The Way I Heard It with Mike Rowe - 9: The Longshot

Episode Date: March 22, 2016

Sometimes the only way to prove your worth, is with a trial by fire.

This is the way I heard it. When you get your face on a stamp, you know you've done something right. When you get your face on two stamps, well, then you know you've done something extraordinary. The face to which I'm referring belongs to L. M. Pavlacenko. And if the name doesn't ring a bell, picture in your mind's eye a war hero, festooned with medals and awards, proudly receiving a soldier's highest honor. That was Pavlacenko. a soldier's soldier with one indisputable unrivaled talent, killing Nazis. From the start, Pavlachenko and guns went together like peas and carrots.

As a teenager, there were long hours spent working in a weapons factory, followed by daily visits to the shooting range. There, the 14-year-old Ukrainian performed with the precision and consistency of a proven marksman. So, when Hitler came calling in 1941, Pavlacenko volunteered for the infantry. But the Red Army wasn't interested. There were standards, you see, especially when it came to combat, and not everyone measured up.

Eventually, persistence paid off, as persistence so often does, and after refusing any and all non-combat positions, the stubborn volunteer was finally given a chance. Like an actor, trying out for the lead and the high school play to have a lot of the Pavlacenko was invited to audition for the desired role just outside of Odessa. In the distance, the targets were tiny, even through the high-powered telescopic sight of the Tokarev semi-automatic rifle. Two Romanians, Nazi sympathizers, enemies of the homeland. Pavlacenko breathed in and slowly exhaled. A second later, only one Romanian was standing.

A second after that, no Romanians at all. And with that, Pavlachenko was welcomed into the 25th Rifle Division and thrust directly into the action. In no time, the young private watched a close comrade die at the hands of the Nazis, and that was not good for Hitler's army, because the patriotism that drove Pavlacenko to enlist was now magnified by a burning disson. desire for vengeance. In less than a week, dozens of Nazis were dispatched by the same rifle. In less than a month, over a hundred were shot dead. Another month, another hundred. Dead Nazis were stacking up like cordwood, and people spoke in hush tones of this demon

with a rifle. Who was this private that moved like a shadow with nerves of steel and ice water for blood. With each passing day, the level of dread in Hitler's army increased, and before long, Lieutenant Pavlacenko began to accept assignments that were far more difficult with far greater risk, but the results were always the same, more dead Nazis. Soon, the wannabe soldier that nobody wanted was given the most challenging assignment a sniper can accept to hunt and kill enemy snipers. These legendary sniper duels were among the most notorious and nerve-wracking confrontations to ever unfold on the field of battle, and Pavlachinko went 36 and

before a wayward mortar round ended the combat career of this most exceptional soldier. So unprecedented were the accomplishments of this legendary sniper, Woody Guthrie wrote a song about them. The U.S. issued an original cult pistol. The Canadians followed suit with a Winchester rifle, while the Brits expressed their appreciation with a financial contribution. As for the Soviets, they issued the stamp, I mentioned a few minutes ago, along with the gold star, the highest honor, a soldier can earn. When Pavlovichenko died in 1976, the motherland rolled out a second stamp, to once again commemorate a true warrior whose name struck fear into the very heart of Hitler's army. No, not Pavlachenko.

No one knew that name. The name that terrified the Nazis, the one that spread through the front lines of Hitler's army, inspiring dread at every turn, that name was Lady Death. That's right, Ludmilla Pavlacenko was without question the most prolific female sniper of all time. And today, they're finally making a movie about the life of Lady Death, a sweet girl from the country who rose through the ranks of a man's army to single-handedly kill 309 Nazis. A long shot, you might say, in every sense of the word. Anyway, that's the way I heard it.