Three war veterans currently reside in northern Kazakhstan.
One of them is Valentina Volkodav, who went to the front at the age of 19. She
served in a mechanized bridge-building unit, constructing bridges and providing
crossings for soldiers on the Belorussian and Ukrainian fronts. This March, she
turned 103.
«I never thought I’d serve in the military. Since I had only
completed ten years of school and hadn’t attended university, I didn't have a
diploma. I held the rank of sergeant, while my husband was a lieutenant,» Volkodav
recalls.
She marked Victory Day in Berlin. Volkodav was awarded the
Order of the Patriotic War, 2nd class, along with the medals «For the Victory
over Germany,» «For the Liberation of Warsaw,» and «For the Capture of Berlin.»
These honors stand as a testament to her heroic journey. In total, more than
90,000 people from the North Kazakhstan region went to the front—half of them
never returned home.
Related Articles
