Some help from Mother Russia....
 

Gentlemen....I just received a book this week entitled "The Girl In Blue" War Stories From Russia, written by Alex Prokich. Mr. Prokich was a math teacher back in my high school years of the late 60's. There were rumours of his experiences during WW11, but they turned out just be that. This book however reveals his real experiences during the war. After fighting for the Romanian Army, under German command, he and 32 others escaped to the Russian Army while fighting on the Russian Front. Mr. Prokich was shortly promoted to major and was placed in command of a most unusual formation: The 2nd Independent Student Rifle Brigade directly attached to "Stavka", the Supreme High Command.
His command contained approximately 4500 troops, approx. 10 American M4 Shermans, 2 Valentine Tanks manufactured in Canada and 8 excellent T34 Soviet Tanks.
A number of my former high school buddies are trying to get some more insite into "The 2nd Independent Student Rifle Brigade" and hopefully Mr. Prokich's involvement.
I know from my experience on this forum, there are a couple of Russian members and hopefully they could shed some light on this little bit of history. And if there are any Yugoslavian Members here, perhaps they could shed some light on their involvement in the 1936 Olympics in Berlin, as Mr Prokich was involved in track and field, according to a photo provided to me.

Alex is currently still alive at 95 and lives in southern Ontario. Your help would be appreciated......Robert

I can't offer any evidence, but I know there is a subculture of badge collectors who know 100x more than the average knowledgible person. Our CMP, HUP and carrier brothers here are a perfect example of this.

I once met a guy who was very quiet about collecting non-German SS militaria. When he trusted me, I saw some of his pieces. The latest find was after he had gained the confidence of an elderly Latvian SS volunteer, and acquired his badges and papers. Tough for the family to lose that chunk of family history, but some people don't understand (or don't want to understand) the conditions that compelled an ancestor to chose one side or the other. Even in my hometown there is a once-controversial plaque for a Canadian killed in Vietnam in the US Army.

I suggest you keep posting on as many forums as you can find.

Starting point....
 

Terry.....you're absolutely right in your comments. As with research, there has to be a starting point and I chose the MLU Forum as it. Being that there are some Russian Members, it's worth a shot. And the fact of the Canadian connections and the fact he's still alive, adds to the pursuit. I'll do some looking for other forums and keep you posted.

I've lucked out in the past and a lot of times....just by a hunch. Around Remembrance day last year I posted an article on MLU about an Italian Lira note I bought off ebay and was signed by members of the Perth Regiment. Since then. I have contacted at least 8 families of the soldiers and sent them copies of the note along with any information pertaining to it. And again...it's the starting point. Two soldiers from Saskatchewan were a test. One, I had to phone the local pub in a town called "Love". A sympathetic waitress helped guide me with a few phone numbers and through that I managed to locate the only daughter in Newmarket Ontario, who was in total shock and disbelieve. Another was from "Hazel Dell", whose family I tracked down and finally located the son in Brandon Manitoba. All of this through phoning the local veterinary clinic.

So hopefully I'll have the same luck with this. Thanks for your advice.....Robert :thup2: