US Veteran Honored To Be Awarded Russian Medal For Participation In Arctic Convoys

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US Veteran Honored to Be Awarded Russian Medal for Participation in Arctic Convoys

WASHINGTON (UrduPoint News / Sputnik - 05th December, 2020) US merchant marine veteran George Koch, who received a Russian Medal of Ushakov for participation in Arctic convoys during World War II, told Sputnik that he is "very honored" to be awarded.

"I am pleased and honored that I have received that medal. It was very nice of the Russian Federation to give these medals to us, to merchant marines who sacrificed lives to supply the Russians with these materials to help fight with the Nazis," Koch said. "It was good that we had an ally to fight Hitler."

Due to COVID-19 restrictions, Koch, now 92, received the medal by mail, but the Navy League and the American Merchant Marine Veterans organization are planning to conduct an official ceremony to honor the veteran. The ceremony was initially scheduled for December 5 but has been postponed because of the pandemic.

"Mr. Koch served in the US Merchant Marine making the Arctic convoy runs to bring supplies and support to the US ally, the Soviet Union," Sun Coast Council of the Navy League President Michael Wooster said in a statement. "These convoys fought off ferocious air attacks, submarine attacks and even surface raiders such as the famed Nazi Battleship the Tirpitz to bring much needed supplies to our allies."

By Decree of Russian President Vladimir Putin, the Russian Embassy in Washington, DC awarded the Medal of Ushakov to 17 Americans, including Koch. The medal is named after Admiral Fyodor Ushakov, who never lost a battle and has been proclaimed the patron saint of the Russian Navy.

During the war, the United States provided material assistance to the Soviet Union via the North Atlantic, sending resources, provisions and military equipment such as tanks and airplanes, to support the military effort against Nazi Germany. In the process, convoys had to deal with the inhospitable Arctic climate along with German attempts to prevent them from reaching their destinations.

In 1944, the 16-year-old Koch enlisted as a helper in the boiler room on the ship named "Eloy Alfaro." His way started in October from the state of New York from where the transport sailed to Glasgow, Scotland to join a caravan with the coded title JW61 to the Soviet city of Murmansk.

"We shipped out from New York City in a convoy with the Naval ships protecting us, and sailed to Glasgow, Scotland. We took supplies there, and then we got into another convoy and headed out to the Arctic Ocean, he said.

The veteran noted that he did not know what cargo his ship was delivering to the Soviet Union because it was bundled up before he boarded.

"We had a locomotive and a coal car that was loaded in a deck, and some goods in our holds," he said.

GERMANS ATTACK ON WAY TO MURMANSK

The weather was relatively good as it was possible to be in the Arctic, but the convoy of 30 British, American and Norwegian Navy and merchant ships had been attacked by German planes and submarines.

Koch was anxious to see what was going on and took up a position on some structure over the deck. "Eloy Alfaro" was separated from other ships, and George noticed at some point how the ship narrowly avoided a collision with a torpedo.

"The captain had been zigzagging the ship to avoid attack, and I think the convoy had separated to some extent," he said. "I did not see any other ships in the convoy close to us at all."

The captain sent the young man back to the boiler room to avoid unnecessary danger, so he only heard how British Naval ships were trying to find Nazi submarines.

"It was like you put a bucket over your head and strike it with a hammer," Koch said. "I was unaware what was happening, but I know that the Navy dropped depth charges trying to seek submarines that were under our ships.

"

The attack was the only one that George saw, and no ships were lost. His convoy was fortunate because the Germans, he found out after the war, experienced problems with fuel at that time and had many opportunities to strive for Arctic caravans.

Koch was shocked by what he saw in Murmansk, where the team spent less than two weeks.

"I never saw such destruction in my life - the whole city was bombed out. It was devastated, the buildings were demolished," he recalled.

Women they men ashore invited the Americans to a concert at a local theatre. The women laughed when Koch began humming one melody he heard before.

US sailors were surprised, he added, when they learned about the role Russian women played in the war.

"They did not necessarily fight, but they were helping their husbands at the front lines." Koch noted.

Koch said they were very happy to talk to the Russians they met in Murmansk.

"They were very nice to us. We had a good time with the Russian people there," the US veteran said.

Koch said he kept the warmest memories from that period.

"We had very good meetings with the Russians, including soldiers," he said. "In fact, we traded cigarettes for memorabilia. For cigarettes, they gave me a small knife. One soldier said it was made from parts of a German plane that had been shut down."

The veteran said he was a young naive adult during the war.

"I was very frightened that we might be hit by a torpedo from a German submarine or bombed from a plane. You know, that is the way war is," he said.

From Murmansk, Koch sent a letter to his father in the US, but the addressee never got it. George was disappointed, however he understands that delivering mail was difficult during the war.

"My father was a stamps collector. I bought some stamps in Murmansk and brought them to him. He put them in his collection and was very happy," George said.

'I CAN VERIFY THAT SALT WATER FREEZES'

When unloaded, the ships went back into the Kola Bay, while waiting another convoy to return to Scotland and then to the United States with a cargo of manganese ore. The ships were lucky to avoid another attack from the Germans, but the weather was not so quiet like on the way to Murmansk.

They were swaying from side to side 45 degrees or more, waves were coming up over the decks.

"If somebody thinks that salt water does not freeze... I can verify - it does, so the top of our ship was covered with ice," Koch noted.

The convoy was separated again - now because of the storm, but all ships reached the goal safely. George was discharged from the crew and returned home.

When Koch turned 17 in early 1945, he joined the US Navy and spent a year in a boot camp in the state of New York on board the USS Oregon City.

"We put it into commission and sailed to Guantanamo Bay Naval Base for our shakedown cruise, then went to the docks in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania and to the port in New Jersey, where I was honorably discharged from the Navy," Koch said.

AMERICANS DO NOT KNOW ABOUT ARCTIC CONVOYS

Koch expressed regret that Americans do not understand the importance of Arctic convoys in the joint victory over Nazis.

"Our people do not know enough about this and do not appreciate what the merchant marines have done during World War II and during the other conflicts," he said.

The veteran appreciated Russia for recognizing that sacrifice. He also urged Americans to talk more about that part of World War II.