Konstantin Petrovich
Vasilenko
1923-2001
Konstantin Petrovich Vasilenko was the platoon commander of the 102nd Guards Rifle Regiment of the 35th Guards Lozovsky Rifle Division of the 8th Guards Army of the 1st Belorussian Front, Guard junior Lieutenant, the Hero of the Soviet Union. After finishing the 8th grade of school, he worked on a collective farm. He was drafted into the Red Army in March 1942. He finished Moscow Airborne School in 1943 and was sent to the front on June 15 of the same year. He fought on the Western, 3rd Ukrainian and 1st Belorussian fronts. In the battles near Belgorod in July 1943, he was seriously wounded. He especially distinguished himself on August 1, 1944, when with a platoon he was the first to cross the Vistula River near the town of Magnushev (now in Poland). The soldiers of the platoon under the command of Vasilenko broke into the enemy trenches and put the enemy to flight. During this battle, a large number of German soldiers were killed, two anti-aircraft guns and a car were captured. Vasilenko’s platoon heroically fought on the captured bridgehead until reinforcements arrived. By the decree of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR dated March 24, 1945, Junior Lieutenant Konstantin Petrovich Vasilenko was awarded the title of the Hero of the Soviet Union with the award of the Order of Lenin and the Gold Star medal for exemplary performance of combat missions of the command at the front of the fight against the German invaders and the courage and heroism of the Guard. He participated in battles on German territory, and after the war continued to serve in the Group of Soviet Troops in Germany. Later he served in the bodies of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of the USSR, working in the Moscow police. Since 1979, Captain Vasilenko was in reserve. He lived and worked in Moscow. He actively participated in the patriotic education of young people.
Address: Moscow, Tashkent str., 23, bldg. 4
