Maxim Petrovich Tikhonin Title: Red Army soldier. I am proud of my great-grandfather! My great-grandfather, Maxim Petrovich Tikhonin, was born on August 15, 1910 in the village of Chelbak in the Asinovsky district. Unfortunately, he is no more with us. He died on June 6, 1980. I was not there yet, but the memory of all my relatives preserved the kindest and brightest feelings about him. Small in stature, with kind little wrinkles around his eyes, my grandfather always smiled and joked. My mother's sister remembers: "I remember how he brought black fragrant hot bread from a store. How he cooked cedar cones in the garden in a cast iron pot. How he brought fragrant strawberries from the mowing, and from my grandfather's palm the berry seemed to be the most delicious in the world...". My grandfather told us how he was captured by the Germans and stayed with them for 9 months. It was in the Ukraine. His comrades and he mowed hay for German horses. And the Germans fed prisoners with sunflower seeds. The grandfather gave his cap, and the German poured "food". Worse than starvation were, perhaps, only lice that ate prisoners of war. The area was surrounded by barbed wire and guarded day and night. My grandfather told me that the Germans loved him for his humor, flexible mind and great efficiency. And they called him "Max." The Germans trusted him and did not suspect that the grandfather had long planned to escape from captivity. And this is how it happened. One day my grandfather and his friend were driving hay in a cart. They were guarded by two Germans who played an accordion and sang songs. The grandfather took advantage of the moment, together with his friend, attacked the German soldiers and shot them. They threw the Germans off the cart, took off their uniforms, and changed into German clothes. And then they went to a rye field. Then they waded through the water so that the German dogs would not get on the trail. Finally they came to Russians. This is how he was able to leave captivity. Subsequently, he was awarded the Order of the Great Patriotic War. The grandfather was seriously wounded five times: shot through the palm, shoulder, and had shrapnel wounds to the head. He was treated in military hospitals in Moscow and Kiev. Throughout his life, his grandfather was tormented by fragments that remained in his head and periodically made themselves felt. My grandfather has many military medals and orders. After the war, he worked for many years as a blacksmith at a consumer service plant. I lived for fifty years with my wife, my great-grandmother Ulyana Yakovlevna. They raised four daughters. My soul is filled with pride for my great-grandfather. After all, his life has been a part of a great human feat for the sake of happiness and peace on a huge planet called Earth.