Steel Soviet Union

When dealing with his comrades, Malashenko rarely puts on the airs of an official or shows off his authority unless he has to. Even with the most ordinary little warriors, they can be as close as brothers, holding hands and laughing.

Therefore, it is not unusual to encounter comrade brigade commander smoking cigarettes for everyone. It can only increase Malashenko's height in the hearts of the soldiers who already admire comrade brigade commander.

After the ring of smoke dissipated, the soldiers, all with smiles on their faces, quickly took up the fire and started puffing away, murmuring their sincere gratitude to Malashenko. Second Lieutenant Shevayev, who first lit the fire for Malashenko and then lit his own cigarette, put away the lighter before replying to Malashenko.

"This tank is actually the command vehicle of our company commander, comrade brigade commander. He and his entire crew were unable to escape. The ammunition exploded too suddenly, and the fire burned through the entire vehicle almost instantly. We are here. See if there is anything left that can be used as a relic, at least bring it back to their families, and collect their remains for burial.”

As soon as he heard this, Malashenko's brows jumped twice unconsciously.

This is not to say that Malashenko cannot accept this reality, but that the bad premonition in his heart is subconsciously at work.

"Have you found the remains?"

With a cigarette between his fingertips, Malashenko quietly asked, his tone still as flat as before, without any hint of emotion. perform

"Found it, comrade brigade commander, we just tried to get the body out of the tank. It is placed in front of the tank, and we are going to find a place to dig a hole and bury it later."

Too many soldiers who fought to protect their motherland and the homes behind them fell on the battlefields where they fought with their blood. But in the end, they couldn't even find a mausoleum where the bones and souls of heroes were buried. Some even didn't know where the sacrifices were, and there were no relics left, just like Nikolai, who was sleeping forever and used his life to protect the city. Same.

Similar situations have long been commonplace, and Malashenko no longer knows how many times he has seen the familiar scene with his own eyes.

But the sacrificed soldiers are always worthy of admiration from the bottom of the heart. Now that he is here, it is naturally impossible for Malashenko to leave hastily without doing anything. That would be a bit too impersonal, and Malashenko really didn't want to be such a person.

“Go and have a look”

Malashenko spoke silently, and Lieutenant Shevaev beside him nodded and obeyed the order.

The two of them immediately walked to the front of the wreckage of the tank and saw a scene that would make anyone who had seen this scene for the first time feel their stomachs instantly turn upside down.

The four "so-called" bodies, as Second Lieutenant Shevaev said, were neatly placed on the ground directly in front of the tank wreckage.

The reason why it is said to be "so-called" is because just by looking at the four charred black things in front of me that look dark and do not look human at all, it is really difficult to tell that these are actually four Red Army tank soldiers. The remains of the warrior.

The violent flames inside the tank can even scorch the steel to an extremely high temperature. For humans who are carbon-based creatures, this has already exceeded the limit that their bodies can bear.

The carbonized and blackened object, which was already burned and was only slightly larger than a newborn baby, was indeed the remains of the sacrificed Red Army tank soldiers.

Without saying a word, Malashenko took off the tank cap on his head and held it in his arms. He walked forward and came to the side of the four corpses without any taboo or avoidance. He squatted down and stared at the bodies in front of him. of four heroes.

If there is anything on the dark, burnt, non-human-like object that can be linked to humans, Malashenko could only find what should be gums and a few teeth left on it, slightly exposed. The same color, incompatible with the darkness around them.

Malashenko, who was speechless to describe his state of mind at the moment, lowered his head and remained silent for a few seconds facing the four bodies placed directly in front of him. Then he straightened up on the spot, still holding the tank cap in his left arm, resolutely raised his right arm, and gave a solemn military salute to the four burned corpses in front of him.

Later war movies and film and television dramas often used various artistic techniques to describe the tragic situation of infantry soldiers dying in battle.

But few people know that the tank soldiers who were exposed to the flames of the explosion that can even burn their bodies to ashes may not even leave a human body if they die in battle.

Like all the heroic Red Army soldiers who defend their home and country, each of them is also the son of their parents, the husband of their wife, and the father of their children. If one person dies, more people will feel unbearable pain. Dearest relatives! There are countless young people who should have enjoyed the best years of their youth. Their future and destination should not have been like this, and they should not have ended up in such a miserable ending.

Malashenko knew very well that the tragic situation before him could be his final outcome at any point in the future, but Malashenko never regretted that he had embarked on such a path.

At first, he was just involuntarily drawn into a whirlpool that had nothing to do with him, but now Malashenko has too many things that he is unwilling to let go of and cannot let go of. Some people have things and more. There are responsibilities and trusts entrusted to one's shoulders by those who have died.

"After burying our comrades and comrades-in-arms, one day in the future, we will return here and build a real resting place for them on this land!"

"We will build a magnificent monument, and the comrades workers will use the most exquisite skills and materials! Let our children and future generations know that there was once a group of brave and fearless warriors who fought for the happiness and happiness that they could not enjoy at all. They have sacrificed everything for the future! They deserve to be remembered forever by all those who believe in red!”

When soldiers who fought for the interests of capitalists died, military chaplains who were devout to God would come to pray for them on their deathbed, sending these soldiers who were originally poor and pitiful people on their last journey. Although in the eyes of those capitalists who dance and sing wildly in the wine pond and the meat forest, such a human life may not be comparable to that of their own dog that ran away today and had a bad stomach.

But there will always be people who remember that in the pocket of Prokhorovka during the Battle of Kursk in 1943, there was a Soviet tank marshal who had a profound influence on later generations. When he was still young and a colonel and brigade commander, he faced him The solemn promises made by the soldiers under his command who died on the hell-like battlefield.

Even as time passes and the flags change colors, people staring at the tank caps embossed on the obelisk will always remember how many young soldiers many years ago sacrificed for a happiness and a future that they could not enjoy at all. everything.

No matter when or where, the soldiers who defend the future of their motherland and the people behind them are always worth remembering.

Some people say that forgetting is tantamount to betrayal, but a few years later at the inauguration ceremony of the obelisk, Marshal Malashenko, who brought his former comrades to attend the ceremony, did not say similar words.

He refined everything he wanted to say in his heart into a short sentence, which was engraved on the relief together with the tank cap. Whether good or bad is left to future generations to judge and analyze, and it is also a gift to all the people in the world who want to Soldiers who fought with great righteousness and red faith and died heroically.

"They will be alive as long as we remember."