Soviet Major Pavel Borisovich Sushchenko

[Digger Doug]

Some years ago, my buddy was involved in a mission that sent him to Moldova to retrieve some MiG 29's that had been left in the country after the break up of the Soviet Union. He quickly befriended the commander of the base. As they were leaving, the commander asked if there was anything he would like as a souvenir. My buddy, asked if it was possible to find any old Soviet awards. The commander immediately dispatched his deputy who later returned with a box full of orders and medals. All were relatively "common" at the time. What was interesting was that all of the OPW2's in the box were high numbered "ring backs". After having these for all this time, I decided to research the one with the highest serial number. Here's what came back:

[attachmentid=62201]

Sushchenko

Pavel Borisovich

Major

Male

Born in 1903

Born in the City of Pokrov, Krasnopol Raion, Akhtyrs District, Kharkov Region

Member of the Communist Party since 1924

Education Higher

Ukrainian

In the Soviet Army from 2.1937 to 7.7.1944

At the time of the award, he was an "Agitator" with the Political Department of the 10th Guards Cavalry Division

He died on 7.7.1944

Current address is that of his Brother Ivan Borisovich in Bel'tsy, Moldavian Soviet Socialist Republic, Levanov 15 Apt 1

[Riley1965]

GREAT find!!! Oh, to find a box like that today!!!

Doc

[Digger Doug]

[attachmentid=62202]

Order of the Patriotic War 2nd Class #970540

Document I No. 358584

Awarded by the 1st Belorussian Front by order 222/N on 2.9.1944.

Order and orders booklet given to brother - Sushchenko Ivan Borisovich

Bel'tsy Military Counsel

Lieutenant Colonel

Martynyuk

"1" April 1981

[Gerd Becker]

Very nice! A posthumous OPW 2nd class awarded in 1981, just great!!!

Thanks for sharing

Gerd

[Digger Doug]

[attachmentid=62203]

The underlined text at the top says "It is necessary to fill in all columns completely"

Award List

Sushchenko Pavel Borisovich

Guards Major

Agitator Political Department 10th Guards Red Banner Order of Suvorov, Order of Bogdan Khmelnitsky, Kuban Cossacks Cavalry Division

Recommended for Order of Patriotic War 2nd Class

Born 1903 (he was 41 years old when he died)

He is listed as Russian (award card says Ukrainian)

Has been with the Red Army since 1935 (award card says 1937)

Party membership since 1927

Participant in the battles for Glussk, Kopyl, Slutsk, Baranovichi from 24.6 to 7.7.1944

Was wounded in 1943

Had received no earlier awards

In the address line (8) it states: Lacks relatives and family, has no permanent address

Guards Major Comrade Sushchenko P. B. Agitator in the divisions political department from 24.6 to 7.7 S.G. (does s.g. mean current year?) served the units of the division as a representative of the political department, conducting great party - political education work among the staff encouraging an offensive spirit and increasing the fighting capacity of the units.

Being the political representative of the 40th Cavalry Regiment which at all times was with the division, accepted direct participation in the battles for the capture of Glussk, Kopyl', Slutsk, and Baranovichi, he served as a personal example of heroism and courage in the battlefield himself leading the cossacks and officers in heroic feats.

In the severe battles against superior enemy forces for the capture of Baranovichi on 7.7. S.G. (of this year?) as he served as the assistant commander of the 40th Cavalry Regiment, political comrade Sushchenko was seriously wounded and sent to the hospital.

Guards Major Comrade Sushchenko P.B. deserves the governmental award "Order of the Patriotic War 1st Class".

[Digger Doug]

[attachmentid=62204]

As you can see, the award was subsequently reduced to a second class.

[Digger Doug]

The research also included this additional card:

[attachmentid=62207]

It seems to indicate that he had also been awarded a Combat Service Medal on 29.3.43. The stamp with the number 64 indicates that the award had been presented. I'm not sure if I'm reading it right but it appears that his address at the time was 47th Army.

[Digger Doug]

So this is what we know about an old Soviet order that was given to an American serviceman by the commander of a Muldovan Airforce Base to express a friendship that had seemed pretty unlikely a few years previously. As for Comrade Sushchenko a communist party member and political agitator (my translation software interprets this word as "propagandist"), I wonder what he would have thought about where his award ended up. I also think about all that must have happened for his brother to receive it 37 years later.

On another note, there are another 2-3 of these ring back OPW2's still in the box. I think I'll research them too.

All the best,

Doug

[Gerd Becker]

Amazing story, Doug.

I have a Red Banner to a Guards Captain of the sister-division 9th Guards Cavalry Division. They both fought in the 4th Guards Cavalry Corps during the war and saw quite some action.

http://gmic.co.uk/index.php?showtopic=7126

regards,

Gerd

PS: Do you have the Charles Sharpe "Soviet Order of Battle WW2" series or other soviet OOB?s?

[Chris Boonzaier]

OK, for a guy who knows NOTHING about Soviet awards other than they look nice... what os an OPW2 and what does it look like....

You Soviet guys are going like so.... "Code like" .... that the casual reader gets lost ;-)

[Gerd Becker]

Chris,

this is an Order of the Great Patriotic War 2nd class.

Here are the most common abbreviation:

ORB-Order of the Red Banner

OPW or OGPW-Order of the Great Patriotic War

ORS-Order of the Red Star

MMM-Military Merit Medal (aka "Combat Service Medal")

ORBL-Order of the Red Banner of Labor

OBH-Order of the Badge of Honor

OOR-Order of the October Revolution

OG or OoG-Order of Glory

Hope, this helps...

best,

Gerd

[NavyFCO]

You Soviet guys are going like so.... "Code like" .... that the casual reader gets lost ;-)

We're trying to be like the Imperial German collectors... "This fellow was the recipient of the KVR2x, Ch1BB, XYZr, and the ABC4. Strangely, he was the only officer that wasn't awarded the LMNOP4x, which makes the group exceedingly rare."

[Chris Boonzaier]

We're trying to be like the Imperial German collectors... "This fellow was the recipient of the KVR2x, Ch1BB, XYZr, and the ABC4. Strangely, he was the only officer that wasn't awarded the LMNOP4x, which makes the group exceedingly rare."

I must admit, i often wonder what they are on about.... its all a level to high for me :-( ;-)

[Riley1965]

I must admit, i often wonder what they are on about.... its all a level to high for me :-( ;-)

Chris,

Soviet abbreviations are really as easy, if not easier, to learn as the Imperial abbreviations...Ya just Gotta get your feet wet I'm trying to learn the Imperial abbreviations and it's S L O W going

Doc

[Ed_Haynes]

C'mon, we're not THAT bad, Chris. All we do is adopt a shorthand based on the accepted (even if not always linguistically accurate) English version of the name. We are just lazy typists. Our cousins over in German imperial have adopted an arcane set of formulae intended to confuse and alienate the novice. Not us!

[Guest Rick Research]

"We're trying to be like the Imperial German collectors... 'This fellow was the recipient of the KVR2x, Ch1BB, XYZr, and the ABC4. Strangely, he was the only officer that wasn't awarded the LMNOP4x, which makes the group exceedingly rare.' "

"All we do is adopt a shorthand based on the accepted (even if not always linguistically accurate) English version of the name. We are just lazy typists. Our cousins over in German imperial have adopted an arcane set of formulae intended to confuse and alienate the novice. Not us!"

And happy to be the Common Denominator, me!

I hope Dave will check in regularly so we know he hasn't got palpitations at the thought of an entire BOX full of posthumous OPWs Out There!!!

[Riley1965]

Rick,

I'm on life -support...

Doc

[Ed_Haynes]

And happy to be the Common Denominator, me!

No, Rick. The UNCOMMON denominator, someone with broad interests! Thanks for that!

[NavyFCO]

I hope Dave will check in regularly so we know he hasn't got palpitations at the thought of an entire BOX full of posthumous OPWs Out There!!!

Oh yeah.... I've been in shock for a while.... Not just after I heard of another posthumous OGPW, but now with the revelation that there might be more out there that ended up in a box in Moldova....WOW.

[NavyFCO]

Order and orders booklet given to brother - Sushchenko Ivan Borisovich

Does it also make you wonder what happened to the brother and where the order book might be? Questions that deserve an answer!

Dave

[Digger Doug]

Does it also make you wonder what happened to the brother and where the order book might be? Questions that deserve an answer!

Dave

I agree with you Dave. I've wondered that myself. Assuming that the surviving brother was around the same age as Pavel, if still alive, he would have been pretty elderly by the mid-1990's. I don't know if this came directly from the brother or if it had already been in other hands. I also wonder how the brother ended up living in Muldova. I suspect it might have been one of those purposeful moves of people that happened after the GPW.

Gerd, I do have the Sharp books and the Poirer / Connor book. They are necessary for what we do. It was interesting to read in Poirer / Connor that the 10th Guards Cavalry Division was orignally the Kuban Cossack Cavalry and was made up primarily (75%) of Civil War veterans. By the GPW, this division was mostly comprised of middle-aged men.