MINSK, 5 May (BelTA) – An order found in a desert in Israel has been reunited with the family of of the war veteran in Belarus, BelTA learned from the Belarusian Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
The Order of the Patriotic War Second Class that belonged to a veteran from Belarus was found by Belarusian native Anatoly Kavalerchik in the Negev desert in Israel during military drills.
With the help of search expeditions from Estonia and Lithuania, Anatoly Kavalerchik identified the holder of the order – Ivan Aleshkevich, a native of the village of Kamenichi in Osipovichi District, Mogilev Oblast. In 1940, 18-year-old Ivan Aleshkevich was recruited into the Red Army. He also fought in partisan units and took part in the rail war. After the war, he lived in his motherland, where he passed away in 1995.
Later, Anatoly Kavalerchik managed to find the veteran's daughter who lives in Soligorsk. “In the run-up to Victory Day, the order was returned to its rightful owners. Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs Nikolai Borisevich and Chairman of the Soligorsk District Executive Committee Andrei Zhailovich handed this family relic over to Galina Borodko, the veteran's daughter,” the ministry noted.
Participants of the handover ceremony recalled Ivan Aleshkevich's life, military merits, and work in the post-war period.
It would be hard to ascertain how the order ended up in Israel, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs pointed out. Most importantly, thanks to the people who care, the order has been returned to its holder's family.
Photos courtesy of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs
