Grigory Leontyevich has been living in our village for a long time. For many years he worked in the fields of his native collective farm. It seems that this person is not remarkable in any way, but if you start talking to him, you get the feeling that you have known Grigory Leontyevich for a very long time, that you know his whole life, lived in his own way, heroically. During the Great Patriotic War, Svistelnikov was an ordinary soldier; a soldier who defended our sacred land with his chest. The war lasted more than a thousand days. But Grigory Leontyevich especially remembered the day of January 15, 1942. The events that will be discussed took place on the Karelian front. “Early in the morning of January 15, we were ordered to cross the lake,” says Svistelnikov. - All the fighters lined up and prepared to carry out the order. Behind me stood a very young guy, Ukrainian, and looked at everyone with frightened eyes. I asked, "What's the matter? What happened?" The guy replied that in childhood, an incident happened to him that he would never forget. He played with his peers on the bank of the river, someone pushed this boy into the water, and he began to sink. The guys thought he was joking and did not pay any attention to the "joker". Fortunately, the forester was nearby, it was he who saved the boy. So, and now the guy was afraid of water, but this psychological barrier, this disease had to be overcome. When we started to move along the lake (the water in it was frozen), this boy started muttering something to himself, and I heard: "I'm not afraid! I shouldn't be afraid, because I'm a soldier." And I walked and thought: "Yes, this lad's childhood was interrupted too early. So, in order for our children and grandchildren not to have such a childhood, we must definitely win!" At a halt, I went up to the boy (his name was Vasily) and saw that he was all beaming: "You see, comrade Grisha, I overcame my weakness. This is forever." Later I learned that this boy was awarded the title of Hero of the Soviet Union, he died in the battles for the city of Bucharest. I really remember this Vasilek, I often remember him, so I told you about him. "