Siberian Wedding, Part 2..4/4

back with him to start a new family."
While there, I presented Lyudmila with a high quality repro Hero Medal in a fine ring box. I had Cal Maggro, my local jeweler, renumber the repro with the serial number 7836 which was Khantaev's. I also handed her the Paul McDaniel certificate of authenticity for the medal, along with copies of his military personnel file.
The next day, my friend Natalya took me to visit the Little Stork Children's Home. With generous contributions from my friends and business associates, including one from Art Bates who runs this site, I handed over $2,000.00. They were flabbergasted. After the tour, they ushered me into a large office where they surprised me with a large banquet! It was as fine as the one the day before.
On August 9th, Darima Socktoyeva and Craig Fotheringham were married in the beautiful ethnological park in Ulan Ude, in the traditional Buryat marriage ceremony.
The wedding reception that night

Above: Main temple building. The colorful temple of the Ivolginsky Datsan houses many old artifacts and sacred scrolls. Darima in her wedding dress and her husband Craig can be seen entering as wedding guests make their way towards the entrance.
Below: Interior of the Ivolginsky
Datsan. Many devout Buddhists and foreign visitors come to this site as one of the "must sees" on their visit to Ulan Ude. It is about an hour outside of the city and many newly weds come here as part of the post wedding ritual.

Right Top: Buryat folklore group presenting a sash: A blue sash was presented to Darima and Craig as part of the Buryat wedding ritual.
Right Middle: In front of main gate. Front gate leading to the grounds of the
Ivolginsky Datsan.
Right Bottom: Wedding party at Soviet Square. Ulan Ude, the capital of the
Republic of Buryatia, has the largest head of Lenin in all of Russia. It is a favorite stop for post wedding photographs and as a meeting place. The government administrative building in the foreground was the site of the medal return ceremony.

Siberian Wedding Part 2
by Henry Sakaida

was truly unforgettable. Our table was set with a lot of exotic dishes. I sat with the American guests. When we finally finished eating, the waitresses took our plates away…and started bringing more food! I think the first was the appetizer! The cuisine included Lake Baikal sturgeon, caviar, bread, cheese, beef, duck, rice, all sorts of vegetables, and desserts. We laboriously ate our way through the second, and then came the third! We jokingly protested to no avail.

And of course, the traditional Vodka toasts! This is the finest wedding reception I have ever attended, and I now judge all wedding receptions by this one.
So my fellow collectors, returning Vasily Khantaev's Gold Star Medal took me on a thrilling adventure. It was truly a thrill of a life time! The fun and the experiences were priceless.
The newlyweds now reside in Union City, California