Russia – Soviet: A superb rescuing severely wounded soldiers and officers under fire Order of the Red Star awarded to Private Aleksandr Aleksandrovich Stepanov, a Driver in the Medical Company of the 31st Independent Red Banner Mountain Rifle Brigade, he had previously served as a Partisan being awarded the Medal for a Partisan of the Patriotic War 2nd Class.
Order of the Red Star, type 2, numbered 1325448
Condition: Nearly extremely fine
Aleksandr Aleksandrovich Stepanov was born in the city of Vologda in 1913, joining the Red Army in December 1941 he served initially on the Karelian Front, before moving south and ending serving with the 4th Ukrainian Front.
The first medal that Stepanov was to receive was the Medal for a Partisan of the Patriotic War 2nd Class by Order of the Leningrad Staff on 12th April 1944, followed by a Medal for the Defence of the Soviet Polar Region on 5th December 1944.
This award of the Order of the Red Star was issued to Stepanov by Order of the 31st Independent Rifle Brigade on 14th April 1945 with the following citation:
‘Exposed to danger, risking his life, and saving the lives of severely wounded soldiers and officers, comrade Stepanov is the soldier our motherland needs him to be. Throughout the fighting we were engaged in comrade Stepanov carried severely wounded troops away under all kinds of enemy fire and brought them to the medical units’ location, thus saving the lives of more than a dozen wounded men. More than once comrade Stepanov provided medical attention to wounded soldiers and officers while en route with his vehicle, and despite incessant enemy shelling he continued carrying out its combat mission.’
Comrade Stepanov deserves the Order of the Red Star.
Signed by Commander of the Medical Company, Captain of the Medical Service Berlent.
Stepanov was subsequently awarded both the Medal for Victory over Germany and Medal for Victory over Japan, one of a relatively small number of troops to receive both. After the war he was working as a Driver at the Mechanical Repair Plant of Masloprom whilst living at 16-2 Verkhne-Vologodskoye Avenue, city of Vologda