Usatyuk, Ivan Romanovich

Born on June 24, 1917 in the village of Adzhamovka, now Khabarsky District, Altai Territory of Russia, in a peasant family. Russian.

Graduated 4 classes. He worked on the farm.

In the Red Army from November 15, 1938 . During the service he managed to visit different images: he served as a rider, gun number, commander of a rifle squad, commander of a gun.

Member of the Great Patriotic War since June 1941 .

December 19, 1941 and March 23, 1942 was seriously wounded.

June 28-29, 1942, in stubborn battles to eliminate the enemy’s bridgehead on the left bank of the Kshen River in Volovo, Lipetsk Region, the commander of an anti-tank battery of the 15th motorized rifle brigade of the 16th tank corps of the Bryansk Front, sergeant Usatyuk from his gun with the first three shots fired two German tanks, but when the enemy shell was broken, its gun was damaged, and he himself was wounded, but despite this, Usatyuk and the gunner continued firing at the enemy, destroying two more enemy tanks. Usatuk left the battlefield only after the order of the battalion commissar.

On August 19, 1942, Sergeant Usatyuk was awarded the Order of the Red Banner by order of the troops of the Bryansk Front No. 80 / n.

Member of the CPSU (b) since May 1943

On July 12, 1943, participating in the Oryol offensive operation in the territory of the Trosnyansky district of the Oryol region, the commander of the 76-mm battery of the 1018th rifle regiment of the 269th rifle division of the 3rd army of the Bryansk front, Sergeant Usatyuk, together with the calculation destroyed two enemy guns and up to a hundred German soldiers and officers.

On August 21, 1943, Order No. 17 / n for the 1018th rifle regiment was awarded the medal "For Courage" .

June 30, 1944 the gunner of the 76-mm battery of the 1018th rifle regiment of the 269th rifle division of the 3rd army of the 1st Belorussian front sergeant Usatyuk in the battle for the village of Krasnoye of the Rogachev region of the Gomel region of Belarus at the breakthrough of the heavily fortified enemy defenses on the river Drut direct fire from his gun destroyed the enemy firing points, ensuring the advancement of our infantry. The surrounded group of the enemy in the amount of 250 people, trying to escape from the environment, counterattacked the artillery battery in which Usatyuk was located from the rear. Enemy units came close to the battery and opened machine-gun fire on the gun Usatyuk. Deploying his gun, Usatyuk at point-blank began to shoot the enemies who attacked him. The Germans surrounded the gun and began to bombard him with grenades, thereby disabling his calculation. Then Sergeant Usatuk alone entered hand-to-hand combat with the enemy, destroying 3 enemy soldiers in it, one of them with the butt of his weapon. The attack of the enemy was repulsed; in total, over 70 German soldiers and officers were destroyed by Ustakyuk, and he captured seven of them.

By decree of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR of October 26, 1944, for exemplary performance of combat missions of command on the front of the struggle against the German fascist invaders and the courage and heroism shown to sergeant Usatyuk Ivan Romanovich, he was awarded the title Hero of the Soviet Union with the award of the Order of Lenin and the Gold Star medal

On October 10, 1944, in the battle of a strong German defense on the west bank of the River Narev, the commander of the 76-mm battery of the 1018th rifle regiment of the 269th rifle division, sergeant Usatyuk, along with the calculation, advanced his gun to the infantry battle formation and destroyed the enemy machine gun his calculation. Later in the battle for the city of Ruzhan, Poland, together with the calculation, destroyed the enemy firing point and up to 10 German soldiers.

On October 23, 1944, Order No. 128 / n of the 269th Infantry Division was awarded the Order of Glory of the 3rd degree .

In subsequent battles on the outskirts of Königsberg he was seriously wounded and lost his left eye. During treatment at the hospital, he met a nurse, who later became his wife.

In 1945, demobilized.

He returned to his homeland, was chairman of the Podsnezhensky Village Council, Slavgorod District of the Altai Territory .

The village council included Rare Dubrava and other, now non-existent German villages. On the territory of the village council there were three collective farms - named after Stalin, Kaganovich and Polina Osipenko. The farms are strong, the chairmen are experienced. Yes, and Usatyuk case knew, the peasant roots were people. However, hardly anyone today remembers that the chairman of the Podnezhenskiy village council bore the high title of Hero of the Soviet Union. Ivan Romanovich himself, and he was then just over 30 years old, didn’t salute him. Nothing stood out. Wore a battered soldier's tunic, riding breeches and tarpaulin boots. Modest, hardworking, obligatory, easy to use, of medium height, thick-haired - I remember that for me. He was respected by war veterans, because they knew perfectly well - Sergeant Usatyuk fought bravely against the enemy. Ivan Romanovich screwed a Hero's star onto major holidays, when he had to occupy a seat on the podium.

- the newspaper "Slavgorodskiye Vesti". 04/14/2012 ^[1] .

Since 1965, Usatyuk lived in Magnitogorsk, Chelyabinsk region , worked in the Uraldomnaremont trust.

Two twins and one triplets were born in his family.

Died April 12, 1986 ^[2] . He was buried in Magnitogorsk at the Left Bank Cemetery.

• Gold Star Medal of the Hero of the Soviet Union (10.26.1944) ^{[3] [4]} ;
• the Order of Lenin (10.26.1944);
• Order of the Red Banner (08/19/1942);
• Order of the Patriotic War, 1st degree (11.03.1985);
• Order of Glory 3rd degree ;
• medals, including:
  • Medal "For Courage" (August 21, 1943);
  • jubilee medal "For Valiant Labor. In commemoration of the 100th anniversary of the birth of Vladimir Ilyich Lenin ” ;
  • the medal "For the victory over Germany in the Great Patriotic War of 1941-1945" ;
  • the anniversary medal "Twenty Years of Victory in the Great Patriotic War of 1941-1945" ;
  • jubilee medal "Thirty Years of Victory in the Great Patriotic War of 1941-1945" ;
  • anniversary medal "The Forty Years of Victory in the Great Patriotic War of 1941-1945" ;
  • the medal "For the capture of Konigsberg" ;
  • Medal "Veteran Labor" ;
  • commemorative medal "50 years of the Armed Forces of the USSR" ;
  • the anniversary medal "60 years of the Armed Forces of the USSR" ;
  • jubilee medal "70 years of the Armed Forces of the USSR . "

• On the facade of the house number 147/5 on the street Soviet city of Magnitogorsk, a memorial plaque is installed with the inscription: “Hero of the Soviet Union Ivan Romanovich Usatyuk lived in this house” ^[5] .
• The name of the Hero is carved in gold letters in the Hall of Fame of the Central Museum of the Great Patriotic War in Moscow’s Victory Park .
• The name is immortalized on the Memorial of Glory in the city of Barnaul.

• Heroes of the Soviet Union: A Brief Biographical Dictionary / Prev. ed. College I. Shkadov . - M .: Military Publishing , 1988. - T. 2 / Lyubov - Yashchuk /. - 863 s. - 100 000 copies - ISBN 5-203-00536-2 .
• Biography in the collection “The Battle Glory of Altai” (3rd ed., 1978).
• Biography in the collection “Golden Stars of Altai” - I.
• Included in the encyclopedia of the Altai Territory - with. 435.
• Usatyuk Ivan Romanovich // Heroes of the Soviet Union: A Brief Biographical Dictionary / Prev. ed. College I. Shkadov . - M .: Military Publishing , 1988. - T. 2 / Lyubov - Yashchuk /. - 863 s. - 100 000 copies - ISBN 5-203-00536-2 .

Usatyuk, Ivan Romanovich (Rus.) . The site " Heroes of the country ."