In the battles for the freedom and independence of the Fatherland, each participant, from private to marshal, makes his own contribution. And you should not start empty arguments about who is more important in the army, the sergeant or the colonel. Vasily Filippovich Margelov is a legendary person. And not only because he created and nurtured the airborne troops. In any situation, he saw in a subordinate, first of all, a person. The shore of a soldier, but if necessary, he strictly asked and punished.
Labor childhood
When modern political scientists and sociologists tell naive boys about how well workers lived before the 1917 revolution, they should look into the biography of Vasily Filippovich Margelov. The boy was born in 1908 and grew up in a large family with three sons and a daughter. Father worked at the Yekaterinoslavsky metallurgical plant, mother was engaged in housekeeping. Under the patriarchal way of life, the child has never been a burden or an extra mouth. They rejoiced at the appearance of the baby, since another helper was added to the house.
Little Vasya was not shouted at or punished, but simply taught to work. The love of parents is not to lisp with the child, but to prepare him for real life. From a young age, Margelov learned how much she was, a penny that had to be brought into the house. He was trusted to graze livestock, taught furrier craft. As a teenager, the future paratrooper worked as a horseman in a mine. He learned from his own experience how the worker and peasant live, what he hopes for and what he values. Vasily was distinguished by a tenacious mind and in 1921 he easily completed his course of study at the local parish school.
When the time came, in 1928, the young man was drafted into the Red Army. From the very beginning, the army service did not seem difficult or exhausting to Vasily Margelov. He easily endured raising the alarm, drills, marches and digging trenches. A capable fighter was sent to receive specialized education at the Minsk military school. It was from this moment that his career began as a career officer. Having successfully graduated from college, Lieutenant Margelov remained in teaching. In the fall of 1938 he was transferred to the troops as battalion commander.
Father Commander
For the first time, it fell to Margelov to "sniff gunpowder" in the Finnish war. The battalion fighters under his command, while performing a combat mission, captured a valuable "language" - an officer of the enemy General Staff. Before the start of the Great Patriotic War, Vasily Margelov served as the commander of a separate disciplinary battalion. When hostilities began, a division of the people's militia was formed on the basis of this battalion. In all the posts where the command sent him, Vasily Filippovich served with dignity. In addressing his subordinates, he adhered to the traditions laid down by Generalissimo Suvorov.
The famous paratrooper ended the war with the rank of major general. Mareklov's chest was decorated with the star of the Hero of the Soviet Union and stripes for wounds. At the Victory Parade, he marched in front of the Lenin Mausoleum in the column of the 2nd Ukrainian Front. Some of the journalists calculated that the name of the famous commander was mentioned in the orders of thanks from the High Command 10 times. After the war, Vasily Filippovich had to serve in different parts of our country. But his main merit is that he was able to form the Airborne Forces - the Airborne Forces.
The personal life of General Margelov is full of drama. He was married three times. He met his last wife at the front. Husband and wife went side by side throughout the war. Anna Kurakina is a doctor. She took care of her husband after wounds and concussions. They had twin sons. In total, Margelov has five sons who have tied their fate with the army. Vasily Filippovich Margelov died in March 1990.
