Kovalenko, Pavel Vasilievich (full holder of the Order of Glory)

Pavel Kovalenko was born in 1896 in the village of Stary Borovichi (now the Snovsky district of the Chernihiv region of Ukraine ) in a peasant family. He graduated from elementary school, lived in the village of Goroshkovka, Gorodnyansky district of the same region. In July 1941 he was called up for service in the Workers 'and Peasants' Red Army. He fought on the Southern Front , in October 1941 he was captured. In November he was released and returned to Goroshkovka, where he entered the service of the occupation authorities, and became the head of the village council. He handed over several heads of cattle taken from fellow villagers, sent Soviet citizens to work for the Germans. In October 1943, with the liberation of Goroshkovka, Kovalenko was re-drafted into the army. Since January 1944 - again on the fronts of the Great Patriotic War. Participated in battles on the 1st and 4th Ukrainian fronts ^[1] .

In early May 1944, during a battle near the city of Tlumach in the Ivano-Frankivsk Region of the Ukrainian SSR, Red Army soldier Kovalenko, having made his way to the edge of the enemy’s defense, threw grenades into the trenches, taking the enemy to flight, which allowed the infantry to take the enemy’s defense without loss. By order in parts of the 271st Infantry Division (No. 010 / n) dated May 10, 1944, Kovalenko was awarded the Order of Glory of the 3rd degree, number 43583 ^[1] .

On May 26, 1944, near Tlumach, despite massive enemy fire, Kovalenko made his way to the enemy’s trenches and threw grenades at them, and then killed 8 enemy soldiers with automatic fire and captured the control prisoner. By order of the 18th Army (No. 0118 / n) dated June 13, 1944, Kovalenko was awarded the Order of Glory of the 2nd degree, number 919 ^[1] .

By the autumn of 1944, Sergeant Kovalenko commanded the rifle division of the 3rd battalion of the 865th rifle regiment of the 271st rifle division of the 1st Guards Army of the 4th Ukrainian Front. On September 17, 1944, during the battle for Mount Magura east of the village of Likhobory, Skole district, Lviv region, Kovalenko, together with his squad, burst into enemy trenches and killed 5 Hungarian soldiers in hand-to-hand combat. He was wounded, but did not leave the battlefield. Only after a serious wound to the leg and head, Kovalenko was unconsciously evacuated to the rear. In the hospital, his right leg was amputated. After discharge from the hospital, he was demobilized due to disability. He returned to Goroshkovka, worked on a collective farm ^[1] .

By decree of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR of March 24, 1945, for the "exemplary performance of command missions at the front of the battle against the German invaders and the courage shown at the same time," senior sergeant Pavel Kovalenko was awarded the Order of Glory of the 1st degree, becoming the full holder of the Order of Glory ^{[ 1]} .

This order was not awarded to Kovalenko, since in 1946 he was arrested on charges of treason. On February 11, 1947, the military tribunal of the Chernihiv garrison sentenced him to 8 years in forced labor camps ^[1] .

By a decree of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR of March 11, 1949, Kovalenko was deprived of the Orders of Glory of the 2nd and 3rd degree. The Order of Glory of the 1st degree is not mentioned in the case file, since the award became known after the court and the Decree of Deprivation, however, the award sheet is marked "deprived" ^[1] .

Further fate has not been established.