DAVE SCHWIND

I was honored by an invitation from the Arctic Convoy Association to take part in the dedication of the memorial to the convoy sailors in St Petersburg, Russia, at the end of August and beginning of September, 2014. As the only American present, I was humbled by the opportunity to represent our brave sailors from the convoys and take part in the festivities with their surviving British and Soviet veterans. During the course of the ceremony weekend, I had the privilege of presenting my research on Soviet medals awarded to US sea service personnel, as well as take part in all of the ceremonies and be interviewed for Russian National Radio!

This trip was absolutely incredible and I cannot express how honored I am to have been invited to take part in it. I had to pinch myself to think this was actually happening...I'm just a normal person who happened to be very curious about a list of veterans and started researching them. I am humbled to be thought of as an "expert" on the topic and represent those brave men who participated in the convoys so many years ago.

Please mouse over the photos for a quick description. There are about 200 photos, so please use the left and right arrows located on the middle photos (photos 4 and 6) to scroll to the next set of photos. Enjoy!