CITY: the village of Staro-Saburovo, Nikiforovsky district, Tambov region DATE OF BIRTH: 02/14/1921 DATE OF DEATH: 09/27/2002 HISTORY: I dedicate my story to my great-grandfather - Andreev Ivan Mikhailovich (02/14/1921 - 09/27/2002), the holder of many Orders and medals ... My great-grandfather was born in the village of Staro-Saburovo, Nikiforovsky District, Tambov Region, into a peasant family. In 1940, he was drafted into the army and served in Armenia, in the city of Leninakan, near the Turkish border. There he met the first day of the war. The unit in which my great-grandfather served began to prepare for participation in hostilities. Soon she was transferred to Makhachkala, where defensive lines were being built. And in the first days of November, Ivan Mikhailovich was already on the Taman Peninsula. From December 1941 to May 1942, great-grandfather fought on the Crimean Front, from May 1942 to November 1943 - on the North Caucasian Front, from July 1943 to November 16, 1945 he served in the 62-gun artillery brigade as a senior radiotelegraph operator of the control battery, from November 16, 1945 to May 1946 he served in the 6th artillery division. He has many awards: - The Order of the Red Star - Medal "For Courage" - The Order of the Patriotic War II degree - The Order of the Patriotic War I degree - The Order of the Patriotic War I degree - The medal "For the capture of Berlin" - The medal "For victory over Germany in the Great Patriotic War of 1941-1945. " -Order of the Patriotic War II degree Great-grandfather served as a signalman in intelligence, he often had to be on the front line to establish communications. On a mission, as a rule, they went alone or together with a partner in any weather: mud, rain, blizzard. Many amazing stories happened to him. At the very beginning of the war, before leaving on a mission, the landlady approached him and gave him a prayer sheet that was supposed to help him survive. Either Ivan Mikhailovich was destined to go through the whole war, or the truth of prayer helped, but his great-grandfather went through the whole war from beginning to end and was not even seriously wounded. Once, at the end of February 1942, his group stood near the village of Vladislavka on the Kerch isthmus. The Germans began a massive shelling, the great-grandfather got out of the dugout, crawled a couple of meters, and an explosion was heard behind his back. On the site of the dugout, a deep funnel, no one was left alive. A similar incident occurred in the forty-third year at Mount Mithridates. During a short break, my great-grandfather and a friend decided to sit by the boulder, but something pushed my great-grandfather to stand up and walk away literally two steps aside, as his friend was cut in half by a shell fragment, which exploded nearby. And there were enough such cases. The grandfather ended the war in the city of Loburg. The war ended, but for a whole year my great-grandfather served in Germany, all this time he was the constant standard-bearer of the 25th corps artillery regiment. Only in 1946 he returned to his homeland. I learned about the death of my older brother, the younger came wounded. My great-grandfather is a very brave man, he fulfilled his duty to the Motherland with honor. He worked all his life, when he came home he met his life partner, also a front-line soldier, together they raised and raised 6 children, including my grandmother. All the rest of his life he worked tirelessly, was a combine operator, driver, mechanic, was always a jack of all trades and did not refuse to help anyone. War is a cruel and rough school of life, but great-grandfather returned home, having managed to retain the best human qualities in himself: care, tenderness and kindness. He was calm, cheerful and surprisingly generous, unselfish person. I am very proud that I had such a great-grandfather. Dmitry Alexandrov, student of the 11th grade of the Municipal Autonomous EducationalInstitution "Lyceum No. 29", Tambov