Eternal memory and glory to those who defended the Motherland during the Great Patriotic War: fought for the freedom of the people on the front line and forged victory in the rear. In our new rubric “Immortal Memory”, timed to the 80th anniversary of the Great Victory and the Year of the Defender of the Fatherland, college students of Volga Region University will tell about the exploits of their ancestors who did everything to make sure that we had a peaceful sky above our heads.
Today the first-year student of the direction “Tourism and Hospitality” Alexandra Nurgalieva will tell about the feats of her hero great-grandfather - Pavel Milyutin (1919-1989), who served in the artillery regiment and worked as a driver, delivering ammunition to soldiers.
“Remember! Through centuries, through years - remember!”, - Robert Rozhdestvensky.
Every generation faces difficult times. Life is tested then by wealth and excess, then by hunger and war. One can hear such phrase: “It is hard for young people now - everything was easier before”. However, it seems to me that there are no simple times. Life is always about overcoming difficulties, and the main thing is to live your time honestly, with dignity, leaving a good memory of yourself. It is important to remember, as the famous poet Alexander Kushner said, “You don't choose the times, you live and die in them...”.
War is a severe, hard test that falls to the lot of the strongest generation. Life tests the strength of each person and the nation as a whole. I say this because I know what those who defended our country and defeated fascism during the harsh years of the Great Patriotic War were like. They were strong, brave, self-sacrificing people, ready for self-sacrifice. I know this not only from books and movies, but also from the stories of the children of the warrior-defenders.
My grandfather is seventy years old. Very often I hear from him: “Sashka, you are as fighting, brave as my father!” This is about my great-grandfather Milyutin Pavel Averyanovich. I like to listen to my grandfather's memories, to look at photos and orders of my great-grandfather-hero. When my grandfather tells me, he gets younger: wrinkles smooth out and his eyes become warm. It was from him that I learned that my great-grandfather was at the front from the very beginning of the war.
At the time when the whole country united to fight the enemy, he, twenty-two years old, became a part of this great confrontation. From 1941 to 1945, great-grandfather served as a private in an artillery regiment. As a driver, he performed a difficult, very important task - delivering guns and shells to firing positions. This job required not only great physical strength, but also incredible ingenuity and courage, because every trip to the front line could be his last.
In one of the fierce battles near Velikiye Luki, Pavel Averyanovich showed incredible courage. Under heavy enemy fire, he delivered ammunition to his comrades without interruption and in a timely manner. His feat did not go unnoticed. For the courage shown, Pavel Averyanovich Milyutin was awarded the medal “For bravery”. It was not only gratitude, but also recognition of his heroism and patriotism.
Great-grandfather went through the whole war. He was wounded several times, was treated in hospitals and again - to the front. For personal courage, shown in the battles for the capture of Koenigsberg, great-grandfather was awarded the Order of the Red Star. And the medals “For the Defense of Moscow”, “For Victory over Germany”, “For Military Merit” and the Order of Patriotic War II degree are evidence of his heroism.
The most important, holy holiday for great-grandfather was Victory Day. “I am grateful to my father,” says my grandfather, ”for the fact that he fought bravely, honestly, that he defeated the enemy, that he came home alive. Otherwise we, Sasha, would not be on earth.” I smile in response, and a joyful, bright feeling of respect and pride of being a part of the Great Victory overwhelms me: after all, I am the great-granddaughter of a victorious warrior.
I could not see my great-grandfather, I could not talk to him: he died in 1989. But the memory of the heroic journey of Pavel Averyanovich Milyutin, a private soldier, is like an unfading beacon that illuminates the path and moral guidelines for me and our entire family. Thanks to my great-grandfather I know exactly what I will do if the country needs my help. Heroes of the Great Patriotic War remain alive, unfading beacons as long as we remember them.
