p Not later than March 14, 1943

p If I die in combat for the workers’ cause, I ask officers Vernishin and Kunitsyn to take the first opportunity they have to go to my home in Yeisk and tell my mother that her son died for the liberation of his country. Please let my dear mother have my order, my Y.C.L. card and this pad. Ask her to keep them as a memory of her son. Give her my sailor’s hat so that she will have something to remember her sailorboy by.

Mother’s address: Raissa Chalenko, Svanovskaya St.,
Yeisk
Victor Chalenko

p Y.C.L. member Victor Chalenko volunteered in 1942. When the Soviet troops had to leave Yeisk he begged to be taken on in a marine detachment. While he was in the marines he took part in the defence of the Northern Caucasus. For his heroism and bravery in the battles around Goryachi Klyuch and Tuapse, he was awarded the Red Banner Order. In February 1943, he landed with the rest of his marine group at Novorossiisk, on the Black Sea coast.

It was not an easy place for battle. The enemy had had time to reinforce their positions and were causing the marines a lot of trouble, particularly in one section of the beach where a machine-gun in a log emplacement kept up rapid fire. Victor volunteered to silence it. Under cover of darkness, he crawled towards the log emplacement and hurled his hand grenades into it. The firing stopped at once but splinters from the grenade also ripped into the hero. Taking advantage of the silenced machine-gun, the marines took the German positions by storm. They found their comrade dead. In his pocket was discovered a writing pad with his testament on it.