Rank: Sergeant. My great-grandfather (hereinafter-grandfather), Ivan Grigoryevich Barkov, was born on January 12, 1925 in the village of Yagodnoye, Oryol region. As soon as he was 16 years old, an evil enemy came to the threshold of our country, and the Great Patriotic war began. Of course, my grandfather did not stay away and in the fall of 1942 was drafted into the Soviet Army. First he was in training in Kolpna, and then-the front. He fought on the first Ukrainian front. He was wounded twice. He had military awards: medals, orders. He was also awarded the most important medal for a soldier-the medal "for bravery". My grandfather finished the war in the Kharkiv hospital, where he was treated after the second wound. From school, he was sent to the front with other guys. It was winter, and they arrived at their destination at night. Unloaded, and the commander ordered to dig in, as the battle was coming. All young, " never smelled gunpowder." Who dug a deeper trench, who a small hole. My grandfather went to school and came to the front with a young man from his village. They kept to each other all the time, countrymen means. And early in the morning, before dawn, the mortar attack on our positions began. I was afraid to raise my head. It's also scary because this is the first time this has happened to them, and they are, in fact, just children. The bombing did not last long. There was a lull. And a countryman of his grandfather from his trench called out: "Ivan, give me a cigarette!". At that moment, there was an explosion. Grandfather was stunned, covered with earth. When he came to, he saw a terrible picture, from the trench of his friend turned out a huge funnel, and from the countryman were a piece of greatcoat and a leg in a footcloth. Everything was mixed up in my grandfather's head, and the fear of imminent death, and anger at the Nazis, and regret for a friend, and most importantly and terrible-tormented by the thought of how to tell his mother about it. The battle continued all day. The lull came only when the Krauts had lunch or dinner. Other case. It was ordered to go into a psychic attack. This is when soldiers at full height with rifles and bayonets go to the enemy, not firing until one of the parties does not give up the nerves. My grandfather said that the same young German was coming at him. They were walking, looking into each other's eyes, and at some point my grandfather thought: "I can't kill him, but the commander called" Forward, for the Motherland! Hooray». And a terrible, hand-to-hand battle began. Of course, my grandfather killed this German, but I remember his eyes for the rest of my life. And after the war, he said that Hitler was to blame for the death of his friend and young German.