Rank: Petty officer 2nd class. Military branch: the Soviet Navy and Naval forces of the NKVD border troops. My grandfather Viktor Ivanovich Kruglov was born on April 12, 1928 in Leningrad. His family lived on Bolshoy Prospekt of the Petrogradskaya side in building 2/1. The Kruglov family was large and close-knit. The father, Ivan Yakovlevich, was a qualified worker: a 5th rank blacksmith, who worked at the Yacht Club forging keels for yachts. The mother, Agatha p., sister Mary (born 1914), Nina (1926), Vera (born in 1922). During the winter blockade, Victor's father died of illness and hunger and was buried at the Smolensk cemetery in a mass grave. In the winter of 1943, my grandfather was very weak: the constant hunger, lack of fuel (firewood, cabinets, chairs) slowly chipped at his health... The only solution was to forge documents, adding a year to his age, and go to the military enlistment office. At first, he was assigned to the drummers’ division, but he was so weak, he could not hold the drum. V. I. Kruglov recalled, "I dozed off in the military enlistment office. I wanted to eat and sleep. Suddenly a man in a black greatcoat appeared out of nowhere. "Come with me!" he said, “The Navy is handing out sugar!» My grandfather happily agreed as his uncle Sergey was a sailor, and his father worked with yachts. The sea was close. And then the school of de-miners in Kronstadt... " They Brought us to the Fox Nose, and while loading up, gave out herring to everyone. I ate it in a blink of an eye, which made me very thirsty, and Vasya and I ran away from the train at the stop to get water. When we returned, the entire train had been bombed down. It’s a miracle we stayed alive. " Next was the de-miners school. My grandfather served on the ship called "Cloud" in the "Bad Weather" division. Afterwards, he surved on the minesweeper "Vladimir Polukhin". He was the petty officer of the second class. In 1945, he was only 17 years old. He recited stories about the Islands of Lavansaari, Tyuters, mountain Halli, Gogland – I, his grandson, managed to visit these places. How clearly had his memory captured everything! We spoke with him on the phone in 2004, and he recalled the airfield on Moshchny island (Lavansaari), the dislocation of the battery, the pier. In 2009, he died. He is the hero of our family. Grandfather was one of the millions who brought the Great Victory closer – I am proud of him. My grandmother and him have two children, three grandchildren, and 4 great-grandchildren.