Russian soldier shakes hands with an US Army sergeant Bernard MakGuru. 169th Air Base special purpose Poltava airfield, June 1944.
The autumn of 1943 the US asked Joseph Stalin allow Heavy Bombers US Air Force fly over Soviet territory to bomb targets in eastern Germany and the Balkans, so they do not go back to England or Italy. In early 1944, the Soviet Union has allocated for this flight three fields in Ukraine in Poltava region: Poltava, Mirgorod and Piryatin (Poltava airfield complex, 169th Airbase of special purpose). Airfields were covered by Soviet air defense aircraft on airfields themselves everything was organized at the highest level.
Recording location: Poltava, Ukraine, USSR
Time of photo taken: June 1944
Source of the US Army sergeant photo: NATIONAL MUSEUM OF THE US AIR FORCE