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Ivan Dacenko

by Sasha from Luchynets


Some people bear such an unusual fate that nobody could believe it – it can be more fantastic than any Hollywood film. I want to tell you about my Hero – a regular Ukrainian man, who operated the flying fortresses – and become the Indian Chief for thousands of kilometers across his native land.

Ivan Ivanovich Dacenko was born in 1918 in a settle of Chernechiy Cliff Dikaniskogo District. The boy studied at a local secondary school. In the same year he finished the school, Ivan was called on service in the Soviet Army. In 1940 has finished the aircraft school in a Russian town Orienburgh. During the years of the Great Patriotic war (a name of the war on the territory of the Soviet Union, is considered to be the part of the World War II) served in bombing aviation of the Far East. The member of the Communist party from 1940. Guard lieutenant I.I. Dacenko was the Commander of Gvardeyskiy Krasnoznamennyi aircraft regiment which made the flight on the distant action - since the first days of the Great Patriotic war it bravely strove with the fascist invaders. Lots of times he had flown to bomb military-industrial objects in deep rear of the enemy.

At the beginning initially August 1943 guard first lieutenant I. Dacenko had realized more than 200 combat flights. After wounding he again flew to the front. Rewarded orders of the Red Flag, medals, and on the 18th of September 1943 he has assigned a rank of a Soviet Union Hero – the highest military award in that country. In a book " For gallantry and courage ", published in 1973, where have placed the stories about all the Soviet Union Heroes, on page 105 it is told: “On April 18th 1944 the crew of I. Dacenko had bombed the railway station Lvov , where there was much of alive power and technology of the enemy. During the performance of the combat task fearless pilot perished the death brave.” It was considered by all but in a certain time from the supreme military authorities of the Soviet Union there came the secret edict – to suspend I. Dacenko. The communists issued that no one Soviet Hero must let the fascists capture him – or he had better to kill himself. The cover of secrecy was opened only in 30 years.

Makhmud Esambaev (unesco.ru)
Makhmud Esambaev (unesco.ru)

In 1960s the famous actor and ballet dancer Makhmud Esambaev has been invited to the reservation of the Canadian Indians to watch them dancing. When the chief of the tribe: high, strong, still a young man, covered all by tattoos, appeared, everybody wondered about his handsome … Slavic face! But he spoke to them in pure Ukrainian language. What turned out after such a distant investigation: in dogfights under Lvov I. Dacenko did not perish, but has fallen into the captivity to Germans. In 1945 the brave man ran away from the Germans and came to American zone of the occupation. Somehow Ivan was taken to Canada. There he worked in Montreal on different jobs. In one of the Indian settlements he liked the daughter of chieftain. The Chieftain yielded consent on marriage of his daughter with I. Dacenko and decided that he would have to become the tribesman, and after the father's death - a chieftain. Dacenko agreed and became the chief of the tribe, by the name of Penetrating Fire, but having also the American name and surname - John McNober.

I. Dacenko and his wife (englishrussia.com)
I. Dacenko and his wife (englishrussia.com)

In 2002 the chieftain and his son had died, about the fate of I. Dacenko’s grandson nothing is known. There appeared the question if it is really that chieftain and our I. Dacenko were the one person. For this photographs of the military years and photographs of Dacenka and the Indian chief have been sent to Moscow judicial institute where a medical expert operation was made, which confirmed in both that they was the same person. That was the fantastic life of a boy from a small Ukrainian village.

Page created on 5/14/2010 12:00:00 AM

Last edited 5/14/2010 12:00:00 AM

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