Order of the Red Star nr. 17754 was awarded by Decree of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of April 11, 1940 to 25-year-old Private Aleksei Matveyevich Khodyuk, rifleman in the 27th Rifle Regiment, 7th Rifle Division, 7th Army, Northwestern Front.

Aleksei Matveyevich Khodyuk was born on March 17, 1915 in the village of Khodyuki in Kalinin (Tver) Province and lived in Leningrad. By the time of the Soviet-Finnish Winter War of 1939-1940 he had the rank of Private and served as a rifleman in the 27th Rifle Regiment, part of the 7th Army's 7th Rifle Division. Originally stationed in Kiev Military District, the 7th Rifle Division was transported north in mid-January 1940 to take part in the Winter War. The division fought at Perkjärvi (present-day Kirpichnoye) on the Karelian Isthmus and then advanced to Lake Suurmikkelinjärvi. In late February the division fought in the Khotinen sector.

The commander of the 27th Rifle Regiment nominated Khodyuk for an Order of the Red Star for his bravery. The order was awarded on April 11, 1940, shortly after the end of the Finnish campaign.

Khodyuk saw service again during the Continuation War, although his unit is unknown. His old 7th Rifle Division returned to Kiev Military District after the Winter War and was destroyed in September 1941 during the Battle of Kiev. Khodyuk likely stayed in Karelia after the Winter War, being transferred to another unit.

Aleksei Khodyuk was taken prisoner on July 17, 1941, three and a half weeks after the start of the war, at Hдmekoski. He arrived at Organizing Camp nr. 1 - located at Nastola, northeast of the town of Lahti - on August 22, 1941. The Finnish camp administration listed Aleksei Khodyuk's father, Matvei, as his next of kin. Nothing further is known about Khodyuk. He may have returned home after the war, but it is just as likely that he died in Finland. Of the roughly 67 thousand Soviet troops taken prisoner by the Finnish army, some 20 thousand died.

Concerning: Private Aleksei Matveyevich Khodyuk, rifleman in the 27th Rifle Regiment, 7th Rifle Division

Name of the award: Order of the Red Star

1. Year of birth: 1908
2. Nationality: Russian
3. Social position: Working class
4. Party affiliation: Not a member
5. Since when in the Red Army: Since 1937
6. Service in the Civil War: No
7. Wounds and contusions: No
8. Has he been nominated for an award before (if so, when and what for): No
9. Which commendations and awards did he receive and what for: No
10. Service in the White Army or other bourgeois armies and time spent as a prisoner of war: No, no
11. Permanent address: _______________

Order of the Red Star nr. 17754, obverse and reverse

Soviet forces crossing the Finnish border in the central part of the Karelian Isthmus, November 30, 1939	7th Army troops riflemen, Karelian Isthmus, 1939
Soviet infantry advancing, Karelian Isthmus, 1939	Soviet prisoners of war in a Finnish camp