Heroes and feats

Rank: Sergeant _x000D_ Branch of troops: Ground Forces _x000D_ _x000D_ Konstantin Ivanovich Smirnov was born on October 14, 1903 in Astrakhan into a merchant family. When the Great Patriotic War began, he had the right to be exempted from the active duty, but in September 1941 he went to fight voluntarily. In December he was sent to the front, into the army. _x000D_ He served in the 349th Infantry Division, received the rank of Sergeant, becoming the commander of a recon squad of a Separate Reconnaissance Company. From the first days of its arrival at the front, the 349th Infantry Division had been fighting bloody battles, defending the cities of Ukraine. It was baptized by fire in the Kramatorsk region. It broke through the enemy's defense line and occupied a number of settlements near Kramatorsk. On the left was Slavyansk, on the right was Izium. Here the division held its defenses until mid-May 1942. _x000D_ When the Nazi troops launched a counteroffensive, the 349th Rifle Division was thrown in to cover the frontal gap that had formed south of Izyum and was surrounded. _x000D_ Konstantin Smirnov got his first wound in heavy combats. He used to have jet-black hair ... However, when he returned alone of the entire reconnaissance group carrying out a mission behind enemy lines, he was seriously wounded and his hair turned completely gray... _x000D_ After being treated in the hospital, he returned to his division. Then, at the beginning of July 1942, there were short days of rest, when the almost completely destroyed division was withdrawn for reorganization to the area of Krasny Luch, Luhansk Region. _x000D_ On July 17, it was deployed to defend the southern borders of Stalingrad. Here, in July-September 1942, my grandfather went missing in a regular reconnaissance raid behind enemy lines.

Branch of troops: Ground Forces, Air Force (except for naval Aviation), Coastal Service, NKVD troops, Border Troops. _x000D_ Military card NP No. 1796368. _x000D_ _x000D_ He graduated only from 4 classes. Main civilian specialty was a driver and a turner. He was married to Taskina Efrosinya Timofeevna. Не was drafted up by the commission at the Poimsky district of the Penza region as fit for service on January 10, 1943. Alexey began his military career on the Gomel land. _x000D_ From the story of Alexei Sergeevich:_x000D_ “ I was called to the front on January 10, 1943 and immediately sent to the city of Inza, Ulyanovsk region, where I spent six months in training. Then I was transferred to the Gomel front. I remember that the main offensives began to liberate this city, and we had to cross the Dnieper. We had to swim across the river under the fiercest enemy fire on any object held on the water. Shells exploded all around, shredding rafts and boats, along with people. The bullets whistled so hard that the ears were blocked. But hatred for the enemy was caused by what we saw on the other bank of the Dnieper. These were completely destroyed villages and farms. _x000D_ When we entered them, we saw burnt houses, residents were hanged from trees. The Germans did not spare either the elderly or the children. And we took revenge for this: for every child killed, for every inch of land that they desecrated. We did everything to make our land burn under the feet of the fascists. The fighting was fierce. We had to recapture every house, every street from the enemy. The Germans resisted, but still, our troops were able to break through the enemy's defenses at the cost of huge losses. Many of my comrades were killed then. Here our narrator fell silent. Pain reflected in his eyes, as if he had heard the volleys of guns and the groans of wounded men again. “What happened next?” – we quietly asked him. _x000D_ We went to the west, on June 29 we had already liberated Bobruisk. Then we took 22 thousand Germans prisoners. You should have seen the eyes of people when they were led through the streets of the city! They were ready to throw themselves at them. They had something to take revenge on. _x000D_ In January 1944, I was wounded and received a concussion. However, after treatment I returned to the front again. Then Warsaw and Deitzig followed. I took part in the liberation of Bart and the Baltic Sea. I celebrated Victory Day in Grunberg. I also visited the conquered Berlin.” _x000D_ After the war, he served there for another five years. He was the commander of the chauffeur department, delivered mail. Then in 1950 he was demobilized. Returning home, he worked for 10 years in a kolkhoz, and for 12 years as a blacksmith. Нe war retired шт 1975.

Rank: Senior Leiutenant _x000D_ Branch of troops: Artillery _x000D_ Subdivision: 6th Guards Artillery Riga-Khingan Breakthrough Division _x000D_ _x000D_ Nikita Dmitrievich Tikhonov was born on April 1, 1917 in the village of Chepkas-Nikolskoye, Shemurshinsky District of the Chuvash Autonomous Soviet Socialist Republic. He began his service on October 25, 1938 as a conscript. Since the beginning of the Great Patriotic War, he was drafted into the active army. He served as commander of the traction squad, driver of the command battery of the 119th Howitzer Artillery Brigade of high power of the active army on the Western and Second Baltic fronts. He participated in the defense of Moscow, liberation of the Smolensk, Belorussian regions and the Baltic states. _x000D_ For courage, N.D. Tikhonov was awarded the Order of the Patriotic War of the 1st degree, medals “For Courage”, “For Military Merit”, “For the Defense of Moscow”, “For Victory over Germany in the Great Patriotic War of 1941-1945. " During the hostilities of the brigade of 3rd Shock and 42 armies in the areas of 79, 100, 101 Rifle Corps in the area of Dramsti, Teteni, Graverti, Venena, Suntazhi, Ozolmuizha, N.D. Tikhonov quickly mastered the management of a foreign car. Working as a driver, he delivered the personnel of the reconnaissance group to the areas of the infantry battle formations. When performing a mission to clarify the front edge of the enemy's defense, N.D. Tikhonov with a reconnaissance group moved through heavily mined terrain, showed initiative, courage, personal resourcefulness, which contributed to clarifying the situation and identifying the enemy's engineering structures. As a result of this activity, on October 21, 1944, he was also awarded the Order of the Red Star. _x000D_ _x000D_ After the end of the war, N.D. Tikhonov continued to serve in the Armed Forces of the USSR. In 1945, he studied at the courses for Junior Lieutenants of Artillery of the Baltic Military District, then worked as a commander of a park platoon and a vehicle division of the 556th Klaipeda Mortar Regiment, 272th Artillery Brigade, 43rd Latvian Guards Rifle Division of Riga, as well as on Sakhalin Island. On July 25, 1953, he was transferred to the reserve with the rank of Senior Technician Leiutenant. _x000D_ Returning to Chuvashia, he worked as a freight forwarder at the Chuvashkabel plant and a confectionery factory in Cheboksary. December 31, 1969 Nikolay Tikhonov died from a heart attack.

Rank: Corporal _x000D_ Branch of troops: Artillery _x000D_ _x000D_ Sonin Vasily Maksimovich, was born on June 16, 1923 in the village of Melguny, Mordovian district, Tambov region. He graduated only from the 4th grade of School, then he helped two brothers and parents in the farm. He was drafted to the front from the village of Shulgino, Mordovian district, Tambov region on October 28, 1941, as a very young eighteen-year-old boy. He began his military career in the 729th Infantry Regiment, from June 1942 until the end of the war he served as a recon. He participated in the defense of Leningrad. In 1942 he took part in the Kharkov operation. During this operation he was wounded in the leg and was taken by horse-drawn carriage to the hospital. _x000D_ As a true recon, he did not talk about his efforts during his lifetime. _x000D_ After the war, in 1985, he was awarded the Order of the Great Patriotic War of the 1st degree for his fortitude and courage shown in the war. What effort he was awarded the Order of the Red Star during the war, our family did not know. But I managed to find archival documents describing the efforts of the hero of our family, V.M. Sonin. _x000D_ So we learned that in the offensive battles in the spring of 1945, Vasily Maksimovich Sonin showed himself to be a bold and resourceful recon. He personally reconnoitered 4 heavy and light machine guns, 2 enemy direct-fire guns, which were later destroyed by our mortar fire. Together with the infantry, he was the first to break into the enemy's trenches and destroyed 4 Nazis with the fire of his machine gun, and when the Germans launched a counterattack, he was the first to rise with a machine gun and shout "Hurray" led his infantry fighters to repel the counterattack, where he personally killed 5 more Hitlerites. For this effort he was awarded the Order of the Red Star. _x000D_ He made another effort in the combat on September 18, 1944, and destroyed 4 enemy soldiers with automatic fire at the entrance to the village of Vir. Also he discovered 2 fascist machine guns, which were later destroyed by the fire of our mortars. By this he contributed to the offensive of their infantry. For which he was awarded the medal "For Courage". _x000D_ The family album contains several photographs brought after the war, where he was captured with his comrades in arms while serving in Czechoslovakia and Ukraine. In the victorious 1945 he took part in the liberation of Prague from German troops. He was awarded the medal "For Liberation of Prague", as well as the medal "For Victory over Germany". _x000D_ After the end of the Great Patriotic War, he continued to serve in Ukraine. In 1947 he was transferred to the reserve. Returning to his homeland he worked as a mechanic at a sugar factory. Already in peacetime he was awarded jubilee medals. November 7, 2016 Sonin V.M. in the village of Shulgino, Mordovsky District, Tambov Region, a memorial was opened dedicated to the soldiers who did not return from the war, as well as to the immortal efforts of 13 thousand residents of the Mordovsky District of the Tambov Region, fallen in the combats during the Great Patriotic War. _x000D_ Besides, his brothers and sister were also fighting in the Great Patriotic War,: Sonin Mikhail Maksimovich (1919-1984), Sonin Pyotr Maksimovich (1912-1988), Sonina Alexandra Maksimovna (born in 1927). Currently, their names are included in the book of memory "They returned with victory" about the soldiers-fellow countrymen who returned from the fronts of the Great Patriotic War of 1941-1945.

Rank: Red Army Soldier_x000D_ Branch of troops: Ground Forces, Air Force (except for naval Aviation), Coastal Service, NKVD troops, Border Troops. _x000D_ _x000D_ Skorina Danila Andreevich was born in 1910 in Polesie, in the village of Malaya Plotnitsa (Brest region, Pinsk district). By the beginning of the Great Patriotic War, he was 31 years old, he had a family: a wife, three children, an old mother and a sick older sister. The Germans so rapidly occupied the territory of Belarus in the first months of the war, that the Brest region by mid-July 1941 was already under the Nazis. They did not manage to evacuate civilians or demobilize adult men. The men went into the forests, to partisan detachments. _x000D_ From the first days of the occupation, my grandfather fought in the Lenin detachment, which belonged to the Polesie formation of the Pinsk region. The unit was commanded by the legendary brigade commander Vasily Korzh. Grandfather knew his native places very well: forests, swamps, roads. Therefore, he was a contact for three partisan detachments. _x000D_ He was a lead of a group of demolition men at the Malkovichi and Gantsevichi railway stations. They went out at night, and it happened that in one night they walked 20 km. When the policemen informed the Germans that Skaryna Danila was a partisan, his house was burned down. The grandmother and the children miraculously survived. _x000D_ Besides, my grandmother was pregnant. She went with the children and the elderly to the forest. There, in a dugout, their youngest son Vanya was born. Grandma was an amazing woman! None of the children died at that hard time, all survived! _x000D_ Polesie was liberated during Operation Bagration by the troops of the 1st Belorussian Front. Brest lands and Pinsk region were cleared of enemies by units of the 61st Army under the command of General P.A. Belov. They advanced in the front of Pinsk through Luninets. This took place in July 1944. Partisan detachments joined the ranks of the regular army. _x000D_ And my grandfather went to the front. He fought in one of the rifle units of the 61st Army. The combat path of my grandfather went through Europe. He participated in the liberation of Riga, Warsaw, Poznan, in the battles of Königsberg, fought on the Elbe and in Berlin. Grandpa was wounded and was in the hospital. He was awarded the medal "For Courage" and "For Victory over Germany". With these medals, he returned from the front. _x000D_ After the war, as a front-line soldier, he was awarded six more medals. When grandfather returned to his native village, there were practically no houses left, people lived in dugouts and sheds. From Germany, grandfather brought a "war trophy" - a suitcase of nails! He was a good carpenter, helped people build houses, repaired equipment, worked in the timber industry. And most importantly, he was a loving husband and father! _x000D_ Grandfather and grandmother loved each other very much, they were a nice couple. They had four children: three sons and a daughter - my mother. Grandfather died in March 1990. He was 80. Many years have passed, but I remember and love my grandfather, I remember his clear blue eyes ... I am proud of him, I keep the memory of him, front-line photographs, his watch and a lighter. Skorina Danila Andreevich is a simple Belarusian soldier of the Great Patriotic War.

Rank: Leiutenant _x000D_ Branch: Ground Forces, Air Force (except naval Aviation), Coastal Service, NKVD troops, Border Troops _x000D_ Subdivision: 221st Infantry Mariupol-Khingan Red Banner Order of Suvorov Division _x000D_ _x000D_ My great-grandfather Pyotr Dmitrievich Sazhin was born in the village of Puregovo, Sverdlovsk region. Before the war, he completed military courses for Junior Сommanders. And on September 22, 1941 he was sent to the front. On November 15, 1941, he began to fight on the Leningrad (later Volkhov) front. At the end of December 1941, when the bridge over the Volkhov River was attacked, the great-grandfather was in command of the squad, the soldiers stormed the bridge. My great-grandfather was then seriously wounded, but left the battlefield only after the complete capture and explosion of the bridge. For this efforts, he was presented with an award, but in the heat of the battles the presentation was lost. _x000D_ Until 1943, the troops of the Volkhov Front held back the German troops so that they would not unite with the Finns. At the beginning of 1944, after the final breakthrough of the blockade of Leningrad, my great-grandfather was transferred to the 695th Regiment of the 221st Infantry Division, which was transferred to participate in the Vyborg-Petrozavodsk operation. My great-grandfather covered the rest of the way to Victory in this regiment. At the end of June, the division was transferred to the east, where it took part in the Khingano-Mukden operation, advancing in one of the most hard directions. _x000D_ My great-grandfather returned home with the rank of Leiutenant only in 1946. During the war he was wounded many times. He was awarded the Order of the Red Star, medals. Because of his wounds, my great-grandfather died very early on December 31, 1954. He was only 52 years old.

Branch of troops: Soviet Navy and NKVD Border Troops Marine Forces _x000D_ _x000D_ My maiden name is Kramarenko, last name after my first marriage is Plaksienko, after my second marriage Surzhok. I was born on January 1, 1924 in the village. Bogoslavsky, Stavropol Territory, Kochubeevsky District, in the family of a railway worker. My father, Ivan Ivanovich Kramarenko, born in 1918, until old age worked as a trackman on the railway. Mother, Kramarenko Evdokia Markovna, was a housewife. We lived in the Stavropol Territory at the Ovechka station, where I graduated from 8th grade. Then Secondary School in the village of Tebay, Krasnodar Territory in 1942. After graduating from School, together with the pioneer camp, we were evacuated to Kazan. I worked at the Gorbunov Aviation Plant. _x000D_ From August 1942 to December 1943 I was in the ranks of the active navy. I was wounded in 1943. Then I was demobilized for health reasons, got married. From January 1944 to December 1945 I was a housewife. Then in December 1945 I entered the Crimean Pedagogical Institute at the literary faculty. A year later, for family reasons, I transferred to the Dagestan Pedagogical Institute, which I graduated in 1949. Then I came to visit my relatives who had returned to the Stavropol Territory. I worked as a teacher, head teacher of a Secondary School in the village. Cherished Kochubeevsky district, Stavropol Territory._x000D_ In December 1950 I entered the graduate School of the Pyatigorsk Pedagogical Institute at the Department of Russian Literature. After graduating from graduate School, I worked at the Vilniansky Teachers' Institute (Lithuanian SSR). In January 1955 I defended my dissertation at the Moscow Regional Pedagogical Institute named after N.K. Krupskaya. I was a Member of the CPSU since 1953. _x000D_ For family reasons, I transferred from Vilnius to the Krasnodar regional three-year party School. I worked as the head of the department of languages and literature. After the liquidation of the department, I moved to my husband in Riga. I worked as a teacher at the Riga Pedagogical Institute with an hourly pay. After the liquidation of the Riga Pedagogical Institute, a competition was held at the Stanislav Pedagogical Institute (now Ivanovo-Frankivsk) in 1958. In 1969, a competition was held at the Tselinograd Pedagogical Institute. In 1970, in November, I passed through a competition to the Barnaul Pedagogical Institute on Russian-Soviet literature. From 1971 to 1982 I worked as a Senior Lecturer at the Kalmyk State University at the Department of Russian and Foreign Literature.

Rank: Red Navy Sailor _x000D_ Branch of troops: the USSR Navy and the Naval Forces of the NKVD Border Troops_x000D_ _x000D_ Savenok Grigory Petrovich (1906-1942) is a Red Navy sailor of the Black Sea Fleet. He died defending Sevastopol in the midst of the Great Patriotic War, during the heroic defense of the city from the Nazis. He served on the military transport ship Abkhazia, which was sunk by German bombers on June 10, 1942. The death notice came later on May 4, 1946: _x000D_ “In the battle for the Socialist Motherland, the faithful to the military oath, showing heroism and courage, missed in military action on July 3, 1942 in the city of Sevastopol. _x000D_ From March to June 10, 1942, "Abkhazia" under the leadership of the new captain Mikhail Ivanovich Belukha had been breaking through to Sevastopol sixteen times. _x000D_ These were voyages of exceptional courage and fortitude of sailors. Often the ship fought off enemy aircraft with its artillery. The one-way trip had lasted for two or three days. They were bombed at sea and in the port, in addition, they were covered with artillery fire. _x000D_ On some days, from dawn until darkness, the combat alert was on all the time. _x000D_ In total, "Abkhazia" made 35 flights, took out 32355 wounded, of which 9641, that is, almost every third, had surgery onboard in the way to the rear hospital. _x000D_ In addition to the wounded, the ship transported 65 thousand civilians and soldiers of various units, as well as 33 thousand tons of various military cargo. The "Abkhazia" was destroyed on June 10, 1942 in Sevastopol at the pier of Sukharnaya Balka. She died heroically, defending to die. _x000D_ Nine enemy bombs hit the ship, and it was not possible to fight fire and flooding. In the struggle for the life of the ship, the boatswain Sergey Skoromny, political instructor Yevgeny Volkovinsky, many sailors, orderlies were killed ... Having buried their comrades with honors, the sailors and doctors left the ship and went to fight on the bastions of Sevastopol. Photo by E. Khaldey, Hero City Sevastopol. Book of Memory, Volume 5, Page 705: Savenok Grigory Petrovich. Eternal Memory to Heroes!

Rank: Starshina _x000D_ Branch of troops: Aviation_x000D_ _x000D_ He had served from June 1941in the Uman defensive operation, retreated through Kharkov to Stalingrad. He served Il-2 aircraft, in a Mobile Aviation Shop. He ended the war in Konigsberg. He was awarded 13 medals and two orders. _x000D_ Here are some episodes that my grandfather told after the war: _x000D_ Before the war, he graduated from the School of Aviation specialists in Irkutsk. He faced the war in a military unit in the Ukraine near the city of Uman. The first strikes by the Germans were directed at our aircrafts and airfields. As a result, most of the aircrafts did not have time to take off, as the runways were broken. He and his comrade managed to carry out and keep the unit's banner. _x000D_ A certain number of fighters (mostly local Ukrainians) fled to the huts, and the remaining fighters (mostly sergeants and privates, originally from Russia) began to independently retreat to the east. The Germans moved along the roads, on tanks and motorcycles, while ours retreated on foot along the roads, through the forest and fields. The Germans did not specifically hunt for individual groups of fighters. As a result, they managed to retreat to their units. So, the military unit was not disbanded. There was a story when they were retreating across a large river, (when he was in the Kiev Forces). Our troops mined the bridge to blow it up before the Germans arrived. _x000D_ But when the German units appeared, the bridge could not be blown up, since wires were broken and cut. He repaired and connected it with his teeth, twisted the wires when the fire had already begun. As a result, the bridge was blown up in front of the Germans. He was awarded for this incident. But nevertheless, the Germans managed to cross this river rather quickly in other places. Ours again began to retreat east to their own troops. _x000D_ The other time, my grandfather miraculously survived, when he adjusted the fire on the observation tower at the airfield and watched the approach of German aircrafts. One of the bombs hit near the observation tower, and it began to fall down smoothly. He fell a great height, but fortunately did not hurt himself. _x000D_ After the Battle of Stalingrad, (where he served at an airfield on the other side of the front line), the front line began to move west. My grandfather often put forward rational proposals to improve aircraft equipment, installed bombs and rockets on Il-2 attack aircraft and other aircraft. If several aircrafts fired simultaneously with rockets, then the effect was like a shot from a small MLRS, but much more accurate (so it was convenient to aim from above) and the Nazis had a hard time. But my grandfather, nevertheless, always wanted to be a pilot. It is not known what fate he would have had if he had been a pilot, because pilots often were killed and burned. _x000D_ Once he and a friend detained an enemy saboteur. It turned out to be the son of a "kulak" who was inserting rags into aircraft engines. It is unknown how many of them did not return to the base because of this saboteur. _x000D_ He ended the war in Konigsberg. He talked about the fierce battles, and mentioned that some Germans fanatics tried to chain themselves to the walls so as not to retreat. The assault on Konigsberg was actively supported by our Aviation. Nevertheless, the war was finished, and our soldiers got valuable trophies from the Germans. _x000D_ My grandfather always considered the first months of the war to be the hardest. Many archives or other documents describing the courage of our soldiers have not survived about the heroes' efforts. After the war he got married and had four children. After the war he lived in Moscow, and then in the village of Novoelnya, Belarus.

Rank: Sergeant Major _x000D_ Military Medical Personnel _x000D_ _x000D_ Salamatov Pyotr Ivanovich, born in 1913, was drafted to the front in June 1941 from the village of Preobrazhenka, Malmyzhsky district, Kirov region. During the Great Patriotic War, he served at the front as a Starshina Medical Orderly. He went through the entire war with valor, helping his comrades to survive. _x000D_ Newspapers wrote about him more than once:“During the combat, Medical Orderly Comrade Salamatov received an order:“Immediately transport the wounded soldiers across the G. River and deliver them to a medical center. Comrade Salamatov fulfilled the combat order with honor. He also prepared a good meal for the wounded Red Army soldiers in the nearest settlement. As soon his comrades ewere refreshed with food, he promptly evacuated them to the medical center”(from newspaper articles of that time). _x000D_ In another battle, the Medical Orderly had to replace the wounded paramedic.“Under heavy enemy fire and bombing from the air, a brave Medical Orderly carried 35 wounded Red Army soldiers with their arms from the combat field, (later in the article“The Brave and the Fearless”P. I. Salamatov's effort was mentioned as he carried out 93 wounded from the combat field). _x000D_ The government highly appreciated the combat deeds of the brave Medical Orderly.“Comrade P.I. Salamatov awarded the Order of the Red Star. Guard military assistant Vasiliev. " He saved the lives of many people, returned the families of their loved ones and relatives, helped bring the Victory closer and liberate Europe from Nazi Germany. _x000D_ In April 1945, Pyotr Ivanovich, together with other soldiers, made a breakthrough of the German defense on the Oder River, which was covering Berlin from the East, and entered the German capital Berlin, for which he was thanked. During his military service, my great-grandfather was awarded the medal "For Courage", the Order of the Red Star, the Order of the Patriotic War of the II degree and the medal "For Victory over Germany in the Great Patriotic War of 1941-1945." _x000D_ After the end of the war, Pyotr Ivanovich graduated from the Urzhum regional School of Kolkhoz Chairmen in April 1946 and worked for the rest of his life as a Kolkhoz Chairman in the village of Preobrazhenka in the Kirov region, and raised agriculture in the postwar years. _x000D_ What helped my ancestors survive in those hard years? I think they believed in the bright future of our state, lived and worked to make life easier for us. These were not only physically strong people, but also people with great enthusiasm, strong spirit, and unshakable faith in the best.

Rank: Red Army Soldier _x000D_ Branch of troops: Artillery _x000D_ Subdivision: 74th Guards Rifle Lower Dnieper Red Banner Order of Bogdan Khmelnytsky Shchors Division. _x000D_ _x000D_ Thirteen years have passed since my father, Ivan Savelievich Svyatogor, died, a man of rare kindness, sincerity and great love of life, a veteran World War II, an eternal worker who lived a decent life and left only good and warm memories of himself. His fate was not easy, he had to go through a lot, but my father was always an example for others. _x000D_ Immediately after leaving the High School, he went to the front, fought in the 62nd Army under the command of General Chuikov, walked from Stalingrad to Berlin. _x000D_ It was very hard, sometimes they went hungry for several days, they fell off their feet from fatigue and fell asleep right on the cold ground. Fate kept his father, for all the years he was only shell-shocked, but the war left a mark on his heart for all his life, because very many comrades remained on the battlefield. The two brothers did not return from the war. _x000D_ After the end of the war, my father graduated from the pedagogical institute and devoted his whole life, almost 40 years, to teaching, heading the Peretinskaya School. He taught physics and mathematics at School. In addition, he did a lot of social work, was an excellent organizer, handyman and painted well. _x000D_ My father never sat idle: he built a new house, landscaped it, loved to be in the forest, fish with a rod, loved working with wood. It so happened that at the age of 45 he was left alone, his mother unexpectedly died, and the family had 5 children. _x000D_ Lord does not give trials that cannot be endured. With his second wife, Evdokia Andreevna, they raised and brought up all worthy people. At that time I was 4 years old, and, as the youngest, I got more love, care and attention. The oldest sister, Lyubov, lives in Transbaikalia in the Chita region, already retired, is engaged in housekeeping, brings up grandchildren. Valentina is in Ukraine, she is also a pensioner, but she leads an active lifestyle, works a lot, does not sit still. Sister Tamara and brother Alexander live in Bryansk, work, raise children, help raise grandchildren. _x000D_ We have a wonderful family, friendly and cheerful, we never fight, because there is simply no reason. Like fingers on one hand, we hold tightly to each other, and this is probably the great merit of our parents.

Rank: Major _x000D_ Branch of troops: Technical troops (KhV, ZhDV, AV, RTV, DV, topographic) _x000D_ _x000D_ My grandfather, Sergeev Pavel Alexandrovich, was born in the village Owino near Tikhvin in 1912. He was a career officer in the Red Army since 1934. Participated in the Civil War in 1939-1940 in the fight against the White Finns on the Karelian Isthmus. In the Great Patriotic War from June 1941 he was in the rank of major. At the beginning of the Great Patriotic War, he served as the Deputy Military Commandant of the railway section and station Leningrad-Varshavsky Oktyabrskaya railway._x000D_ From June to September he took part in combat operations for the defense on the northern, western and south-western approaches to Leningrad, organized the transportation of military equipment, troops and cargo by rail. From September 1941 he provided evacuation from Leningrad. Further, the combat path passed with the Leningrad and 3rd Baltic fronts. _x000D_ He took part in the defensive operation in Estonia, in the offensive operations at Tikhvin, Sinyavino and Mgoi. Participated in the defeat of the Nazis near Novgorod and Leningrad, in breaking the blockade in January-February 1944. In the Krasnosel'sko-Ropsha, Pskov offensive operations, the defeat of the Finnish troops in Karelia and the German troops in the Baltic. _x000D_ He was awarded the Order of the Red Star for skillful and correct decisions during the coordination of the actions of the military commandants of the Dno and Pskov stations, the Pskov junction, which, despite the colossal congestion of the tracks, ensured the timely passage of the priority trains necessary for offensive operations of the troops. _x000D_ It is also known for certain that he was awarded the Order of the Patriotic War of the 2nd degree, the medals For Military Merit and For the Defense of Leningrad. In the post-war years, Pavel Alexandrovich continued to serve in the army with the rank of Colonel.

Branch of troops: Engineering troops_x000D_ _x000D_ Tishalovich Semyon Fadeevich (04.06.1923 – 25.09.2015) was drafted into the army in June 1944, when Soviet troops liberated Belarus. At that time, my great-grandfather was 21 years old. Grandfather Semyon carried out an extremely dangerous service: he was a sapper in the 196th Lezny engineer-sapper Battalion of the 29th engineer-sapper brigade of the 6th Guards Army of the 1st Baltic Front. The front was commanded by General of the Army I. Kh. Bagramyan. _x000D_ Grandpa Semyon was a part of many crucial battles. He took part in the liberation of Belarus and the Baltic states (in the defeat of the German Army Group Center). Supporting the offensive of the 1st Baltic Front, the engineering troops were engaged in the Construction of bridges and crossings, and cleared minefields. During my grandfather's service, the Germans more than once organized counterattacks in different sectors of the front. And his sapper brigade always arrived at the forefront when there were messages about the intention of the enemy to attack. They planted mines in the fields, warning the actions of the fascists. _x000D_ Once, during a German offensive with the use of heavy tanks "Tiger" on the mines of grandfather Semyon, two enemy tanks were blown up at once. For this efforts he was awarded the medal "For Courage". He has many other medals and orders. _x000D_ Grandfather celebrated Victory Day in Latvia. After the end of the war, he continued to serve. The sappers had enough work - they cleared the places of past battles. And only in the spring of 1947 he returned to his native village Katilovo, Vitebsk region, where he lived until the end of his days. Together with his grandfather Semyon, his brother Fadey and two brothers-in-law, brothers Peter and Vladimir Petrovsky, fought. After the war, grandfather Semyon worked for 30 years on a tractor, growing grains. For these efforts, he was awarded the medal "For Valiant Labor" in honor of the 100th anniversary of the birth of V. I. Lenin. _x000D_ Grandfather Semyon lived a long, eventful life. However, his memories of the war have always remained clear and accurate. He remembered everything that happened to him during the war, down to the last detail, and loved to share his memories with us: children, grandchildren, great-grandchildren. At the end of September 2015, Semyon's grandfather passed away. However, the memory of his efforts, contribution to history, to the defense of our Motherland is forever alive with us.

Rank: Senior Leiutenant _x000D_ Branch: Ground Forces, Air Force (except naval Aviation), Coastal Service, troops People's Commissariat of Internal Affairs, Border Troops _x000D_ Unit: 345th Infantry Division (2 formations) _x000D_ _x000D_ Retired Colonel was born on June 17, 1923 in the village of Polom Kirov region. It was a harsh time, childhood and youth were very hard. His mother Alexandra Andreevna worked in the hospital as a nurse and paramedic. My father worked for hire, harvested charcoal, worked in a kolkhoz. On June 16, 1941, Arkady graduated from high School, and after 5 days the Great Patriotic War began. On July 3, he was drafted into the army and sent to the Aviation mechanics School, then in January 1943 - to the Podolsk infantry School. _x000D_ In March 1943, he was appointed platoon commander in the 52nd Motorcycle Regiment, and later as a company commander. The main missions of the regiment and the motorcyclists of the twenty-year-old company Leiutenant Sychev were actions behind enemy lines, capturing important strong points, routing headquarters, blowing up bridges, reconnaissance of the enemy, creating panic in his rear. Arkady Andreevich participated directly in hostilities for eighteen months. His company successfully operated in September - October 1943 in the Ukraine, in April - May 1944 in the Crimea, in July - October 1944 in Belarus, and later in the Baltic States. _x000D_ The most striking combat episodes with his participation were played out in the most hard conditions of bloody battles for the Left Bank Ukraine, for the left bank of the Dnieper. Since November 1943, the Regiment took part in the battles for the Nikopol foot strong. The Germans strengthened the foot strong and reinforced with troops in order to help their group in the Crimea. These were the hardest battles for A.A. Sychev's company. Only in January 1944 the foot strong was captured and the city of Nikopol was liberated. In the period from November 1943 to January 1944 alone, the company commander survived the death of five of his platoon commanders. _x000D_ As part of the motorcycle regiment A.A. Sychev participated with his company in the heroic assault on the famous Sapun Mountain near Sevastopol. The mountain was a natural barrier on the outskirts of Sevastopol. For several days, persistent efforts were made to take the heavily fortified Sapun Mountain. The main assault was undertaken on May 7, 1944. The fight was very hot. Sychev’s company participated in this assault from beginning to end. Led by their commander, the soldiers showed miracles of heroism. The impregnable Sapun Mountain was taken, which ensured the liberation of Sevastopol and the defeat of the Nazi group in the Crimea. _x000D_ More than once the brave company commander looked death in the face. Here is one of the combat episodes near Bobruisk in July 1944. Sychev’s company burst into the enemy trenches. With a pistol in hand and a cartridge in the chamber, the company commander runs through the trench. Several of his subordinates are behind him. The trench turns 90 degrees. Behind the bend he collides head-on with a German. He has a submachine gun on his chest. He turns the machine gun towards the company officer, who holds the pistol at chest level. The German was two or three meters away from him. Without aiming, Sychev A.A. pulls the trigger. The German falls. The rest of the Germans rushed to run away along the trench and were immediately destroyed by our soldiers. Such episodes occurred more than once or twice at the front. _x000D_ Arkady's military merits were deservedly awarded with many military orders and medals. One of the main events in his life he considers his participation in the historic Victory Parade on Red Square in June 1945. _x000D_ One of the main missions of his work, he considered to educate children, find out what each of them has in their souls, and instill in them love for their homeland. The result of his work was the advanced positions that his Suvorov platoon constantly occupied in study and discipline. He still believes that the most unforgettable and happy years of his service in the army were the time he worked as an educator at the Tambov Suvorov Military School. _x000D_ Despite his mature years, the front-line soldier is still in the ranks. He lives in the city of Korolev, takes an active part in the work of the Council of Veterans of the Tambov Suvorov Military School, the annual meetings of our graduates in Tambov, always calls on us to strengthen the cadet brotherhood. He constantly deals with issues of military-patriotic education of young people, and of the general population. In recent years, he has performed on a volunteer basis in dozens of schools, gymnasiums, boarding schools, work collectives. He teaches lessons in courage. He takes a class, a group, sometimes a whole hall, tells the truth about the war, about the heroism of our soldiers. Arkady Sychev believes that the main engine of longevity is to be in good spirit, be optimistic, keep smiling. Уoung people should be educated on the positive side, then they will be kind, respectful, and true people. _x000D_ Written by Council of Veterans of the Tambov Suvorov Military School.

Dedicated to my great-grandfather Boris Anatolyevich Tresvyatsky. Unfortunately, I never saw him. My great-grandfather took part in the Great Patriotic War. I know about him only from the stories of my dad. And he, in turn, from his grandmother. My great-grandfather Borya was born on July 27, 1921, in the Ryazan region in the village of Blagie. He finished 10 classes and was drafted into the army at the beginning of the war. _x000D_ Like the whole country, my great-grandfather gave all his strength to protect his Fatherland. His military path was long and hard. He fought on various fronts, including the Belorussian and Ukrainian, with the rank of guard Junior Leiutenant. Participated in the storming of Berlin and the liberation of Prague. He was wounded 2 times. _x000D_ Orders and medals, which he was awarded, speak of his glorious military path: the Order of the Red Star, the medal “For Capture of Berlin”, the medal “For Liberation of Prague”, “For Victory over Germany in the Great Patriotic War of 1941-1945. ", medal "20 years of Victory in the Great Patriotic War of 1941-1945 ", medal “50 years of the USSR Armed Forces ". _x000D_ In May 1945, the war ended, but his service in the ranks of the Red Army continued for another 2 years in Germany. All this time, my great-grandmother, then Polyakova Valentina Alekseevna, was waiting for him. Great-grandfather Borya wrote her letters from the war, which are still kept in our family. They have become very old over the years, but priceless. My great-grandmother Valya was very much waiting and believed that great-grandfather Borya would return safe and sound. And finally, the service ended and great-grandfather returned home. _x000D_ After the war they got married, and in 1949 my grandmother Nadia was born. After the war, my great-grandfather Borya worked as a teacher of the Russian Language and Literature. Then he worked as an inspector in the main Department of Vocational Education under the Council of Ministers of the RSFSR. And he worked there for the rest of his life. For his work, he was awarded the badge "Excellent worker in public education", badge "Excellent worker in vocational technical education of the USSR" and the medal "For valiant labor. In commemoration of the 100th anniversary of the birth of Vladimir Ilyich Lenin. " _x000D_ My great-grandfather Borya died in 1970, when my grandmother Nadia was pregnant with my dad. Grandmother Nadya at that moment decided that if a boy was born, she would name him after her father. This is how my dad, Boris, was born. Great-grandfather had passed away for a long time, but we always remember him with respect and gratitude, keep his awards. Victory Day is a big holiday for us! Written byAnna Borisovna Tresvyatskaya.