Panas Savoliuk

The two Heroes (My family album)

Sometimes we understand the importance of a person who lives with us, does his daily routine - and at the same time his or her life is much more interesting heroic and exciting than any of the characters produced by the writers or filmmakers.

Being a teacher of English at a small Ukrainian village school I always used to claim that I am a teacher of the third generation – my parents and grandparents all their life worked as teachers. Many of their former students came to say thank you for all they have been taught by them. That was great and rewarding – they were good at what they used to do but… Only after my grandfather, Panas Hordiyovych Savoliuk, had left us, have I gotten to know what kind of a person he was.

The Artillery Officer, 1945 (My family album)

Imagine a village teacher who spends his days teaching kids the rules of their native language. Who can think this man was an officer who took part in great battles being a commander of a battery, who got lots of written thanks from a Soviet Commander-in Chief Stalin, honored by the highest war medals – and a few times having been almost captured by the fascists - and that could be the end of the life, war career, of everything… Our grandparents – those who really went through the whole war and took part in the battles – tried to hide the whole truth about how the things went on. The matter was that those who said something against the official description given by the Soviet government, made the danger of this not only for themselves but for those who listened to them – and didn’t inform the security services…. In one moment the whole of your life could be changed - Siberia was full of those who didn't (or couldn't) keep the silence...

You would be curious why the person described here was not a general but a village teacher? Maybe that is because the Heroes usually are not the angels but regular people… Being an officer of a war administer in a city of Plovdiv in Bulgaria in 1945, my granddad with his comrades celebrated the coming of a new, 1946, year. They were invited by the former Bulgarian queen to the party. All Panas’ friends danced with her – but only my granddad stayed sitting on the chair and complaining of not having abilities to dance… The next day all the participants were taken to the prison – and sent to Odessa officer's division for breaking all the links with a person who used to be a queen – and lost the right to call herself so… .

My country is going celebrate the 65th anniversary of a Great Victory - the day that is remembered as the end of the Second World War for the former Soviet people. Veterans were always taken care and remembered with a great honour - but the real Heroes don't like to call themselves so. It is our duty - to keep them in mind and in our souls.