Vladimir Kuts (soldier)
Vladimir Kuts | |
---|---|
Birth name | Vladimir Terentevich Kuts |
Nickname(s) | Waldemar Willy USSR |
Died | 2 October 2022 Paris, France | (aged 94)
Allegiance | Soviet Union |
Service/ | Red Army United States Army |
Years of service | 1942–1945 |
Rank | Private |
Unit | 4th Infantry Division, United States Army 5th Guards Airborne Division, 9th Airborne Corps |
Battles/wars | World War II |
Vladimir Terentevich Kuts (Russian: Владимир Терентьевич Куц; 7 November 1927 – 2 October 2022) was a Russian soldier who is thought to have been the only Soviet citizen to have served with both the Soviet Red Army and the United States Army during World War II.[2]
Background
His father, Terenty Mitrofanovich Kuts, was a civil engineer who built bridges in Kashira, Krasnoyarsk and Dnepropetrovsk.[3] In 1937, he was exiled to Norilsk for 8 years after previous charges of terrorism and anti-Soviet activities were removed. His mother worked as a laundress in the village of Veprik.[4][5]
The beginning of the war
In 1941, the village was occupied by the
Military service
U.S. Army
In March 1945, a 17-year-old Vladimir met a column of American troops in the village, and then met with a sergeant of the
After arriving during the liberation of
Post-war
Kuts was sent to the 16th Guards Regiment of SMERSH, where he became a driver and translator in the counterintelligence detachment. So as not to be put on trial, he destroyed documents confirming his service in the American Army. Upon returning to Veprik, Vladimir met with his ill mother as well as visited his father in Norilsk. Soon he joined the Komsomol, and graduated from a graduate school. He then worked as a mechanic at a thermal power plant, and later worked at the Norilsk Mining and Metallurgical Combine named after Andrey Starostin for more than 27 years, organizing the power system of the Norilsk industrial region.
Later, he worked as an authorized representative of the
Kuts died in Paris on 2 October 2022, at the age of 94.[11]
Awards and decorations
- Order of the Patriotic War II degree
- Veteran of Labor Medal
- Medal "For the Victory over Germany in the Great Patriotic War 1941–1945"
- Medal "Defender of Free Russia"
- Purple Heart (United States)[12]
- Labor Veteran of the Norilsk Combine
- Honorary Veteran of the Krasnoyarsk Territory
- Honorary Veteran of the City of Moscow
- Honorary Citizen of the State of Texas[13]
- Veteran of the Airborne Forces of the Soviet Army (8 November 2016)[14]
See also
References
- ^ "Willy stubby: How the red army fought against Hitler in the US army | the Global Domain News".
- ^ "U.S. Veteran Fulfills Lifelong Dream by Honoring Russians Who Liberated Him During WWII". DipNote. Retrieved 15 March 2021.
- ^ a b c "Интервью с ветераном ВОВ Куц Владимир Терентьевич - Гражданские | Я помню". iremember.ru (in Russian). Retrieved 15 March 2021.
- ^ «Мне пришлось отбивать Жанетт от пьяного американского капрала» | Статьи | Известия
- ^ a b c d Куц Владимир Терентьевич
- ^ "Два фронта одной жизни. Владимир Куц — почетный ветеран двух армий: американской и советской". Вечерняя Москва (in Russian). Retrieved 15 March 2021.
- ^ «Пурпурное сердце» Владимира Куца
- ^ Один враг и две линии фронта
- ^ Вилли зелёный крест
- ^ "ВЕТЕРАН ДВУХ АРМИЙ".
- ^ "Посол РФ во Франции выразил соболезнования в связи со смертью ветерана ВОВ в Париже".
- ^ ВИЛЛИ КУЦ — ДЕСАНТНИК СССР И США
- ^ Horswell, Cindy (11 November 2014). "American POW fulfills vow - 70 years later". Houston Chronicle. Retrieved 15 March 2021.
- ^ Почетные граждане города Норильска(in Russian)