Vasily Sidorkin was born in the village of Stanovka, Bolsheuksky District, Omsk Region in 1906. He took part in the Great Patriotic War as a squad commander of the 1214th Infantry Regiment of the 364th Infantry Division, formed in the Siberian Military District. The division was included on March 1, 1942 in the 1st Shock Army of the North-Western Front. According to the report on irrecoverable losses dated April 28, 1942 No. 5906 of the headquarters of the 364th rifle division, Sergeant V.D.Sidorkin died on March 25, 1942. He was buried in the village of Sokolovo, Leningrad Region (reburied in a military grave in the village of Baikovo, Starorussky District, Novgorod Region). In the report of August 9, 1942, No. 18993, another date of his death is indicated - July 18, 1942. A colleague who returned from the front said that they , together with V.D.Sidorkin were wounded in battle on March 25, 1942 . It took more than a week to get to ours, my grandfather dragged him. By this time, they were considered dead. During this period, heavy battles were going on near Staraya Russa: “Having concentrated significant forces in the area of ​​Staraya Russa of the Leningrad region, the enemy launched an offensive in the direction of Demyansk in March 1942 to join the forces of the 16th Army, which was surrounded. The main blow was delivered in the Sokolovo-Podsepochye, Velikoye Selo-Ozhedevo sector by the 1st strike group of enemy forces consisting of the 8th Infantry Division, 329th Infantry Division, an officer's school and a number of other special forces acting as infantry. With the breakthrough of the front line by the 1st Shock Army in the Utkino-Syroeshkino sector, the division, by order of the Military Council of the 1st Shock Army from the Ustye-Bolshiye Yasny area, was transferred to the Sokolovo-Podsepochye, Selo-Ozhedevo 1st sector with the task of stopping and disrupting the enemy's offensive ... From March 22 to April 10, 1942, the division fought stubborn battles on the Velikoye Selo – Sokolovo front, with a total length of 11 kilometers, taking on the blow of the 8th Infantry Division, 329th Infantry Division, officer school and a number of other special forces of the enemy. During this period, units of the division were continuously subjected to systematic bombing and shelling of enemy aircraft from 20 to 100 aircraft simultaneously during the day, after which raids were repulsed by numerous enemy attacks. ... The division completed the task. The enemy was stopped at the indicated lines. ... Sidorkin Vasily Dmitrievich died. Subsequently, the division was repeatedly reorganized, took part in breaking the blockade of Leningrad, liberating Soviet Latvia, ended its journey at the Alt-Lubitz-Hassendorf (Germany) line. ”According to the stories of the search engines, such fierce battles were fought near the village of Sokolovo that almost every square meter of land contains the remains of the soldiers and their military equipment. In the museum of the North-Western Front in the city of Staraya Russa, eyewitnesses of those years (local residents) recalled that they saw huge crowds of our soldiers walking to the front line, and almost no one returned back.