Garkusha, Yakov Filippovich

Jacob Garkusha was born on December 14 (on a new style - December 27 ), 1915, in the village of Novoromanovskoye (now the Arzgirsky District of the Stavropol Territory ) in a peasant family. He received an incomplete secondary education, after which he worked as an accountant on the collective farm. In August 1942, Garkusha was called up to serve in the Workers 'and Peasants' Red Army . In 1944 he graduated from the Saratov Tank School . Since January of the same year - on the fronts of the Great Patriotic War. He took part in the Korsun-Shevchenko , Lvov-Sandomierz , Carpathian-Dukla operations, the liberation of Poland and Czechoslovakia . In the rank of junior lieutenant, he commanded a platoon of the 2nd tank company, the 3rd tank battalion, the 237th tank brigade (the 31st tank corps , the 5th guards army , the 1st Ukrainian front ) ^[1] .

In March 1944, near Vinnitsa, Garkusha took an active part in repelling several enemy attacks, found himself surrounded, broke out of the battle, driving a company of fighters behind him. In July, during the fighting to destroy the surrounded German grouping near the city of Zolochev, Lviv region, the Ukrainian SSR, Garkusha destroyed 2 enemy tanks , a self-propelled gun and a large number of enemy soldiers and officers. In August 1944, as part of a brigade, he crossed the Vistula in the Sandomir region and took an active part in the battles for expanding the bridgehead on its western bank, destroyed 9 enemy firing points and about 100 enemy soldiers and officers. September 20, 1944 tank Garkushi was shot down, all crew members were injured. Garkusha pulled the wounded out of a burning tank and sent them to the medical battalion, but he himself remained in the ranks and, raising an infantry attack, was the first to rush into the town of Rudavka-Rymanovsk 17 kilometers east of the town of Duklya . In the future, the tank group, which included a platoon of Garkusha, broke through the powerful enemy defenses on the border with Czechoslovakia. In those battles, Garkusha's platoon was in the vanguard, the first to penetrate the depths of the enemy’s fortifications, destroying several artillery calculations and machine-gun points ^[1] .

By decree of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR of April 10, 1945, for "courage, bravery and heroism shown in the struggle against the German invaders", Junior Lieutenant Yakov Garkusha was awarded the high title of Hero of the Soviet Union with the award of the Order of Lenin and the Gold Star medal number 7708 ^{[ 1]} .

In 1948, Garkusha was dismissed. He lived in the city of Mineralnye Vody , worked at the state farm "Pervomaysky". He died on February 1, 1977, and was buried in the civil cemetery of Mineral Waters ^[1] .

He was also awarded the Order of the Red Banner , World War 1 and 2 degrees, as well as a number of medals ^[1] .

• Heroes of the Soviet Union: A Brief Biographical Dictionary / Prev. ed. College I. BC Shkadov . - Moscow : Military Publishing , 1987. - T. 1 / Abaev - Lyubichev /. - 911 s. - 100 000 copies - ISBN SEC., Reg. Number in the PSC 87-95382.
• Their names will never be forgotten. Book 1. Stavropol, 1968.