As we all know from history, during World War II, after defeating the army of fascist Germany, the Soviet Army went to the Far East, where it took an active part in the war against the forces of militaristic Japan. To award the soldiers and officers who took part in these military operations, after the end of the war, the medal “For Victory over Japan”, which we are now considering, was established.
A bit of history
Even at a conference in Yalta, the Allies agreed that the Soviet Union would enter the war with Japan no later than three full months after the defeat of Germany. On August 8, 1945, the USSR, in fulfillment of its obligations, began this war. The Kwantung army was quite powerful, the number of Japanese troops was equal to one million 200 thousand people. The Soviet armed forces defeated these selected units in 22 days. On September 2, a historic act of surrender of the Land of the Rising Sun was signed. The Medal "For Victory over Japan" was established on September 30, 1945 by a decree of the Presidium of the USSR Armed Forces. In December, they approved the position and, of course, the description of the medal; on February 5, 1951, they were supplemented. This award for the victory over Japan received approximately one million 800 thousand people.
Description of the medal
In the photographs posted in the article, you can look at its appearance. And now a little about the medal itself. Designed by her artist M. L. Lukina. Made of brass material, diameter - 32 mm. This award is presented to all participants in the fighting in the Pacific Ocean, Transbaikalia and the Far East. In its status, it is very similar to the medal “For Victory over Germany,” the same with the appearance. On both sides of both awards is a portrait of Stalin. The difference is that in the German he is facing west, and in the Japanese - to east. On our reverse there is a date “September 3, 1945" and a five-pointed star. The upper part of the medal has a small eyelet, which it is connected to with a metal pentagonal block by means of a ring. The block, in turn, is covered with a ribbon. intended for ... Ikrepleniya to dress the most medals A few words about the tape she moire, silk, 24 mm wide red stripe passes in the middle of the tape on either side of it - one narrow red and white strip is a narrow yellow strip bordering tape..
Details of who was awarded the medal “For the victory over Japan”
In accordance with the Regulations on the medal and the procedure for its presentation, it was awarded to:
- all military personnel and civilian units and units of the Soviet Army, Navy and NKVD troops who took direct part from August 9 to August 23 in military operations against imperialist Japan;
- the military personnel of the Central Administration of the Non-profit Organizations, the NKVD and the NKVMF, who provided for combat operations in the Far East of the Soviet Union (the heads of the Main Directorates approved personal lists for this)
Presentation of our medal was made:
- On the basis of orders of heads of departments and unit commanders with the application of certificates or lists. Then an award was given.
- To those military personnel who took any part in the hostilities in the Far East who dropped out of institutions and formations, military units, on the basis of certificates
from these units. If the certificates were not issued, then the awards were issued on the basis of documents that confirm the service in the relevant parts from the 9th to the 23rd of August. - The same is true with servicemen who worked in support of military operations. They received awards according to personal lists or certificates issued by the Main Directorates with the signatures of their superiors.
Who handed the medal?
The following persons were awarded the medal “For the victory over Japan”:
- Those who served at the time in the army were commanders of formations, units and heads of institutions.
- For those who dropped out of the fleet and the army, the military commissariats, regional, regional, city, and krai at the place of residence of the awarded.
When the recipient of the medal dies, the reward and certificate for it remains with his family as a memory. How is this award worn? On the left side of the chest. In the event that the recipient has other medals of the USSR, then it is located immediately after the jubilee government award “Forty Years of Victory in the Great Patriotic War”.
What day is considered Victory Day over Japan?
In this final episode of World War II, nuclear weapons were first used by the United States of America. On August 6, 1945, an atomic bomb was dropped from an airplane on Hiroshima. Two days later, the Soviet Union entered the war. Thanks to the experience of World War II, the Soviet Army was very successfully advancing towards Japan. On August 14, negotiations began on ceasefire, and on August 20 the army of the Land of the Rising Sun capitulated. Even Soviet troops conducted two operations - the Kuril landing operation and the South Sakhalin land. Mamoru Shigemitsu, Japanese foreign minister, and Yoshiziro Umezu, chief of staff, aboard the battleship Missouri on September 2 signed a surrender act. The Allied forces accepted the surrender of Douglas MacArthur, the US Army General, Bruce Frazer, the British Admiral, Kuzma Derevyanko, the Soviet Union General and Chester Nimitz, another American admiral. That is, Victory Day over Japan - the third of September 1945, the next after the signing of the act. This ended one of the bloodiest wars in human history.
Conclusion
The servicemen who were awarded the medal “For Victory over Japan” under consideration, received subsequently other awards: for example, anniversary medals, which were issued on the occasion of the twentieth and thirty years of victory in the Great Patriotic War. Time passes, morals, outlooks on life change. Now you can easily get awards of the USSR. In wartime, soldiers and officers risked their lives for our bright future, died for the Victory, in peace - they worked hard for the good of their homeland, for which they received well-deserved rewards from the state, and often posthumously. And in our time, anyone can pay a certain amount to buy them. Take, for example, the medal "For the victory over Japan." Its price on some sites is only 700-750 rubles. Although its value is sometimes human life. Therefore, it is unacceptable when original rewards are sold. An exception is perhaps collecting.