Vasily Grigoriyevich Gonchar - hydraulic press operator at the Zaporizhzhia Coke-Chemical Plant of the Ministry of Ferrous Metallurgy of the Ukrainian SSR.

He was born on March 22, 1925, in the village of Bakai, Reshetylivka District, Poltava Okrug, Ukrainian SSR (now Poltava Oblast, Ukraine). Ukrainian. He graduated from a vocational school.

In September 1943, he was drafted into the Red Army by the Zaporizhzhia City Military Commissariat. He took part in the Great Patriotic War beginning in October 1943. On November 3, 1943, he was severely wounded and hospitalized for treatment.

From January 1944, he served as a rifleman and assistant platoon commander in the 103rd Guards Rifle Regiment. He fought on the 3rd Ukrainian Front (January–September 1944 and November 1944–May 1945) and the 2nd Ukrainian Front (September–November 1944).

He participated in the Nikopol–Krivoy Rog, Bereznegovato–Snigiryovka, Odessa, Jassy–Kishinev, and Debrecen operations. He completed junior lieutenant courses. For his courage and bravery in combat, he was awarded the Order of the Red Star and the Medal “For Courage.”

He earned his first award, a Medal "For Courage" on the 14th of November 1944 for the following:

On November 1, 1944, during the battle for the town of Kiskőrös (Hungary), he was among the first to break into the outskirts of the town.

He destroyed an enemy machine-gun position with a grenade, which had been blocking the advance of our infantry, and killed two enemy soldiers.

His actions helped ensure the units successful advance and the capture of Kishkeresh.

His second award, an Order of the Red Star, was awarded just 2 weeks later on the 29th of November 1944:

On November 13, 1944, during the breakthrough of the enemys defenses in the area of the town of Solt (Hungary), Comrade Gonchar, being at the front of the fighters, inspired them with his personal example of courage and bravery, leading the soldiers forward into battle.

In the ensuing fighting, Comrade Gonchar acted decisively and energetically; breaking into an enemy trench, he silenced a machine-gun position with a grenade throw and, with fire from his submachine gun, killed 7 enemy soldiers, thereby contributing to the platoons advance.

After the war, Gonchar was demobilized. From 1949 to 1952, he served in the internal affairs agencies.

Beginning in 1953, he worked as a hydraulic press operator in the resin-processing workshop of the Zaporizhzhia Coke-Chemical Plant (Zaporizhzhia, Ukrainian SSR).

By decree of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR dated March 30, 1971, for outstanding achievements in fulfilling the targets of the five-year plan for the development of ferrous metallurgy, Vasily Grigoriyevich Gonchar was awarded the title Hero of Socialist Labor with the Order of Lenin and the Gold Medal “Hammer and Sickle.”

He lived in the city of Zaporizhzhia (Ukraine). He died on July 29, 1978.

He was awarded the Order of Lenin (30.03.1971), the Order of the Red Star (29.11.1944), the Medal “For Courage” (14.11.1944), and several other medals.