Award Army Navy 1 Order of Suvorov 1st Class 3 Order of Suvorov 2nd Class 11 2 Order of Suvorov 3rd Class 1 1 Order of Kutuzov 1 st Class 2 1 Order of Kutuzov 2nd Class 7 1 Order of Kutuzov 3rd Class 2 1 1 of the time, including France, England and the United Order of Bogdan Khmelnitsky 2nd Class Order of Nevsky 10 1 States. This improvement was caused by the fight against Order oft_he Red Banner 5 a common enemy: Nazi Germany. A small facet of this Order of the Patriotic War 1st Class 38 28 thaw was the cross-awarding of military decorations to Order of the Patriotic War 2nd Class 24 27 members of the other nations’ armed forces, an activity Order of the 10 28 that rose from a trickle to a crescendo immediately 3rd Class 1 45 following the defeat of Germany. Medal For Valor 2 25 Medal For Military Merit 5 25 5 In a previous issue of the JOMSA, an article was published Ushakov Medal Nakhimov Medal 15 about the medals that flowed from the United States War Department to individual Soviet soldiers and officers Table 1. Nutnbers of recorded Soviet awards to United as an expression of our goodwill towards the Union of States military personneL Soviet Socialist Republics.1 Because of the large number awarded and the subsequent flow of many of these awards In Table 1, the numbers of known (documented) Soviet and their documents back to the United States in the awards bestowed upon Americans are listed. The Navy 1990s, American awards to Soviets have become a known award numbers are well recorded and are as exact as quantity in western collector circles. possible. The Army and Air Force (combined into the single "Army" column) award numbers are close Far more unusual, however, are Soviet awards to to exact for the "commander" level awards (e.g. Order Americans. This is for many reasons. First, fewer of Khmelnitsky and above), with the potential for very than half of the awards were given out with any kind little variance. The numbers for the Order of Nevsky of permanent documentation. These undocumented (or and below consist of the awards I have recorded. There poorly documented) awards have often suffered the same is a considerable number of each of these awards that I fate as their equivalent American awards, with groups have not yet encountered, and thus they are not included being split, sold or discarded by the veteran’s family in this list. This is particularly true of the awards of the or heirs. A good portion of these awards have thus and below that were presented to ended up in Soviet award dealer’s stock as yet another enlisted United States Army soldiers; the numbers listed undocumented and unresearched "common" award. The most certainly represent only a fraction of total the awards second problem with the availability of these awards is bestowed. the quantity that was bestowed. While upwards of 500 a~vards may have been given out to Army and Army Air Based on my research, I would estimate that at least Force personnel, the only documented awards given to double the amount of the lower awards, such as the Order United States Navy personnel totaled fewer than 200. of the Red Star and below, were bestowed upon Army enlisted personnel in comparison to the similarly ranked The exact number of all Soviet decorations bestowed upon Navy awards. The lack of uniform award recording Americans is unknown. This is because Soviet awards of foreign awards into a central register for all ranks were presented through a significant - and highly varied either on the side of the United States or the USSR has -- number of sources representing the Soviet government. unfortunately made the determination of actual numbers These sources ranged from Soviet field commanders at impossible. the Divisional Commander level and higher to official Soviet Embassy diplomatic channels. However, close My personal journey with Soviet awards to Americans approximations can be made for some of the awards, began with the acquisition of an Order of Glory 3r and in a few cases the exact numbers are known for the that belonged to a United States Navy Chief highest awards such as the Order of Victory and Order Machinist’s Mate (later Lieutenant Commander) of Suvorov, 1st Class. a well-known online auction site in 1999. years later, and with the help of several friends, I /.3A 5OH fl ; SAX ,DA, THIIHAMII’.’

Figure 1: Soviet award card for General George Marshall.

Figure 2: Soviet award card for General Dwight Eisenhower.

Vol. 58, No. 5 3 able to reunite the award with the original Order Book and 9 Pdrt Persian Gulf Command.2 Seventeen awards were stipend coupon booklet from the veteran. Since that time also bestowed upon United States officers in early 1945 I have been researching these awards; compiling lists of at the conclusion of major air operations from United recipients, conducting interviews with the veterans who States air bases on Soviet territory.3 received the awards and attempting to find out as much as possible from the Archives of the Russian Ministry of Several more senior (and better known) officers also Defense regarding the awarding of these decorations. received Soviet decorations in mid-1944. These include Generals Marshall, Eisenhower, Bradley, and Mark I have found that there are three distinct time periods Clark. These decorations were documented by the Soviet during the war when the Soviet government bestowed military, and were recorded on what they call an ’Award decorations upon United States servicemen. The first Card’. These award cards have been maintained in the period took place in 1944, with awards being presented Archives of the Russian Ministry of Defense, and record to senior US officers in the Army, Army Air Force not only the recipient of the award, but the award’s name, and Navy. The second period took place in the weeks serial number, location and date of award. immediately following the German surrender in Europe, with awards being presented to United States Army Figure 1 is the Award Card to General George Marshall. officers and enlisted personnel who participated in the His Award Card information includes his name "Marshall fight against Nazi Germany. The third and final period / George / K" his rank "General of the Army" his title took place from mid-1945 through early 1946 with the "Chief of the General Staff of the American Army" awarding of decorations to United States Navy and Coast and the award "Suvorov 1 st Class" awarded under the Guard personnel who had taken part in the Battle of the Declaration (known as an Ukaz) of the Supreme Soviet Atlantic. dated "24.3.44" (March 24, 1944). Finally, the Award Card is stamped with the reason for the award "For the The first period included decorations that were awarded fight against German Invaders." The reverse of his Award during the mid-war years, starting in early 1944. These Card indicates that his Suvorov 1 st Class was awarded on awards could be generally divided into two categories. April 1, 1944, in the United States. It was serial number The first category consisted of the awards given to 129 and it came with award document number 122065. senior officers of the US Navy who supported Soviet convoys and supply routes through both the North Atlantic and through Iran and the Persian Gulf. They were additionally awarded to senior Army and Air Force officers for the continuing operations in North Africa and the Mediterranean, as well as operational planning for the eventual opening of a second front in Western Europe. Only a handful of Soviet awards have been documented in this category, with 16 awards given to Navy personnel and approximately 10 to Army and Air Force personnel. These include the following awards for the Navy: Vice Admiral H. Kent Hewitt, USN, who received the Order of Kutuzov 1 st Class in his role as Commander, Naval Forces Europe. Rear Admiral Robert C. Giffen, United States Navy received the Order of Suvorov 2nd Class for organizing convoys to Murmansk; Rear Admiral Don Moon, United States Navy earned the Order of Nevsky while serving as Commander, Destroyer Squadron Eight. Figure 3: Order of Suvorov, 1st Class awarded to General For the Army and Army Air Force, awards made during Eisenhower (Eisenhower Presidential Library). the War included s the following: Colonel Alfred Kessler, who received the Order of Suvorov 3rd Class while he Figure 2 is the Award Card to General Dwight Eisenhower. served as Officer in Charge of the Special Project Eastern It holds roughly the same information as the Award Card Command and Brigadier Theodore Osborne who received to General Marshall, though it also includes his second the Order ofKutuzov 2nd Class as Commanding General, Soviet award, the Order of Victory (listed simply as "POBEDA "). His Suvorov 1st Class (Figure 3) was

4 JOMSA