The only recent name here re Soviet recipients of US awards was Koniev. He received the Commander Class Legion of Merit in 1945. Documentation listed in "US Army Awards of the Legion of Merit for WWII" (Planchet Prcess Pub 56 - Jun 1993). See page 154 (where he is listed as Kontev [a typo inasmuch as his rank is shown as Marshal]. They cite documentation 82/45WD.
THere is more coverage on this subject under research. I think that is where i posted copies of some of the copies retained by the War Department of citations for the Marshals.
The following is a link to a page in our Research corner with similar information. It states that Truman awarded some 290 awards to Soviet troops as late as Dec 1946, (but only one that month - all the rest were June 1946 or earlier. And as previously noted the notice would be from the White House becuase Truman wanted to sign them to show sufficiently high regard for his ally Stalin.
See picture and discussion of Soviet officer with the Distinguished Service Cross and Legion of Merit, Re: British Order Awarded to Soviet Pilot posts #7-#10.:)
Here's an interesting one for you guys. This one just turned up in the Ferghana Valley in Uzbekistan. I got it from a guy who gets his stuff directly from "gypsies". They are not really gypsies, but instead the local term for people who go door to door in villages and provincial towns, asking if people want to sell things. Items found this way are only one or two steps from the houses of the original owners. From what I've seen, this is how a lot of lower-end Soviet stuff gets started on its journey to dealers (the ORSs, BMs, OG3s, CSMs, OPW2s, and campaign medals).
My guy said he received no docs (very common). He really had no idea what it was (as either a US award or as a possible award to a Soviet soldier from the GPW), and made no claims at all. In other words, it was just another oddity that he was having trouble selling since it wasn't clearly identifiable in the bazaar.
I'm a veteran of the US Army, but I don't know US medal types and variations anywhere near as well as I know the Soviet ODMs. Do any of you know what to look for in determining if this is actually a WWII-era Legion of Merit? I suspect it's the real thing belonging once to a field grade veteran, but the docs are long, long gone. All I know is that it probably lived within about a 50 mile radius of the city of Kokand for the past few decades.
A great photo of a yet-to-be identified HSU Major General who was one of 53 Red Army personnel to be awarded the U.S. Army Distinguished Service Cross (second only to the Medal of Honor for combat valor) during World War II. Note how he's remounted it using the original DSC award ribbon.
