Russia – Soviet: An Artilleryman’s Summer 1944 Medal for Bravery awarded to Red Army Soldier Afanasy Ilyich Vorobei, 690th Rifle Regiment, 126th ‘Gorlovka’ Red Banner, Order of Suvorov Division for destroying three Germans with his rifle during a German counterattack.
Medal for Bravery, type 2, reverse numbered 1846234
Condition: red enamel missing from lettering on obverse, light scratching from contact wear to reverse, otherwise Very Fine
Afanasy Ilyich Vorobei, a Ukrainian, was born in the village of Malaya Berezanka in Kiev Oblast during 1920, a non-party member he completed 5 grades of secondary school, and later joined the Red Army in September 1940. He would serve in the Red Army from the very first days of the Great Patriotic War seeing service on the Southern, 4th Ukrainian and 1st Baltic Fronts. He would be awarded this Medal for Bravery whilst serving as a Red Army Soldier and Artilleryman, 690th Rifle Regiment, 126th ‘Gorlovka’ Red Banner, Order of Suvorov Division as a result of the following recommendation:
‘Artilleryman, 76mm battery, Red Army Soldier Vorobei Afanasy Ilyich, for the following: on 17th August 1944, while repulsing an enemy counterattack, Comrade Vorobei destroyed 3 Germans with fire from his rifle.’
Vorobei would later go on to be awarded a Medal for Victory over Germany and a second Medal for Bravery by decree of the 150th Guards Rifle Regiment on 9th February 1944, although looking by the number of the award (3620096) this was not given him until much later, possibly 1946 or 1947.
After the war he worked as a Collective Farmer at the Telman ‘Kolkhoz’, village of Malay Berezanka whilst living in the same village which was situated in Berezanka District, Kiev Oblast.
