Patriotic War I,0148227,Loader,182nd Self-Propelled Artillery Regiment,Posthumous

[Dave]

You rarely see KIA awards, so this one I felt was worth sharing... I got choked up reading it, and I thought the forum members would appreciate it as well...

--Dave


AWARD CITATION

1. Last Name, First Name, Middle Name: Puzan, Petr Trifonovich.

2. Military Rank: Red Army Soldier.

3. Place of Service: Loader, 182nd Self-Propelled Artillery Regiment, RGK.

Recommended for: Order of the Patriotic War 1st Class.

4. Year of Birth: 1917.

5. Nationality: Ukrainian.

6. Party Membership: Not a Party Member.

7. Service in the Civil War, in later Battles in Service of the USSR and in the GPW (when and where): In the Patriotic War from October 1943 to March 1944, Mpril 1944 to August 1944.

8. Have any Wounds or Contusions in the Great Patriotic War: KILLED on 19 August 1944 on the 1st Belorussian Front.

9. From Which Time with the Red Army: Since 1943.

10. Received Which Awards (from which order): Order of the Great Patriotic War 2nd Class, order 01/N on 21 January 1944 7th M.K.K.; Medal “For Valor” order 090/N on 15 December 1943.

12. Home Address: Kiev Oblast, Stavistchensk Region, Popruyanskii. Mother: Kharitia Artmievna Puzan.

Short Concrete Description of Excellent Military Action or Service.

A loader in an SU-85, Private Puzan served in battles from 12 to 18 August 1944, acted bravely and continued uninterrupted fire. As a result of this, 2 enemy tanks, 2 guns, 2 machine guns and 20 Germans were destroyed.

In the battle of Dachi Ostrievek, Private Puzan, under strong enemy mortar fire, transferred ammunition into the carriage and helped provide uninterrupted fire for the self-propelled gun.

On 19 August 1944, in a damaged self-propelled gun, Private Puzan replaced the gunner and fired into the enemy to his last drop of blood. In this battle, loader Puzan died as a hero.

For displaying valor and heroism, Private Puzan deserves the State Award, the Order of the Great Patriotic War 1st Class to be awarded posthumously.

Commander of 182nd Self-propelled Artillery Regiment, RGK,
/s/ Lt. Col. Gromov
____ 1944

I posthumously award the Order of the Great Patriotic War 1st Class.

Commander of BT and MV, 47th Army.
/s/ General-Major of Tank Forces _______
22 August 1944

By orders of the Commander of BT and MV – 47th Army, N. 027/N on 23 August 1944, he is posthumously awarded the Order of the Great Patriotic War 1st Class.