Ivan (Alexandrovich) Usilov (1922 – September 27, 1943) — radio mechanic, Hero of the Soviet Union, recipient of the Order of Lenin (posthumously). Junior Lieutenant, platoon commander of the 388th Independent Sapper Battalion, 218th Rifle Division, 47th Army.
Biography
Born in 1922 in the town of Bogorodsk, in what is now the Nizhny Novgorod Region, into a peasant family. Russian. In childhood he moved with his parents to the city of The City of Gorky (Nizhny Novgorod), where he completed ten years of schooling.
He worked as an assembler at the V. I. Lenin Radio-Telephone Plant.
In 1941 he volunteered for the Red Army. In 1942 he graduated from the Kostroma Military Engineering School. He joined the front in August 1942. He took part in the defense of the Northern Caucasus near Tuapse and at Myskhako. For his courage in these battles he was awarded the Order of the Red Star. He distinguished himself particularly in the autumn of 1943 during the crossing of the Dnieper.
Circumstances of the Feat
On September 25, 1943, the sapper platoon of Junior Lieutenant Usilov, under continuous fire, built a pier, constructed a ferry, and transported across the right bank of the Dnieper — in the area south of the village of Pekari (Kanevsky District, Cherkasy Oblast) — an assault group of 30 sappers and 10 scouts. On the captured bridgehead, Junior Lieutenant Usilov took part in repelling four counterattacks. The platoon under his command did not retreat a single step and launched counterattacks of its own. On September 27, the courageous officer was killed in action.
By a decree of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR dated June 3, 1944, for exemplary fulfillment of combat assignments on the front against the German-fascist invaders and for the courage and heroism displayed in doing so, Junior Lieutenant Ivan Alexandrovich Usilov was posthumously awarded the title of Hero of the Soviet Union.
He was buried in the village of Sushki, Kozelshchynsky District, Poltava Oblast.
In Nizhny Novgorod, a street has been named after the Hero; memorial plaques have been installed on one of the buildings on that street, on the house where he lived (Malaya Yamskaya Street, No. 41), and on a school building.
School No. 6 in Bogorodsk has been named after Usilov.