Soviet Russian USSR WWII medal Order of the Red Star with serial number in the 1.6 million range awarded in 1945 to Major Yakov Borisovich Birbraier for treating more than 500 soldiers who had fallen ill during the Berlin offensive (as described below). Vivid photographic portraits of Birbraier.
Birbraier was born in 1903 in the small Ukrainian city of Trostyanets of the western Vinnytsia Province. He attained an advanced education in medicine, presumably in Leningrad, where he joined the Red Army's medical service in February 1938.
At the outbreak of WWII, he was stationed with the 21st Tank Division on the Karelian Isthmus with the old style rank of Military Doctor 3rd Class. He served on the northern fronts for much of the war - the Volkhov, Leningrad, and 3rd Baltic - before becoming part of the 1st Belorussian Front for the great offensive push into Germany.
Birbraier earned this Order of the Red Star for his cumulative service as head of the medical section of Mobile Therapeutic Field Hospital? 2893, 2nd Guards Tank Army, in the last six months of the war. Within the Red Army's medical establishment, therapeutic hospitals were specifically focused on treating the sick rather than wounded.
The introduction of this structure in December 1942 significantly improved overall medical care; on average, 90% of patients were able to return to duty within 30 days. At his hospital, Birbraier proved himself both an outstanding specialist and a skilled organizer. In tandem, these attributes contributed to the treatment of more than 500 sick soldiers and commanders, the majority of whom had become ill during the Oder-Vistula offensive. A key factor in award recommendations for Red Army medical personnel was that soldiers under their care were able to return to service, thereby improving a formation's combat performance. Post-war, Birbraier continued to service with therapeutic hospitals of the 2nd Guards Tank Army, which was now designated the 2nd Guards Mechanized Army. He retired in November 1955 with the rank of Lieutenant-Colonel. He had accumulated enough years of loyal service to collect both a Combat Service Medal in 1951 and a second Red Star in December 1956 even after leaving the army. He was additionally eligible for a Medal for the Defense of Leningrad, but he does not appear to have received it, likely due to bureaucratic failings. As seen in the images! The serial number of the award is authentic and matches the serial number shown in the archival documents. If you require confirmation in advance, please send me a message, and I will gladly provide images. Reasonable, rational collectors who are genuinely interested in the history represented by an award will make the effort to reach out and will quickly find that everything is in order.Winner will be provided with archival research (9 pages - including Citation and Award Record Card) in electronic format, unredacted, in color, plus an archival portraits of Birbraier, also in electronic format. Professional English translation of the Record Card and Citation is available if requested before receipt of item.
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