Chugunova Maria Tikhonovna (worker in the rear) was born on November 14, 1930 in the village of Shiroky Ustup, Kalinisky district. Almost every family went through the hardships of the Great Patriotic War. Even the pre-war years in the veteran's family were tragic: her mother died early, Maria Tikhonovna was only three years old. As soon as the war began, her father was called to the front. The children of the war had to grow up without parental attention and help very quickly: at the age of ten, Maria Tikhonovna had to decide much by herself. “I've worked wherever I have to. At the age of twelve she worked on a tractor trailer, later as a milkmaid. These were very difficult years, not a kid's work at all, but a demand - as from an adult. I had to work hard. There were practically no clothes and shoes ”- Maria Tikhonovna recalls with tears in her eyes.