Līna Čanka

Līna Čanka was a Latvian Corporal of World War I and Latvian War of Independence. She was within the under the pseudonym of "Jānis Čanka" and was known as the first woman to be a recipient of the Order of Lāčplēsis, the highest military award of Latvia.

Military career Līna Čanka was born on November 5, 1893, in an agricultural family of the farm "Mežziles" within the vicinity of the Renda Parish with 4 sisters and 1 brother. At the beginning of World War I, her family went as refugees to Ukraine, but Līna stayed in Riga where with her deceased brother's documents and the nickname "Jānis", she voluntarily joined the Latvian Riflemen. She then enlisted in the and participated in all the battles of the regiment on the Riga front. During the war, she'd often repeat the phrase:

I wish you knew how beautiful it is in the positions. The music of the crackling shrapnel and grenades - it cannot be described, it can only be felt, enjoyed . When there is no shooting for a while, everyone walks as if dead, but starts shooting - just like at a concert.

After the departure of the Latvian Riflemen to Russia and the collapse of the front, she remained in Latvia and voluntarily joined the Latvian army in September 1919 and served in the . and in 1927, she was awarded the Order of the Three Stars, IV Class. She later married Robert Freudenfeld.