At once, in a dark blue wave, the pilots stood up and, together with the garrison singer, gasped with a single echo: "Happy Victory Day!" This is one dark blue brotherhood! These gold shoulder straps and the glitter of medals! It's hard to describe! How united they were at that moment. They were united by their memory and the common work in the sky, which they do as well as their grandfathers and great-grandfathers did many years ago.
The solemn meeting was held on May 6 at the Officers' House of the Rostov-on-Don garrison. It was attended by the personnel of the management of the association, units of the Rostov and Novocherkassk garrisons, representatives of the inspectors of the Southern Military District, veterans of the association.
At the sound of the anthem, the banner group brought in the national flag of Russia and the battle banner of the association. Among the escorts - Major Oleg Morozov, whose grandparents fought on the Western Front.
The commander of the 4th Army of the Air Force (VVS) and Air Defense (Air Defense), Lieutenant General Viktor Mikhailovich Sevostyanov, during a ceremonial meeting with the army officers said that the army was created as soon as possible, from May 7 to May 22, 1942, and immediately entered the battle in Rostov-on-Don as part of the Air Force of the Southern Front.
Also during his speech, the commander of the 4th Air Army emphasized that during the war, the army pilots made 340,000 sorties, from the foothills of the Caucasus to the Elbe. This year, the pilots performed the most difficult state tasks to support the counter-terrorist operation in Syria. Now the air defense forces and the air force are preparing for the largest exercises "Kavkaz-2016": they will be held in September at once on the territory of three federal districts. The commander of the Southern Military District, Alexander Galkin, called preparation for them as a priority in the work of military units for the near future.
In addition, the pilots of the 4th Air Army are preparing to ensure air security for the anniversary Russia-ASEAN summit, which will be held in Sochi from May 19 to 20.
Today, the zone of responsibility of the 4th Army includes three federal districts: South, North Caucasian, Crimean and the city of Sevastopol. In service are bombers, fighters, transport aircraft, transport and attack helicopters, anti-aircraft missile systems.
“The aviation and helicopter regiments received over 60 units. equipment, including the latest Su-34 fighter-bombers, Su-30SM multifunctional fighters, modernized Su-24M front-line bombers, Su-25SM3 attack aircraft and modern Mi-28N, Mi-35M, Ka-52 attack helicopters, transport and assault helicopters Mi-8AMTSh , - said the commander of the Southern Military District Alexander Galkin at the beginning of 2016 during his final briefing to journalists (a message about this was published on the website of the Ministry of Defense of the Russian Federation).
And now the chairman of the Joint Council of the Union of War and Military Veterans of the 4th Red Banner Army of the Air Force and Air Defense, Honored Military Pilot of the USSR, Major General of Aviation, retired Viktor Vladimirovich Grishin, appears on the stage.
- I congratulate you on the 71st anniversary of the great Victory. These were the most difficult years for our country. For the first time at a rally, the Ivanovo weavers proclaimed the main idea for the work of the whole country: everything for the front, everything for victory. Both the front and rear became one. But at what cost? In our war, 13-14 people died every minute. It is impossible to contemplate this time. But our task is to preserve the memory of those people who, at the cost of their lives, stood up to defend the Motherland. And this memory must be effective. Memory must not only be kept in hearts, but also continued in deeds. First of all, this concerns our youth. Who among us thought two years ago that this could happen in Ukraine, where today the revival of fascist slogans and provocative nationalist movements is taking place. At the center for war veterans, we show a film where Ukrainian women and children in 2015 throw up their hands in a Nazi salute. But Ukraine suffered a lot at the hands of the fascist-German invaders. And today the descendants, it turns out, deliberately forget those bitter years, dooming themselves to no less pain. And it is necessary to resist this competently and purposefully. And who can do it?
The primary task of veterans is that in addition to their military duty, they must fulfill their civic duty. You can sit out on the couch. Here it is, the TV, all the comforts of life. But you have to be honest with yourself and the country. Our task is not to miss out on young people.
I am already afraid to ask in schools about some details concerning the Great Patriotic War. Do the schoolchildren know that the 4th Army had 227 Heroes of the Soviet Union and 5,000 downed planes? This is a significant contribution to the Victory. For the first time in the Kuban sky, we achieved superiority. 800 German planes were shot down there. We must not forget that time. But our pilots were greeted by German planes on wooden, obsolete aircraft. Only 90 aircraft of the 4th Air Army were opposed to 1,250 German aircraft. Only in 1942, the country was able to rebuild the entire economy on a war footing, accelerate and issue new types of aircraft, which were still inferior in their technical characteristics to the German ones: only two LaGGs could "take" Messerschmitt. But our pilots fought for every opportunity to destroy the enemy. 635 air rams were committed, ground - more than 1000. But what about the Germans? No way. Out of cartridges - coup and departure to the base. All the same, he will receive money for a combat mission. And our people fought for the Motherland. This remained in the genes of our people even after the war. The latest events in Syria confirm this. It was also in the genes of Alexander Prokhorenko, who died in Syria. It was in the genes of Dmitry Petrov, the deputy commander of the sixth company - before the army he was engaged in the Rostov flying club. Once surrounded, he summoned fire on himself. How can this be explained? This is a manifestation of supreme courage. Give your life for your homeland. And today we, veterans of the army, understand that we are approaching our time limit. Many of us are 70-80 years old.
And there are only a few of those who fought. Colonel Alexander Fedorovich Gnetov (born on August 20, 1922) was going to come to our meeting today. I'm calling. And he does not leave the house. It turns out that at 11 o'clock in the morning he was taken by an ambulance and now they are doing an urgent operation. In 1942, he graduated from the Engels School, flew 146 combat missions, was awarded four Orders of the Red Banner, two Orders of the Red Star, in the position of deputy commander of the 96th BAP Major Gnetov met Victory in Berlin.
I understand that today, being in the army, it is not time for you to engage in veteran affairs, but time will pass and you will also become veterans. I beg you! Pass on everything that we have transmitted, do not stop! Live on while protecting the country's spiritual priorities.
And this call of Grishin, I think, will be fulfilled. Indeed, many representatives of military dynasties gathered in the Rostov garrison House of Officers. The head of the department - the deputy head of the department for work with personnel, Colonel Nechiporenko Oleg Vladimirovich can "rely" on his grandfather and father. Grandfather - Daniil Ivanovich Nechiporenko, born in 1900, went through the entire war, from Lvov to Berlin, served in the 16th Air Army in the engineering and technical service, retired to the reserve with the rank of lieutenant colonel. Father - Colonel Vladimir Danilovich Nechiporenko, was the commander of the 83rd Guards Aviation Regiment, based in the city of Rostov-on-Don.
It seems that these people have already received a reliable spiritual foundation. It seems that such a foundation is being "erected" by the awarded servicemen of the 4th Air Army.
The floor for the announcement of holiday orders was given to the Chief of Staff - First Deputy Commander of the 4th Army of the Air Force and Air Defense, Major General Sheremet Roman Valerievich.
So, for the fulfillment of military duty, distinction in service and in commemoration of the 71st anniversary during the Great Patriotic War of 1941-1945, Senior Lieutenant Sergei Anatolyevich Pimakha was awarded the Nesterov Medal.
It must be emphasized that this medal is completely new: it was established in March 1994. “The Nesterov Medal is awarded to servicemen of the Air Force, aviation of other types and branches of the armed forces of the Russian Federation, the Federal Security Service of the Russian Federation and the Internal Troops of the Russian Federation, flight personnel of civil aviation and the aviation industry for personal courage and courage shown in the defense of the Fatherland and state the interests of the Russian Federation, when performing combat service and combat duty, when participating in exercises and maneuvers, for excellent performance in combat training and aerial training, for special merits in the development, operation and maintenance of aviation equipment, high professional skill in flying, by the decree of the President of the Russian Federation.
Colonel Sergei Grigorievich Kostyakov was awarded the medal "For Military Valor". “According to the regulation, the medal“For Military Valor”is awarded to the servicemen of the RF forces for excellent performance in combat training, field (air, sea) training; for special distinctions during combat service and combat duty, during exercises and maneuvers; for courage, dedication and other services shown in the performance of military duty."
Also, Senior Lieutenant Andrei Gulchenko, Lieutenant Colonel Sergei Abarovsky, Lieutenant Colonel Alexander Nabokov, Major Nikolai Sokolovsky, Captain Nikolai Gusev received letters of thanks from the commander.
The star of the concert program, of course, was Larisa Yakovenko, who twice visited Syria to perform in front of military pilots performing their duty during the counter-terrorist operation. The way Klavdiya Shulzhenko sang on the fronts of the Great Patriotic War many years ago …
Larisa is fragile, black-eyed, mother of two children, she has been serving in the army for 13 years. She never thought that her fate would turn out this way and, as she says, she got into the armored department quite by accident. But this lucky chance became predetermined in her destiny. Probably, her great-grandfather would have been proud of such a wonderful continuer of military traditions, which still has enough time for songwriting.
- My great-grandfather, Pashayan Pasha Shirinovich, shooter, born in 1919, reached Berlin, and after the war he created a family where 13 children were born, including my grandmother Larisa, after whom I was named, - says Larisa Yakovenko.
And after the concert, everyone went out into the spacious lobby to talk, hug in a friendly atmosphere.
In an honorable environment, military pilots stand in front of a man in ordinary civilian clothes. This is Guard Lieutenant Colonel Ivan Lazarevich Shevtsov, a participant in the very first parade on Red Square in 1945. On June 15, he will turn 91.
In March 1943, he volunteered for the front, got into a machine-gun crew, and then he was sent to the Saratov Tank School, in six months he graduated. He fought in Poland.
- On June 22, 1945, I, the commander of a tank platoon, by order of the commander, after successful battles, was sent on a business trip to Uralvagonzavod, where the release of tanks was organized at the beginning of the war. There we received five new SAU-85 installations and drove them to Moscow, where we began to rehearse our passes. And then … What can I tell you? There was a great feeling of happiness and a great sense of responsibility for every step I took. I remember the paving stones, I remember my commands.
- Have you seen Stalin?
- Of course, we all wanted to see our leaders. They stood on the Mausoleum and we saw how they watched our progress. We can say that I saw Stalin personally. These were indescribable feelings of pride and happiness. We survived. Our Motherland is a winner.
They congratulate each other on the great Victory Day. The greatness of this day is felt more and more sharply every year, and I want to speak louder about the fact that our country is a country of winners. No matter what and no matter what they say. It was we who had to pay a colossal price so that today Europe, Russia and all other countries could live in peace and harmony. But in order to achieve this, you need to constantly improve your combat skills, you need to constantly learn and teach others. The holiday should not exist for one day. You need to keep in your heart these precious minutes and remember them and keep them in yourself, these precious minutes of the sun and unforgettable happiness that our grandfathers gave us many years ago. And glory to them that we have the opportunity to touch their great spiritual heritage, to hear from them words of support and truth, which today cunning politicians are trying to reshape in their own way: after all, they do not know that the armor-piercing truth about the war cannot be interrupted by boastful idle talk.
