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Vladimir MarushakVeteran - participant of the Second World War
Date of Birth: 27.08.1932
Country:  Ukraine |
Content:
Vladimir Marushchak - a WWII veteran
Vladimir Savvovich Marushchak was born on August 27, 1932, in the village of Bortniki in the Braslavsky district of Vinnitsa region, Ukraine. In 1935, when Vladimir was three years old, his family moved to Russia. His parents worked from morning till late at night, so his older sisters and brother initially took care of his education. He later enrolled in a local school.
War and Journey
When the war broke out, Vladimir was supposed to enter the fourth grade. At that time, the Marushchak family lived in the village of Yelizavetinka in the Adamovsky district of the Orenburg region. In 1942, his father and older brother were mobilized. Vladimir remembers how much his brother wanted to join the front. When he was taken into the army, he served as a tankman and eventually became a tank commander. However, a month before Victory Day, the family received news of his brother's death.
In 1943, when Vladimir was only 11 years old, he decided to run to the front. He managed to get on a train heading to the Altai region and traveled for almost six months. During this time, he experienced severe hunger. His fellow travelers helped as much as they could, sharing bread and hiding him from inspectors. He still gratefully remembers the soldiers he traveled with in the same wagon and regrets that he never managed to contact them after the war.
In 1944, Vladimir found himself in the Kharkiv region. What he saw there deeply shocked him: the land was riddled with trenches, destroyed tanks, and remnants of artillery. While playing with other children in one of the tanks, he suffered a serious foot injury. After reaching Kharkiv, the twelve-year-old Vladimir was admitted to a hospital. Once his wound healed, he went to the village of Guty with a soldier he met at the hospital. There, kind people took him in and even offered to adopt him, but he refused because his parents were still alive. He lived in this village for almost a year and celebrated Victory Day there. Vladimir vividly remembers that day, with everyone around him rejoicing and congratulating each other. Later, his father located Vladimir, and the whole family moved to the Kharkiv region.
Life after the War
In 1946, Vladimir's parents separated. He went to Western Ukraine with his father. Vladimir Savvovich later recalled serious clashes with the "Banderovtsy" - members of the Ukrainian nationalist movement, who constituted a significant part of the population in Western Ukraine at the time, putting his life in danger more than once. After the war, Vladimir decided to follow in his father's footsteps and enrolled in a veterinary school. He then served in the army and was discharged with the rank of lieutenant. He graduated from the Party School of the Central Committee of the CPSU. Currently, Vladimir Savvovich resides in the city of Safonovo in the Smolensk region.
