Citations.

[Auke]

Probably the youngest Soviet award recipient was Sergei 'Seryozha' Andreyevich Alyoshkin. He was found at the age of six in a forest near Oryol by troops of the 142nd Guards Rifle Regiment. Seryozha's mother was a partisan, but was captured by the Gestapo, that subsequently murdered Seryozha's entire family. The boy managed to escape and tried to link up with the partizans, but couldn't find them. He wandered through the forest until he was found by Red Army troops. Seryozha was 'adopted' by the regiment and was involved in the Stalingrad battle. He helped out wherever he could, delivering ammunition, food and mail and singing songs. His MCM citation commends his cheerfulness, vivacity, love for his unit and the people around him, and confidence in victory at tough moments. In 1944 Seryozha was sent to a Suvorov School in Tula.