06 Uniform of 2nd Czechoslovak Independent Airborne Brigade in USSR Corporal, 1944

Fotogalerie

The estate of Juraj Meles, a member of the 2nd Czechoslovak Paratroopers Brigade. In 1971, he donated the uniform to the Soviet officers in Milovice for a memorial that opened there under the condition that if it was not used for exhibition purposes, it should be handed over to a museum in Prague. Juraj Meles was born on 22 March 1919 in the village of Lysychovo in Ukraine. From 1939, he was interned in the USSR and on 17 July 1943, he was conscripted into a Czechoslovak military unit in Buzuluk. He later joined the 2nd Czechoslovak Paratroopers Brigade in Yefremov. He took part in the battles at Dukla, where he was wounded and transported by plane to Banska Bystrica. After partial recovery, he served with the Partisan Detachment “Pobeda” under the command of Capt. Makarenko. His uniform was made by partisan Migrova in the area of Liptovske Revuce (Nizna). He used the uniform until the arrival of the Soviet Army and later as an off-duty uniform.

The jacket is made of thick (sheath) khaki woollen cloth. It fastens with 6 yellow metal buttons decorated with swords (Soviet made) and the collar has an iron hook fastening. The chest pockets are pleated with a flap and buttons. The bottom pockets are sewn-in with fold-over flaps. The green cut-out collar tabs and green-lined epaulettes with the rank insignia of a corporal mark the affiliation with the 2nd Czechoslovak Paratroopers Brigade in the USSR.