The star medallion is in solid 23 K gold, mint marked and numbered; the suspension device is in gold-plated silver. The medallion measures 33.9 mm in height incl. eyelet, 31.9 mm in width; weighs 14.9 g not including the suspension and connecting link. Total weight of the medal including the suspension and screw plate is 27.6 g.

In outstanding, excellent condition. The golden star medallion is extremely well-

The star medallion is in solid 23 K gold, mint marked and numbered; the suspension device is in gold-plated silver. The medallion measures 33.9 mm in height incl. eyelet, 31.9 mm in width; weighs 14.9 g not including the suspension and connecting link. Total weight of the medal including the suspension and screw plate is 27.6 g.

In outstanding, excellent condition. The golden star medallion is extremely well-preserved. There are only a few tiny dings at the head of the hammer, sickle, and near the tips of the arms, but no scratches visible to the naked eye, nor other significant wear of any kind. The ridges and details of the hammer & sickle emblem are beautifully crisp. The lower star points have only the mildest bumps, far less than usual. The reverse is practically pristine, with exceptionally well-preserved stippling, lettering, and raised border. The gold exhibits a very attractive toning throughout.

The medal comes on the original suspension device, complete with rectangular back plate, hexagon nut and mint marked screw plate. All parts of the suspension retain much of their original fire gilt finish while showing matching patina. The screw post is of full length, approx. 10.5 mm measured from the back plate. The old, probably original ribbon is perfectly preserved and clean. The connecting ring appears to be original; its ends are joined with solder in a seamless manner characteristic of the Soviet mint manufacture. To summarize, this is an all- in-all superb example of a Gold Medal of Hero of Socialist Labor!

Ivan Pravdyuk was born in 1918 in a village of the Vinnitsa region of Ukraine. After finishing six years of school, he worked at a farm before enrolling in a motor vehicle driver training program. In November 1938, he was conscripted in the military and soon received his baptism by fire while serving as an ammunition truck driver in the Battle of Lake Khasan. For his good conduct while serving in the Soviet Far East he was rewarded with a vacation but was soon recalled to active duty with the start of the Patriotic War in June 1941.

Owing to his experience as a military driver, Pravdyuk was appointed an armored reconnaissance car company commander (according to one of the online sources, he served with the 142nd Rifle Brigade, but the unit designation seems dubious and may be a typo). He took part in some of the earliest battles at Rzhev that would become infamous as the "Rzhev Meatgrinder" and in 1942, got into an encirclement at Kharkov. Evading capture, he made it on foot to rejoin the Soviet troops via an arduous route through Novoshaktinsk, Rostov-on-Don, and Bataysk to Armavir where he was wounded. After convalescing in a hospital, he was appointed to a machine gun company in a newly activated regiment in the Stavropol Territory. In 1943, he was sent to a military school in Chelyabinsk where he obtained a qualification as a combat vehicle mechanic / driver and was promoted to sergeant.

Starting from 1944, Pravdyuk commanded a prime mover squad with the 8th Separate Heavy Mortar Brigade, 28th Army, 3rd Belorussian Front. In this capacity, he earned the Medal for Combat Service - incredibly, his first decoration despite years of frontline service - in December 1944. The award was bestowed upon Pravdyuk in January 1945 for his selfless conduct during the previous month. On 17 December, Pravdyuk used his prime mover to deliver urgently needed timber to his battery command post during the breakthrough of the German defense line near the town of Stalluponen in East Prussia (now known as Nesterov, east of Koenigsberg and Gumbinnen). Despite being seriously wounded in an enemy artillery strike, he ensured a successful evacuation and repair of his damaged vehicle and continued on with his task until the fighting was over. He was recommended for the Order of Glory, 3rd cl., but the award was subsequently downgraded to the Combat Service Medal.

Pravdyuk soon earned another decoration in the Battle of Koenigsberg, in which his army broke through the central part of East Prussia, reached the Baltic seacoast, and cut off the way of retreat for the German troops in the Koenigsberg area. Pravdyuk tirelessly worked delivering ammunition under enemy fire and on one occasion, went for three days without sleep. On 4 April, one of the prime movers of his unit got stuck in the mud and became a target for strong enemy artillery fire. Disregarding mortal danger, Pravdyuk towed the vehicle out of the danger zone thus saving both the machine and ammunition it carried. On 19 April, he was awarded for this feat with the Order of the Red Star.

Pravdyuk was discharged from the military on 8 May 1945, the day before the official Soviet V-Day, but remained in Koenigsberg until 1950 while rebuilding the largely destroyed city. In 1953, he became a driver - apparently of a bus - at the Automobile Transportation Enterprise (ATP) #04121 in the city of Stalino (later renamed Donetsk) in the Donbass Region of Ukraine. His performance at work was so extraordinarily flawless that in October 1966 he was awarded with the Order of Lenin, the highest Soviet military and labor decoration, and a very uncommon award for a humble bus driver. A few years later, on 4 May 1945 he was made a Hero of Socialist Labor, receiving the Gold "Hammer and Sickle" Medal and his second Order of Lenin "for outstanding successes achieved in execution of the assignments of the Five-Year Plan in transportation of industrial cargo and passengers, and construction and upkeep of the automobile roads".

Pravdkyuk retired in 1978 and was given a special exalted status and high pension of a "Pensioner of the All-Union Level", typically reserved for war heroes and the Party elite. He lived out the rest of his life in Donetsk where he passed away in July 2015 at nearly 97 years of age.

Research Materials: b/w photocopy of the award commendations for the Medal for Combat Service and Order of the Red Star. Ample information about this extraordinary individual as well as his photo can be found on several Russian-language websites such as Ru.wikipedia.org and warheroes.ru.
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