The medallion is in silver, measures 37.2 mm wide and weighs 30.6 g not including the suspension and connecting link. The suspension is 25.7mm wide at the top, approx.17.9-18.0 mm tall not including the lip for the connecting link.

In very fine condition. The red lacquer in the letters shows significant wear but at least traces of it are still present in every letter. There are some tiny dings, but the medal shows almost no wear otherwise and is completely free of significant edge knocks or noticeable scratches. The raised details are extremely well-preserved and

The medallion is in silver, measures 37.2 mm wide and weighs 30.6 g not including the suspension and connecting link. The suspension is 25.7mm wide at the top, approx.17.9-18.0 mm tall not including the lip for the connecting link.

In very fine condition. The red lacquer in the letters shows significant wear but at least traces of it are still present in every letter. There are some tiny dings, but the medal shows almost no wear otherwise and is completely free of significant edge knocks or noticeable scratches. The raised details are extremely well-preserved and crisp. There is a very attractive dark patina to silver throughout.

The medal on the original suspension device, complete with the rectangular back plate, hexagonal retaining nut, and mint-marked screw plate. The screw post is full-length, over 10 mm long measured from the back plate. The ribbon is of the period although probably not original to the medal; it shows only a minimal wear along the edges but remains completely sound and clean. This old ribbon adds a tremendous amount of character and appeal to the award. The connecting link appears to be original; its ends are still joined with solder.

Mariya Sidorkina was born in 1922 in a village of the Voronezh Region of Russia. On 23 June 1941, the day after the German invasion of the Soviet Union, she enlisted in the Red Army at the age of 19, most likely as a volunteer. In all likelihood, Sidorkina had at least some medical training prior to the war, and therefore she was almost immediately sent to the front as a medic. It is unknown where she served in the first year of the war, but in June 1942 she was appointed as a Feldsher (paramedic, senior medical officer of a small-size military unit and a Medical Corps rank equivalent of Lieutenant) to the 640th Rifle Regiment of the 200th Rifle Division, 27th Army, Northwestern Front.

At the time, Sidorkina's unit was deployed to the east of the town of Staraya Russa, at the northern flank of the infamous German-held Demyansk Pocket where the front would remain relatively stable until the following year. In the first five months of service with the regiment, she proved to be an exceptionally caring and careful medical officer, tirelessly providing vital help to the sick and wounded servicemen. According to the subsequent award recommendation, Sidorkina set an example for all the others and was highly regarded among her comrades-in-arms. She often exhibited bravery on the battlefield.

One example of her selfless dedication cited in the award recommendation was her actions on 8 July 1942. Showing utter disregard for her own life, Sidorkina braved heavy enemy artillery and mortar fire when she rushed into a destroyed dugout and personally pulled from its ruins the body of a killed battalion commissar and provided first medical aid to the two seriously wounded soldiers that she found there. She then organized the evacuation of the wounded to a safer location.

On 14 November 1942, Sidorkina was recommended for a Medal for Valor jointly by the commander and commissar of the 448th Rifle Regiment. The award was bestowed by a general order of the 200th Rifle Division on 8 December 1942, and it remained Sidorklina's only decoration of the war. She was probably seriously wounded soon thereafter, judging by the fact that she was released from active duty in 1943 and was subsequently listed as an "Invalid of the Patriotic War, 1st Level" - i.e. severely handicapped combat veteran - in the September 1946 award record card.

It must be said in closing that the Red Army frontline medical personnel suffered terrible attrition during the war. Casualties among medical nurses and doctors serving with infantry and other combat units (as opposed to the staff of "evacuation hospitals" in the rear) were reportedly second only to the infantry. As a result, early decorations to WW2 Soviet combat medics - especially those issued to women - are very uncommon.

Research Materials: Xerox copy and English translation of the award record card and award commendation. Information about the 200th Rifle Division is available in Vol. X Red Swarm of Charles Sharp's WW2 Soviet order of battle book series
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