Nikolai Melnyk, helicopter pilot hero, R.I.P.

[DiCE81]

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mykola_Melnyk

[BIGNEWY]

R.I.P

 

Brave man

[159th_Falcon]

indeed, but what about all the other Hero's?

 

Lots of people have given there lives, right there and then.

 

Nothing negative towards Nikolai Melnyk though, just saying he was one of many hero's there.

[Silver_Dragon]

Spanish newspeper talking of Nikolay death (in spanish) R.I.P

http://enmemoria.lavanguardia.com/obituarios/nikolai-melnyk.html

[maturin]

indeed, but what about all the other Hero's?

 

Lots of people have given there lives, right there and then.

 

Nothing negative towards Nikolai Melnyk though, just saying he was one of many hero's there.

Edit: Skimming, misread your meaning.

Edited August 7, 2013 by maturin

[aaron886]

RIP. A hero to be sure.

 

And I suspect that most of them were heroes because they were good at killing people in wars

 

Time to ask what makes someone deserving of a "hero" award. Mr. Melnyk was doing his job, just like a good many attack helicopter pilots have done. It's more complicated than you make it out to be.

[159th_Falcon]

Sort of baffled why you felt the need to make that post.

 

Because Nikolai Melnyk was not the only liquidator. He was one of thousands.

Many volunteered.

 

All hero's in my eyes.

And not because they killed people in Wars.

[maturin]

Why Melnyk? Besides the fact that he just died, the Soviet government would often choose (usually deserving) people to become symbolic of a larger effort. PR heroes or figureheads.

 

But it goes without saying that Soviet society rarely erred on the side of individual credit (Stalin/Lenin aside) and always stressed the collective nature of any struggle or achievement.

Edited August 7, 2013 by maturin

[RIPTIDE]

Seems this was not any old pilot. If the text is correct it appears he had great skill.

 

RIP.

[RvETito]

I didn't manage to meet him in person while I was working with Ka-32 helicopters but he was a partner of my previous company and all of my older colleagues knew him so I've heard a lot about him. After Chernobyl he has got leucaemia (blood cancer) and his blood has been changed every year.