Mikhail Shamonin was born in 1926, in Bashkortostan, where, after leaving the school, he entered the Geological Survey College. Then as a young man, he wanted to look for minerals, participate in expeditions, and travel around the country and beyond. But fate decreed otherwise. As soon as Michael turned 17, he was drafted into the army.
‘January 18, 1943, this day was remembered by bad weather. It was sleet. Then I did not realize what was waiting for me ahead but I was angry that I was cold. Now I understand that I was drafted into forces to a minor, in violation of the law. But the plan had to be carried out. The men were taken out every day, they took all those who were good at least for something. They didn’t take only those who didn’t have an arm or a leg,’ the veteran remembers.
After six months of the regimental school, Mikhail received the specialty of a mortar gunner, and in a marching company he was sent to the Kursk Bulge. At first he was a loader, a gunner, later became the commander of the calculation. During the battle he was contused.
‘Not far from me, the projectile of a large-caliber cannon exploded. At that time I was in a trench, and all the land fell on me. I fell asleep a lot, I lost consciousness. Afterwards, colleagues told me that they had found me only because an automaton trunk was sticking out of the ground. When they pulled him, I unconsciously grabbed him,’ - having told about it, Mikhail Shamonin stopped for a couple of seconds, and then exhaled heavily. ‘This battle is hard to forget’.
After rehabilitation in the hospital, he was redirected to Iran. There he met with US and British soldiers. Together they created defenses against the German forces.
‘Then nature itself was on our side. Across the Indian Ocean, the Germans decided to introduce a tank corps, about 500 units. To launch an attack on the USSR from the other, eastern side. But the German tanks could not go through the desert. The sand overflowed them, and they died down. In Iran, I served until our victory. Then I thought about resigning, but I realized that military affairs became a part of my life,’ Mikhail Shamonin notes.
After the end of the Second World War, he received an order to withdraw troops in six months. Then Mikhail Chamonin visited many countries: ‘Through the Caucasus, I came to Azerbaijan. Where he received the rank of sergeant and was distributed to the training at the Military Artillery School in Tbilisi. After graduating from it, I served in many troops. I was in the north, behind the Arctic Circle, in the Baltic States, Poland, Germany. Despite the fact that the war was over, our troops were in Germany for a few more years, I served there for five years. And becoming an officer, I was sent to Austria’. The dream of young Michael still came true, he traveled half the world.
All that time, the man continued to study, and four more years of the Military Academy passed. After 32 years of service, when he was 47 years old, he went to the reserve. It was then that Mikhail thought about a comfortable family life, without business trips. Previously, he had been in Ukraine in the service, drove into Odessa. Our country was immediately remembered by hospitality and joyful residents: ‘To come to, then still, Zhdanov was my personal initiative. Back in Germany, my wife had a friend from there. She talked a lot about the port city. The proximity of the sea bribed me’.
In Mariupol from the 70s he began working at the military enlistment office. He worked there for 22 years.
Now Mikhail Shamonin has two sons who followed his steps and became military men. Three grandchildren. It was to them that the grandfather presented all his orders and awards so that the future generation remembered his hero.
After 64 years of marriage, in 2016, Mikhail's wife left him. A veteran remembers that she loved to cook, she baked buns until the last days. It is home baking that he lacks now: ‘I have never been interested in kitchen affairs, but now I have to. I learned how to cook soups, cook different cereals, I love milk semolina. Still not good at stewing meat, but I cook. Experimenting with spices. I clean myself, I wash the dishes, I wash, I go to buy groceries’.
Mikhail Shamonin also cares for a small home garden. His wife liked the flowers. After her death, they remained a pleasant memory, so the veteran tries to treat them. He also likes to watch concerts on TV.
At 93, Mikhail Shamonin has the rank of colonel, looks great and can independently climb to the eighth floor, almost without breath. He calls exercise as the secret of his toned and athletic form: ‘I have always been involved in sports. Now, of course, I can not do much, but I do exercises every day. I can wring out from the floor several times, do hand rotations, bends. I try to leave the house more often, to breathe fresh air, not to overeat, especially in the evening. When I was 30 years old, I complained a lot that something was in pain, now it seems like a trifle. Health is not at all, but if I complain, it will not be better. Therefore, I try to keep myself in shape’.
