay)... $72.99 for a Stalingrad Medal! http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewI...em=300156198847

WOW. Very good Christophe. I was still stuck at five...

Chief of the 3rd Group Veterinary Department of the Odessa Military District Lieutenant-Colonel of Veterinary Service Znatokov, Michail Ivanovich Chief of the 4th Independant Veterinary Department of the Odessa Military District Lieutenant-Colonel of Veterinary Service ??? 26 August 1946.

Well, to start: 2 is the Medal for the Defense of Odessa. 4 is the Jubilee Medal for 60 years of Armed Forces. 8 is the Medal for Military Merit. 10 is the Medal for 20 years of Red Army.

And the Remembrance Medal for 65 years of Victory near Moscow, issued by the Russian War Veterans Committee:

I found this picture of the Jubilee Badge for the Defense of Moscow, issued by the Moscow War Veterans Committee. Looks quite similar to the Defense of Moscow Medal prototype... And now that we're on the subject of the 65th Anniversary of the Battle, here's a pic of the Remembrance Medal for 65 years of Destruction of the German-Fascist Troops near Moscow, issued by the Communist Party of the Russian Federation (KPRF). Both pictures from zasluga.ru.

I found this site with a few pictures of Nikolai Ivanovich Kuznetsov - one of only four Cavaliers of all three Orders of Glory who also were Hero of the Soviet Union. Kuznetsov is the only one of them still alive. http://fio.novgorod.ru/projects/project2201/index.htm Here's the best picture:

Dmitry Markoz also has a Belgrade group for sale: http://www.russian-medals.net/sdocgr.htm (the Pokusov group) And a pic of the medal + doc: http://www.russian-medals.net/pics/pokusov3.jpg

So, his name is Vasily Petrovich Khromykh; born on 26 Oct 1910, died on 10 May 1979. HSU on 15 Jan 1944. He was a Guards Captain and batallion commander in 239th Guards Rifle Regiment, 76th Guards Rifle Division, 61st Army, Central Front. On 28 sep 1943 his batallion crossed the Dnepr near the town of Mysy, established and defended a bridgehead and ensured the safe crossing of the regiment. His awards match the awards in the order booklet: HSU, Lenin, 2 Red Banner, Suvorov 3rd and Red Star.

Just a little correction: I think OoV's guy's name is Polichenko, with on the award record card accidentally 'Polechenko'. Ed's guy is called Nosulenko.

Post # 50 - #53: 1. Born on 12 Jul 1922 2. Born in Pologi, Zaporozhe Oblast 3. Ukrainian Nationality 4. Considered to be Russian 5. Doesn't speak foreign languages 6. Social situation - ? 7. Basic civil occupation - student 8. Education: a. 12th Kiev Special Artillery School. Finished 10th Class in 1940 in Kiev. b. No special civil education c. No political education d. 2nd Kiev Artillery School in Kiev. Finished ? Course of Special Artillerists. From 1 Sep 1940 to 21 Jul 1941 per Prikaz of the Peoples Commissar of Defense from 21 Jul 1941. In handwriting: Higher Officer Artillery School in Leningrad from Nov 1947 to Sep 1948. Cadre Section of Battery. 9. No scientific works, no literature works. 10. No studying degree or rank. 11. Time in VLKSM a. Member of VLKSM from 1939. Komsomol organisation in 12th Kiev Special Artillery School. Became a signaller / telephone guy when joining as a member of VKPb in 1942. b. / 12. Party membership a. / b. / c. member of VKPb from 1942. In November ? joined Political Section of 173rd Rifle Division. d. Party card I 5013549 delivered to Political Section of 173rd Rifle Division. e, f, g. ? Something about his condition / situation / recovering which all doesn't apply to Kulishenko. 13. Worked at the Railway Station of Pologi, Zaporoshe Oblast. Father was Vasily Ivanovich Kulishenko. He died in April 1940. Mother was Vera Stepanovna Kulishenko. They lived in Sverdlova Street in Kiev. 14. Unreadable for me 15. / Post # 54: 16. Governmental awards. Order for Military Excellence Order of the Red Star, Prikaz of 173rd Rifle Division, 24 Dec 1942 Order of the Red Banner, Prikaz of 61st Army, 14 Oct 1943 Order of the Red Banner, Prikaz of 69th Army, 1 Apr 1945 Order of Aleksandr Nevsky, Prikaz of 69th Army, 26 May ... Medal for the Defense of Stalingrad, Ukaz of 22 Dec 1942 Medal for the Defense of Moscow, Ukaz of 1 May 1944 Medal for the Victory over Germany in the GPW, Ukaz of 9 May 1945 Medal for the Capture of Berlin, Ukaz of 9 Jun 1945 Medal for the Liberation of Warsaw, Ukaz of 9 Jun 1945 Medal for 30 Years of Soviet Army and Fleet, Ukaz of 22 Feb 1948 Post # 55: No thank-you / appreciation medals (don't know how to translate 'Blagodarnostoi' exactly) Post # 56: Great Patriotic War 1941-1945 Western Front 30th Army, 251st Rifle Division, 789th Artillery Regiment, platoon commander, 21 Jul 1941 - 23 Oct 1941 49th Army, 173rd Rifle Division, 979th Artillery Regiment, deputy battery commander, 23 Oct 1941 - 12 Jun 1942 Chief of reconaissance of artillery batallion, 12 Jun 1942 - 25 Aug 1942 Stalingrad Front 24th, 65th, 21st and 64th Army, 173rd Rifle Division, 979th Artillery Regiment, Chief of reconaissance of artillery batallion, 25 Aug 1942 - 16 Oct 1942 Battery commander, 16 Oct 1942 - 2 Feb 1943 Bryansk Front 61st Army, 173rd Rifle Division, 979th Artillery Regiment, battery commander, 2 Feb 1943 - 1 Mar 1943 61st Army, 77th Guards Rifle Division, 156th Guards Artillery Regiment, battery commander, 1 Mar 1943 - 17 Sep 1943 Central Front 61st Army, 77th Guards Rifle Division, 156th Guards Artillery Regiment, battery commander, 17 Sep 1943 - 20 Dec 1943 1st Byelorussian Front 69th Army, 77th Guards Rifle Division, 156th Guards Artillery Regiment, battery commander, 20 Oct 1943 - 15 Dec 1944 ? battery commander, 15 May 1944 - 9 May 1945 Dinner time, more to follow.

I think '134857' is the document number, and the little dash indicates the MMM is unnumbered.

1. Gorb 2. Vasily Ivanovich 3. Ukrainian nationality 4. Male 5. Born in 1910 6. Born in the village of Bratskoye, Aleksandria Raion, Kirovograd Oblast 7. Primary education 8. Not a Party member 9. At the time of the awarding he was a Captain commanding a Motorized Batallion of the 170th Tank Brigade 10. Living in the Kirovograd Oblast, city of Aleksandria, 15 Kalinin Street Awarded an unnumbered Medal for Military Merit per Ukaz of 3 Nov 1944.

He served in the 18th Rifle Regiment (not "rifle corps", incorrect translation!) of the The 3rd Rifle Division (in 1945 commanded by Major-General Pavel Petrovich Demin). It spent the entire war, from november 1939 to september 1945, in the 2nd Army (Lieutenant-General of Tank Troops Makar Fomich Terekhin) of the Far Eastern Front (Army General Maksim Alekseyevich Purkayev). All this time it did nothing, it was only in the Active Army from 9 Aug 1945 to 3 Sep 1945. And Trushkov was NOT a "commander of rifle corps" but a company commander!

If I'm not mistaking this uniform is for a Brigade Commissar (1 rhomb on the collar), the lowest general rank of the commissars.

Very nice! And a great picture of Pokryshkin, the first three times Hero of the Soviet Union...

No, this type of the Order of the Patriotic War was only given to veterans of the Great Patriotic War who still lived in 1985. They got one of these "1985-issues" during the celebrations of 40 years of victory. So it's just a jubilee award, not a combat decoration. Auke

The Russian words on the badge are "For Excellence in Service - Armed Forces and Ministry of Internal Affairs of Russia".

It is an original order with original serial number. It is a type 3 (which isn't being faked (yet)), produced in 1984 or later.

This is the Medal for 80 Years of the VLKSM (better known as Komsomol). It is a so-called 'Umalatova'-decoration, unofficially issued by Umalatova's Party for Peace and Unity. Please have a look here also: - http://gmic.co.uk/index.php?showtopic=8255 - http://gmic.co.uk/index.php?showtopic=20823 Auke

1. Nosov 2. Minody (Never heard that one before) Andreyevich 3. Guards Sergeant 4. Male 5. Born in 1915 6. Born in ??, Bryansk Oblast 7. Not a Party member 8. Primary education 9. Russian nationality 10. From March 1943 to ?? 1945 in the Red Army 11. At the time of the awarding served in the 114th Guards Rifle Regiment, 34th Guards Rifle Division, 65th Army, 2nd Belorussian Front - Commander of something I can't read 12. ? 13. Living somewhere in the Bryansk Oblast Medal for Military Merit # 621730 per Prikaz of the 115th Independent Rifle Brigade of 3 Dec 1943 Medal for Bravery # 426447 per Prikaz of the 115th Independent Rifle Brigade of 11 Jul 1944 Order of Glory # 416960 per Prikaz of the 37th Guards Rifle Division of 13 May 1945 Award Record Card filled in on 31? July 1947. Maybe Rick or someone else can fill in the blanks?

The blue enamel seems to be cyan, is that a photographing-effect?

Yes, it's an Order of the Patriotic War 2nd Class, type 3, variation 2 (no dimple around screwpost base). This one was produced in the Moscow Mint.

Also interesting: he has the 20 and 50 Years of Victory, but not the 30 and 40 Years...