June 04, 2015
The Great Patriotic War brought many troubles for everybody. It is sorrow and tears of mothers, wives and children. Thousands of people passed through war, felt tortures and pain of losses. The war affected every family and grandparents were not exception.
While being at my grandmother’s house I love to review our family albums. The photo of our great-grandfather Mikhail Kuznecov takes honorable place in the album. He had a lot of medals and awards. At that time I did not know that all these medals of the Great Patriotic War. I asked my grandmother what for what merits he received them. She shed tears and answered: "Your great-grandfather received them for participation in fights during the Great Patriotic War". I felt sad as I did know the most important thing about my great-grandfather. I took deep interest in the stories of grandmother, medals and decided to learn about him in more details:
"He went to the front at age 17. He fought on Baltic fleet where he was wounded. After hospital he was at war in tank troops, participated in fights on the Kursk arch. He with his platoon made many heroic feats. He was seriously injured and burned in the tank. Only one of all crew survived. Among many war awards there is a medal "For Courage". It was the last war medal.
I was interested by history of how he received it. My grandmother told me about that fight in which my great-grandfather participated. In the Internet via electronic bank of documents "Feat of people" I found original documents on a feat of my great-grandfather. On August 21, 1943, near the village Semenovka he being seriously injured, alone with machine-gun suppressed a weapon emplacement of the opponent and evacuated 2 wounded soldiers".
Unfortunately, he is not with us today. According to stories of my grandmother the war remained the most terrible and sad memories. From my mother and grandmother I heard many stories that my great-grandfather after the war suffered from a splinter which remained near his eye. All his life he worked in the technical school as the teacher.
I never saw him and did not hear his stories about war, fights, lost and companions. I think it was not only his personal pain, but it was the tragedy of all generation.
The echo of that terrible war warns us that it is impossible to forget past lessons. People, who came back from that terrible war and those who could not, forever will remain heroes in our hearts. How many life cost a victory?! Tens of millions, but we won it paying very expensive price.
I am sure that listening to stories about war and the price of a victory, in heart of everyone responds pain and hope that it will never happened again. However, fascism still has threats to the world.
We often remember my great-grandfather. My heart fills pride and happiness that I am the great-granddaughter of Hero, memory about whom will be immortalized for ages.
When I become adult, I will surely tell my children about that terrible war and about the great-grandfather. About those difficult years which fell to lot of that generation, that despite burdens of war they did not lose faith in a victory, belief in life and in bright future.
Eternal memory to the heroes!
Tatyana Maciokina,
Ust-Kamenogorsk, East Kazakhstan region
Pupil of 9th grade of high school No. 5
