SIX MEDALS "FOR BRAVERY.." THE MOST COURAGEOUS SOLDIER OF THE GREAT PATRIOTIC WAR

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Semyon Vasilyevich Gretsov.
This man can be safely considered the most courageous soldier of the Great Patriotic War. He is the only one who was awarded SIX medals "For Bravery".
A native of a small village near Stary Oskol. He was born in 1902, went to the front as a volunteer, in June 1941. A private in a rifle regiment, such as he died in the initial period of the war by hundreds of thousands. In the
winter of 1942, he was seriously wounded, shell-shocked and frostbitten legs. For health reasons, he could have been commissioned, but remained in the active army and continued to fight as a sanitary instructor.
But let's talk about everything in order..
After finishing four years in his native village, Semyon Vasilyevich did not go in search of a better life in the city, but stayed on the collective farm. The war began, and Semyon Vasilyevich went to the front as an ordinary artilleryman. Soon, due to severe frostbite and serious contusion, the military medical commission decided to send the 40-year-old fighter home, but Semyon Vasilyevich insisted: "How so? My arms and legs are intact. I can hold a gun! Beat the enemy - too! I don't agree to go home."
And he got the go-ahead to stay at the front, but not in the ranks of the "god of war", but with a transfer to Leningrad as a sanitary instructor. In this position, Semyon Vasilyevich traveled all over the Baltic States and Poland, reaching Berlin with his regiment. By the end of the war, his chest was decorated with medals "For the Capture of Berlin" and "For Victory". And six more medals - "For Bravery!".
During the entire war, medical instructor Gretsov took out one and a half hundred half-dead, bleeding, mutilated soldiers and officers with documents and personal weapons from the battlefield. Semyon Vasilyevich received his first medal for bravery shown in the hardest battles near the Leningrad Region in the summer of 1943. Then in 6 days he saved the lives of 26 fighters. The second one was awarded for the fact that in the early spring of 1944, in the battles near Rozhanka, he provided first aid and delivered 18 more soldiers to the medical unit. The third was for saving 25 fighters in the battles near Pskov. The fourth was in the summer of the 44th for taking out 23 more people under enemy fire. Fifth - for providing medical care and fearless rescue of 12 fighters during the breakthrough of enemy fortifications in Latvian villages. Junior Sergeant Gretsov received the sixth medal for heroism shown already in Berlin. In Lichtenberg, under incessant machine-gun fire, he carried 18 soldiers and officers out of the combat zone.
According to the data confirmed by award documents, Semyon Vasilyevich saved the lives of 130 Soviet soldiers and officers. How many people did he take out of the battlefield without weapons and bandaged in combat conditions, saving their lives?! - the official statistics are silent about this.
It is clear that Junior Sergeant Gretsov did not chase awards and did not seek to "break the records" of others. But wearing "For Bravery!" on her chest was considered very honorable, because she was awarded exclusively for personal bravery shown for direct participation in hostilities. Senior officers and generals did not receive it. Basically, the award was presented to privates, sergeants and junior officers - those who took a direct part in the battles. Therefore, the medal was popularly called "soldier's". The medal was established in October 1938 to award border guards Abramkin, Gulyaev and Grigoriev, who showed heroism and courage in defending the state border from Japanese aggressors. For further battles at Lake Khasan in 1938, another 1,336 Red Army soldiers received a medal.
On the basis of Order No. 281 of 23.08.1941, there was a quantitative assessment of the actions of candidates for awarding. The following rules applied to medical workers who worked in the field. It was necessary to present 15 fighters with weapons to the medal "For Bravery!" or "For military merit!" during the rescue from the combat zone. To the Red Star - when saving 25 people, to the Red Banner - 40, to the Order of Lenin - 80. The value of the medal was that it was not an anniversary, but a combat one. It was awarded only to those who showed courage, determination and bravery during a real battle. Unlike many other, later medals, it was minted from silver. In the award hierarchy of the system of orders of the USSR, the medal "For Courage!" was likened to the Order of Lenin. She was also placed strictly ahead of the rest of the awards.
During the Great Patriotic War, the medal "For Bravery!" was presented 4 million 230 thousand times. Some fighters received it repeatedly, but only medical instructor Semyon Vasilyevich Gretsov is officially considered