Bondarenko, Dmitry Nikiforovich

Dmitry Nikiforovich Bondarenko was born into a peasant family in the village of Verkhnyaya Shetukha in the Ussuri district of the Primorsky region of the Far Eastern Republic (currently the village of Khvishchanka, Kirov district, Primorsky Territory ). In 1939 he graduated from 7 classes of the school. He worked as a foreman at the timber industry farm.

In November 1941, the Kirov District Military Commissariat of the Ussuri Territory was drafted into the ranks of the Red Army . Since December 1941, on the fronts of World War II .

By order of the 1336 rifle regiment of February 22, 1944, Corporal Bondarenko was awarded the medal “For Courage” for courage and heroism in battles with the Nazi invaders.

On January 20, 1944, Corporal Bondarenko, working as a gunner of an 82-mm mortar, fired at enemy positions in the battle for an unnamed height in the Novosokolniki district of the Pskov region . A shell that exploded in a firing position, he was littered with earth and shell-shocked. Shell-shocked and with a poorly working arm, he didn’t leave the battlefield, and, overcoming the pain, continued to fire at the enemy, destroying up to 50 enemy soldiers and suppressing 2 firing points. By order of the 319th Infantry Division of March 18, 1944, he was awarded the Order of Glory of the 3rd degree.

On July 7–8, 1944, during an offensive in Belarus near the village of Rossony in the Vitebsk region, Junior Sergeant Bondarenko in the front ranks crossed the Neshcherda River and was the first to break into enemy trenches, throwing enemy firing points with grenades. In this battle, he destroyed 6 enemy soldiers. Participated in the reflection of 7 enemy counterattacks. Seeing that the machine gunner was seriously wounded, he lay down behind the machine gun and, letting the enemy go 75-100 meters, opened destructive fire on him. In this battle, he destroyed about 10 soldiers. By order of the 22nd Army of August 25, 1944, he was awarded the Order of Glory of the 2nd degree.

The squad leader Junior Sergeant Bondarenko August 8, 1944 outside the city of Krustpils (currently within the city of Jekabpils ) in Latvia was one of the first to break into the city. Having stumbled upon a fire from a machine gun, Bondarenko crawled to the rear of the house in which the machine gunner sat down and with two grenades destroyed the calculation along with the machine gun. Bondarenko with his fighters quickly rushed to the bridge, on which the enemy troops retreated in panic. As the advancing troops approached, the enemy blew up a bridge with the remnants of his troops; Together with the blown up bridge, 40 enemy soldiers crashed into the river. On August 10, 1944, Bondarenko organized the construction of crossing facilities to force the Ayviekste River , which at this point had a width of 70 meters and a depth of up to 3.5 meters. The enemy from the opposite fired artillery and machine guns. Bondarenko swam across the river, secretly crept up to the easel machine gun and threw a grenade with a throw of a grenade. From a captured machine gun opened fire on enemy soldiers, providing the right flank of the battalion with greater security. The enemy launched 8 counterattacks on Bondarenko’s position, but he continued to hold it and destroyed up to 40 enemy soldiers, despite the fact that he was twice wounded in the left shoulder and leg. He refused to be sent to the medical unit and left the battlefield when all counterattacks were repulsed and the battalion was consolidated in captured positions. He was introduced to the title of Hero of the Soviet Union. By order on the 2nd Baltic Front of October 5, 1944, he was re-awarded the Order of Glory of the 2nd degree. By a decree of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR of February 27, 1958, the order was canceled and he was awarded the Order of Glory of the 1st degree.

Bondarenko continued his service in the state security organs. In 1963 he was awarded the rank of senior lieutenant, in 1965 he went into reserve.

He lived in Vladivostok. In 1985, in commemoration of the 40th anniversary of the Victory, he was awarded the Order of the Patriotic War of the 1st degree . On May 9, 1985, he took part in the Victory Parade.

Died Dmitry Nikiforovich Bondarenko March 13, 1997.

• He was buried at the Vladivostok Sea Cemetery .

• Documents on the site “Feat of the people”
• In the biographical dictionary

• Full Knights of the Order of Glory. - M., 1971. - Issue. 1. - S. 2.
• Roshchin I.I. Soldier Glory. - M., 1982. - Prince. 6. - S. 34-35.
• Cavaliers of the Order of Glory of three degrees. - M., 1986. - S. 37-39.
• Cavaliers of the Order of Glory of three degrees: Biography dictionary. - M .: Military Publishing House, 2000.
• Full Knights of the Order of Glory: Biographical Dictionary (in 2 volumes). - M .: Military Publishing, 2010.