Ivan Kuzmich Zakharchenko, fought in the rank of Senior Sergeant in the 192nd regiment of heavy howitzer artillery from February to September 1945 in Western Ukraine, then served in Germany after the war. He was awarded with the Order of "Patriotic War 2 degree". My grandfather was born on August 14, 1927 in the village of Tverdokhlebovo, Bogucharsky district, Voronezh region. His mther was named Marfa, his father - Kuzma (listed as missing on the battlefield). Fleeing from hunger, the family moved to Kuban, to the village of Kamyshevatskaya, Yeysky district, Krasnodar region, where young Vanya met Katya Kuznetsova, my grandmother, his future wife Ekaterina Ivanovna. Presumably, that's where he was called to defend the Motherland from the 9th grade of school, when on October 25, 1944, the mobilization of draft age in the Soviet Army was announced. It was the last military mobilization. And it also was the longest and the hardest period of service of 9 years! There were no mass conscriptions into the army until 1953. Seventeen-year-old boys had the hardest time of settling post-war conflicts with opponents of the Soviet Power after the liberation of the occupied territories from fascist invaders. Grandfather fought in Western Ukraine with gangs of Ukrainian nationalists, the so-called UUNovtsy or, in othe words, the Banderavians. According to my grandfather's stories, this enemy was worse than Germans, much more dangerous and cunning. The Banderavians were particularly cruel not only to the Soviet soldiers, but also to the Ukrainian civilians who supported the Soviet Power. They brutalized, burned, cut everything and everyone. It was very difficult to determine who was a friend and who was an enemy. The Soviet soldiers were invited to the hut for a stand, treated like welcomed guests, and everyone was cut out at night...Of course, grandfather did not tell us all the details of the horrible, terrible atrocities committed by the Bandera people. Only later I found out from the historical reports what his words meant...The facts of murders; dismembering parents in front of their children, pulling out and sawing off limbs, cutting out eyes, removing scalps, and so on. Neither children, nor old people, nor women were spared...The heart freezes with horror and pain, and a full, real picture of the events my grandfather had the opportunity to participate in emerges in fron of my eyes. The war that crippled his youth, however, did not break his soul. He was very kind, loved music and literature. After the war, he received a higher education, having graduated from the Voronezh Forestry Institute. He lived in the town of Povorino. In 1956, his daughter Olga, my mother, was born, and in 1958, his son Sergey. As an example to his descendants, my grandfather kept cheerful disposition and love of life. Only a small but deep dimple on the chin, the scar, which was the result of a blow to the face by a whip of one of Bandera people, always reminded about this terrible war ... Grandfather died and was buried in the town of Povorino on October 17, 1991.