Vetrenko Pyotr Gavrilovich_x000D_ _x000D_ Rank: Junior Sergeant Type of troops: Artillery Unit: 305th infantry Belgorod red banner order of Suvorov and Kutuzov division Vetrenko Pyotr Gavrilovich. Born on January 21, 1926. When the war started, he was 15 years old. My father and older brother were called up from the first days of the war. He remained in charge of the family and took care of his mother and five younger siblings. In 1942, when our region was occupied, they had a particularly difficult time, but he did his best. The times were hard, life was hard, and hiding in basements from the atrocities of the Nazi-occupiers and attacks. Hatred of the enemy was growing stronger, the boys were looking for ways to harm the Nazis in every possible way. Once they found a grenade. While they were trying to figure out what to blow up, it exploded itself and severely injured dad's fingers. The Germans came running to the sound of the explosion, put him and a friend in a car and took them to the commandant's office in Korocha.on the way, our people recaptured the car and saved the boys from being shot. Dad said that he was already 18 years old to go to the front, although he was not yet 18 years old.March 5, 1943 " in the battles for our Soviet Homeland against the Nazi invaders, in the battles for the city of Belgorod as part of the 305th rifle division as a Rifleman, Junior Sergeant Vetrenko Pyotr Gavrilovich was wounded in the right hand."In 1943, with the rank of Junior Sergeant, he was Appointed commander of the commandant's Department of the 512 anti-Aircraft Artillery regiment of the Air defense, and was presented with the medal "for MILITARY MERIT". The award documents say "for the time of service in the regiment ml. Sergeant Vetrenko has shown himself to be disciplined, demanding of himself and his subordinates, knows his business well, treats his official duties conscientiously, and enjoys authority. For military services in the battles for our Motherland and the blood spilled, for conscientious service in the red Army, he is worthy of being awarded the government medal "for MILITARY MERIT". My father was very reluctant to talk about the war. He said that it was a very terrible war and it is better for us not to know about it. Only after his death in 1999, we found some documents and awards, although my aunt claims that there were many more. Later, he was also awarded the medal "for BRAVERY", the order of the"Patriotic war II degree". Dad was very modest and never showed awards. Nor did he consider his service a feat. Spoken: "Everyone fought, beat the enemy as best they could." He returned from the war in 1946 from Murmansk. He always lived very honestly and correctly, and was a man of high moral principles. I worked all my life and raised five children with my mother. He had the titles of war Veteran and labor Veteran. He always taught us to live together, take care of our family and love our Homeland.