{{Short description|Red Army sergeant}} {{Infobox military person|name = Ivan Prokofievich Afanasenko|native_name = Иван Прокофьевич Афанасенко|birth_date = 16 January 1923|death_date = 11 September 1975 (aged 51)|birth_place = Nizhny-Stebelevka village, Taman District, Kuban-Black Sea Oblast, RSFSR|death_place = Volgograd, Soviet Union|allegiance = {{flag|Soviet Union}}|branch = Red Army|service_years = 1942–1946|rank = Sergeant|unit = 59th Guards Rifle Division |battles = {{tree list}} * World War II ** Budapest Offensive {{tree list/end}} |awards = Hero of the Soviet Union |image = Ivan Afanasenko.jpg}} '''Ivan Prokofievich Afanasenko''' (Russian: Иван Прокофьевич Афанасенко; 16 January 1923 – 11 September 1975) was a Red Army Sergeant and a Hero of the Soviet Union. Afanasenko was awarded the title Hero of the Soviet Union for reportedly crossing the Danube multiple times under fire between 4 December and 5 December 1944. Postwar, he worked as a tractor driver in Volgograd.<ref name=":0">{{Cite web|title = Aфанасенко Иван Прокофьевич|url = http://warheroes.ru/hero/hero.asp?Hero_id=21216|website = warheroes.ru|accessdate = 2015-10-24}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book|title = Герои Советского Союза: Абаев-Любичев|url = https://books.google.com/books?id=8f3TAAAAMAAJ|publisher = Voenizdat|date = 1987-01-01|language = ru|trans-title = Heroes of the Soviet Union (Abaev-Lubich)}}</ref>
== Early life == Afanasenko was born on 16 January 1923 in Nizhny-Stebelevka village in the Taman District of the Kuban-Black Sea Oblast, in a family of peasants<ref name=":1">{{Cite web|title = Библиотека – Люди и книги|url = http://www.az-libr.ru/index.shtml?Persons&000/Src/0006/25754539|website = www.az-libr.ru|accessdate = 2015-10-25}}</ref> of Russian<ref>[http://www.warheroes.ru/hero/hero.asp?Hero_id=21216 Герои Страны]</ref> ethnicity. He graduated from elementary school and worked on the farm. He later became a hunter.<ref name=":0" /><ref name=":1" />
== World War II == In March 1942, Afanasenko was drafted into the Red Army. He was assigned to the 197th Rifle Division from 7 August. He fought in the Battle of Stalingrad, after which the division became the 59th Guards Rifle Division. Afanasenko later fought in Operation Gallop, the Donbass Strategic Offensive, the Zaporizhia Offensive, the Nikopol–Krivoi Rog Offensive, the Odessa Offensive, the Second Jassy–Kishinev Offensive, the Bucharest-Arad Offensive and the Battle of Debrecen. In 1944, Afanasenko joined the Communist Party of the Soviet Union.<ref name=":1" /> On 10 August, he was awarded the Order of the Red Star.<ref>{{Cite web|title = Память народа :: Документ о награде :: Афанасенко Иван Прокофьевич, Орден Красной Звезды|url = https://pamyat-naroda.ru/heroes/podvig-chelovek_nagrazhdenie40727604/|website = pamyat-naroda.ru|accessdate = 2015-10-25}}</ref> On 28 October 1944, Afanasenko was awarded the Medal "For Courage".<ref>{{Cite web|title = Память народа :: Документ о награде :: Афанасенко Иван Прокофьевич, Медаль "За отвагу"|url = https://pamyat-naroda.ru/heroes/podvig-chelovek_nagrazhdenie41370845/|website = pamyat-naroda.ru|accessdate = 2015-10-25}}</ref> By December 1944, he was an Efreitor in the 66th Guards Separate Combat Engineer Battalion of the same division.<ref name=":0" />
On the night of 4–5 December 1944, Afanasenko fought in the crossing of the Danube. He piloted a boat in the first wave of landings. Afanasenko reportedly made multiple crossings, some under enemy fire, bringing in reinforcements and taking out casualties in the bridgehead. On 24 March 1945, Afanasenko was awarded the title Hero of the Soviet Union and the Order of Lenin for his actions during the Danube crossing.<ref name=":1" /><ref>{{Cite web|title = Память народа :: Документ о награде :: Афанасенко Иван Прокофьевич, Герой Советского Союза (Орден Ленина и медаль "Золотая звезда")|url = https://pamyat-naroda.ru/heroes/podvig-chelovek_nagrazhdenie150001644/|website = pamyat-naroda.ru|accessdate = 2015-10-25}}</ref> During the Vienna Offensive, Afanasenko reportedly shot down a German aircraft with a machine gun on 10 April,<ref name=":0" /> for which he was awarded the Order of the Patriotic War 2nd class .<ref>{{Cite web|title = Память народа :: Документ о награде :: Афанасенко Иван Прокофьевич, Орден Отечественной войны II степени|url = https://pamyat-naroda.ru/heroes/podvig-chelovek_nagrazhdenie42787335/|website = pamyat-naroda.ru|accessdate = 2015-10-25}}</ref>
== Postwar == In 1946, Afanasenko was demobilized and returned to Krasnoarmeysky District. In 1947, he graduated from a mechanics' high school.<ref name=":1" /> Afterwards, he moved to Stalingrad, where he worked as a tractor driver.<ref name=":1" /> Afanasenko died on 11 September 1975 and was buried in Volgograd's Kirov Cemetery.<ref name=":0" /><ref>{{Cite web|title = Героев прошлого вернули из забвения : Похоронный дом Память. Волгоград|url = http://www.memory-vlg.ru/?objid=93|website = www.memory-vlg.ru|accessdate = 2015-10-25}}</ref>
== References == <references />
{{DEFAULTSORT:Afanasenko, Ivan}} Category:1923 births Category:1975 deaths Category:People from Krasnoarmeysky District, Krasnodar Krai Category:Communist Party of the Soviet Union members Category:Soviet military personnel of World War II Category:Heroes of the Soviet Union Category:Recipients of the Order of Lenin Category:Recipients of the Medal "For Courage" (Russia)