Stepan Borozenets

Stepan Nikolayevich Borozenets (Russian: Степан Николаевич Борозенец; 20 August 1922 – 26 August 2016) was a Soviet Air Force colonel and a Hero of the Soviet Union.

Stepan Borozenets
Native name
Степан Николаевич Борозенец
Born20 August 1922
Aktobe, Kirghiz ASSR, RSFSR
Died26 August 2016(2016-08-26) (aged 94)
Chicago, Illinois, United States of America
AllegianceSoviet Union
Service/branchSoviet Air Force
Years of service1941–1978
RankColonel
Unit569th Attack Aviation Regiment
Commands held230th Bomber Aviation Regiment
Battles/warsWorld War II
AwardsHero of the Soviet Union

Borozenets served as an Ilyushin Il-2 ground attack aircraft pilot during World War II, and was awarded the title Hero of the Soviet Union for flying 94 sorties and destroying German equipment. Postwar, he went on to command a bomber aviation regiment before retiring in 1978. In 1995, he went to Chicago for medical treatment and remained in America until his death in 2016.[1]

Early life

Borozenets was born on 20 August 1922 in Aktobe[1] in what is now Ulan District, Kazakhstan, to a Russian peasant family. He graduated from high school and the Semipalatinsk flying club.[2]

Postwar

As a result of landing his plane without landing gear on a railway track during World War II, Borozenets seriously injured his spine. He went to Chicago in 1995 for surgery to remove several intervertebral discs. However, he was unable to return to Russia because his health prevented him from flying, and Borozenets' wife and son also moved to Chicago. Retaining his Russian citizenship, he applied for the 36,410 ruble cash payment Heroes of the Soviet Union were entitled to in 2006, but his application was denied because he did not live in Russia. Borozenets appealed to the Constitutional Court of Russia, but the court ruled that veterans living outside of Russia were not eligible for the payment, although it allowed for a personal exemption.[3]

Awards

References
  1. "В США скончался последний Герой Советского Союза, проживавший на территории страны". ТАСС (in Russian). Retrieved 17 April 2017.
  2. Ufarkin, Nikolai. "Борозенец Степан Николаевич". www.warheroes.ru (in Russian). Retrieved 19 August 2019.
  3. "Герою льготы не положены". Радио Свобода. Retrieved 18 April 2017.
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