Background
Ivan was born on 5 June in 1924 in the village of Mykolayivka now Krasninsky district of the Smolensk region in the family of a peasant.
Grave of the Hero on the East cemetry.
Ivan was born on 5 June in 1924 in the village of Mykolayivka now Krasninsky district of the Smolensk region in the family of a peasant.
Since 1945 he studied at Pushkin Tank School. Ivan graduated from 7 classes.
After graduation from school he worked on the collective farm.
In July 1941 - February 1942 he survived the occupation, since November 1941 he was a scout of a partisan detachment.
In the Red Army since March 1942. Until November 1943, he fought with a rifle in a company of submachine gunners and a scout on the Western Front.
In 1945 he graduated from the Pushkin Tank School, after which he fought as a tank platoon commander on the 2nd Ukrainian Front. In battles three times wounded.
Participated: - in battles in the encirclement between the cities of Vyazma and Yelnya, in battles on the Gzhatsko-Vyazma direction - in 1942; - in the liberation of the cities of Gzhatsk (now Gagarin), Vyazma, Smolensk, in battles on the Orsha direction - in 1943; - in battles in South Moravia (Czech Republic) - in 1945. The tank platoon commander, Junior Lieutenant Mirenkov, in battle on April 16, 1945 near the village Starovichka (5 kilometers southeast of the city of Hustopece, Czech Republic), with a platoon, destroyed 6 tanks and self-propelled plants, 2 guns and up to 50 enemy soldiers and officers, which contributed to the advancement of the units of the brigade. With the shrapnel wounds, burns of the face and hands of varying severity, Mirenkov was put in a hospital. There, from fellow soldiers, he learned that Starostichka was presented for the battle to the high rank of Hero of the Soviet Union. After recovery, Lieutenant Mirenkov as a member of the 6th Guards Tank Army moved to the Transbaikal Front.
In August-September 1945, he participated in the war against militaristic Japan, overcame the Great Khingan and reached Port Arthur (Lushun, China).
By the decree of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR of May 15, 1946, for exemplary fulfillment of combat missions of the command on the front of the struggle against the German fascist invaders and the courage and heroism shown at that time, Junior Lieutenant Mirenkov Ivan Stepanovich was awarded the title of Hero of the Soviet Union with the Order of Lenin and the Gold Star medal.
After the war he continued his service in the Far East. He served as the commander of a tank company, battalion, chief of staff of the 35th Guards Tank Regiment of the 3rd Guards Mechanized Division of the Primorsky Military District.
Since 1974, Colonel Mirenkov - in reserve. He lived in the city of Minsk (Belarus). Before retirement he worked in a design institute.
He died on September 28, 2010. He was buried at the East (Moscow) cemetery in Minsk.
Member of the CPSU in 1947-1991.
