—— Red Army Sniper ——132Clouds appeared in the sky. They formed a cluster and blotted
out the bright moon. Under cover of night a despatch rider from
the company commander finally crept up to Kazarian.
‘And we were already thinking you were dead,’ he said.
‘We’re holding on, as you can see. Go back and tell the company
commander to send up some men,’ Kazarian asked. ‘We won’t
leave our position! And the fascist scum can be driven out of their
trench.’ After half an hour reinforcements arrived. With a rapid
attack the same night our troops drove the enemy out of their
trenches and the position was firmly held.
Kazarian received nine wounds in the course of the war. ‘I’ve
got a strong heart, very strong!’ he said with a joyful smile on
his return to the regiment from hospital. ‘It’s made of Armenian
granite!’
Gleaming on Sergo’s breast were the Order of the Red Banner,
the medal ‘For Valour’, and other decorations. At the first front
line snipers’ rally he was also presented with an inscribed sniper’s
rifle.
Such was my deputy platoon commander.
Now a war invalid, Sergo Kazarian continued to work. He lived
on Cosmonaut Avenue, Leningrad. He worked for many years as
head of the mechanical and repair workshop of the No. 3 Fish
Processing Works. For several years in a row his workmates chose
Communist Party member Kazarian as their team leader. He was
secretary of the Party bureau.