01-16-2012, 11:44 PM
Gents,
You can see the pure anguish in Guards Colonel I. M. Taran's face. You would have that 1,000-yard stare, too, if you suffered the cruel twist of fate he did.
During the GPW he was a Guards Private machine gunner in the 353rd Guards Rifle Regiment, 114th Guards Rifle Division of the 39th Guards Rifle Corps. By war's end, he would be awarded three Orders of Glory 3rd Class for his exploits. After his first OG III, however, his Division Commander subsequently recommended him for two additional awards: first for an OPW II and later for an ORB. The ORB was for Taran's participation in an all-volunteer assault group tasked with forcing the Donau river.
When Taran's paperwork was processed for these two subsequent awards, however, each recommendation was downgraded to an OG III - this in ignorance of/disregard for the OG governing regulation. The Corps Commander then signed off on each of the two subsequent OG III orders evidently unaware of his subordinates' mistakes.
Owing to injuries he sustained in the GPW, Taran did not receive his second and third OG IIIs at that time. It was only on September 3rd, 1999 that the Russian Federation First Deputy Minister of Defense, N. V. Mikhailov, presented him his final two OG IIIs.
Here's the real kicker. Upon presenting him these two final OG IIIs, Mikhailov told Taran "that Taran needed to look into this since he was missing out on all the privileges that go along with being a Full Cavalier and that these two additional OG IIIs violated the OG governing regulation."
Why Mikhailov didn't get off his own butt and take the initiative to correct the error at his level is unknown. It could well be that by 1999 the door was finally closed on any catch-up Full Cavalier awardings - this some eight years after the USSR's demise.
Regards,
slava1stclass
You can see the pure anguish in Guards Colonel I. M. Taran's face. You would have that 1,000-yard stare, too, if you suffered the cruel twist of fate he did.
During the GPW he was a Guards Private machine gunner in the 353rd Guards Rifle Regiment, 114th Guards Rifle Division of the 39th Guards Rifle Corps. By war's end, he would be awarded three Orders of Glory 3rd Class for his exploits. After his first OG III, however, his Division Commander subsequently recommended him for two additional awards: first for an OPW II and later for an ORB. The ORB was for Taran's participation in an all-volunteer assault group tasked with forcing the Donau river.
When Taran's paperwork was processed for these two subsequent awards, however, each recommendation was downgraded to an OG III - this in ignorance of/disregard for the OG governing regulation. The Corps Commander then signed off on each of the two subsequent OG III orders evidently unaware of his subordinates' mistakes.
Owing to injuries he sustained in the GPW, Taran did not receive his second and third OG IIIs at that time. It was only on September 3rd, 1999 that the Russian Federation First Deputy Minister of Defense, N. V. Mikhailov, presented him his final two OG IIIs.
Here's the real kicker. Upon presenting him these two final OG IIIs, Mikhailov told Taran "that Taran needed to look into this since he was missing out on all the privileges that go along with being a Full Cavalier and that these two additional OG IIIs violated the OG governing regulation."
Why Mikhailov didn't get off his own butt and take the initiative to correct the error at his level is unknown. It could well be that by 1999 the door was finally closed on any catch-up Full Cavalier awardings - this some eight years after the USSR's demise.
Regards,
slava1stclass
