U.S. Army Decorations Awarded to Red Army Personnel in World War II

[desantnik]

Great pic, I don't think I've ever seen a Russian ever wear US jump wings!

[CtahhR]

I would suggest that this has more of a just post-war passing of the bottle to it, rather than wartime passing of an act of congress.
Have you seen a Russian wearing one yet? This guy's SOVIET.

[desantnik]

Russians were Soviets too.

[CtahhR]

Indeed they wer,e but we can't tell what SSR he was from by uniform alone.

Admittedly he doesn't look like Kalmyk or Kazakh but he could be of one of many nationalities or ethnicities.

I was recently given a book on the Patriotic War and the Soviets are referred to as "Russians" all but once (even though many obviously are not Russian). The only time the Red Army soldiers are called "Soviet" is a caption of a column of POWs. I'm sure there is some nationalist bias there. Destroys much of the validity of such books to me.

[medals73]

Knowing a bit more about the context and provenance of this image might be instructive (and might just immunize us against snark).

[CtahhR]

I doubt we will find out, so we might wish to call Mike Batt.

[slava1stclass]

Gents,

A second image (albeit blurrier) of the same officer/jump wings from a different angle.

Regards,

slava1stclass

[slava1stclass]

Gents,

HSU A.P. Voloshin was one of the 119 Red Army personnel awarded the U.S. Army Silver Star during World War II/the Great Patriotic War. It is clearly visible in the below photo. For the majority of the war, Voloshin served as a Battery Commander in the 271st Rifle Regiment, 10th NKVD Rifle Division (later redesignated the 18th Stalingrad NKVD Rifle Division). He was wounded five times during the course of the war.

Approved for award of the Silver Star on 12 July 1944, he was personally decorated by President Roosevelt's Special Advisor, Harry Hopkins, in the Sverdlovsk Room of the Kremlin in October 1944. Averill Harriman, the U.S. Ambassador to the USSR, the U.S. Defense Attache, Moscow as well as Secretary of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet, Gorkin, were among those who attended the ceremony.

Voloshin would later march in the 24 June 1945 Victory Parade in Moscow where he carried the unit colors of the Moscow Artillery Academy.

Regards,

slava1stclass

[Will]

The photo to which I referred in my earlier post.
It is an official US Army photograph.
I do not recall the name of the Soviet General, though it is noted on the back of the photograph.

Note the young American officer standing between the Soviet General and the American Colonel. He wears the crossed rifle insignia of U.S. Infantry, as well as a Soviet Guards badge! I am presuming that he was the interpreter for the ceremony.

[medals73]

Looks like a decoration swap to me.