Ekaterina Mikhailova-Demina

Ekaterina Illarionovna Mikhailova-Demina (; 22 December 1925 – 24 June 2019) was a combat medic of the Soviet Marines during World War II. During the war, she carried hundreds of wounded men to safety, and was seriously wounded herself three times. She was denied higher awards at the end of the war due to the Soviet Union's unequal treatment of women soldiers. In May 1990, President Mikhail Gorbachev awarded her the title of Hero of the Soviet Union. by claiming to be 17. She returned to duty aboard the Soviet Navy hospital ship Red Moscow, transporting wounded soldiers from Stalingrad to Krasnovodsk across the Caspian Sea. She was promoted to chief petty officer and commended for exemplary service.

Boredom caused her to volunteer for front-line service with the marines of the Azov Flotilla; the request was only accepted after she appealed to the government in Moscow. She joined the 369th Independent Naval Infantry Battalion in February 1943; she first saw action on the Taman Peninsula on the Azov Sea, and later on the Black Sea and the Dniester. She earned an Order of the Red Banner for her role in the assault. In 1950, she graduated from the Second Leningrad Medical Institute and worked as a doctor for 36 years, retiring in 1985.

Mikhailova-Demina died in June 2019 at the age of 93 and was buried in the Troyekurovskoye Cemetery (plot 26).

Awards and honors Florence Nightingale Medal (15 May 1979) Hero of the Soviet Union (5 May 1990) Order of Lenin (5 May 1990) Two Orders of the Red Banner (27 September 1944 and 8 March 1945) Order of the Patriotic War 1st class and 2nd class (1st class - 11 March 1985; 2nd class - 15 February 1944) Medal "For Courage" (31 October 1943) Medal "For the Capture of Vienna" Medal "For the Capture of Königsberg" Medal "For the Capture of Budapest" various jubilee medals