“Paratrooper, even if the air smells of flowers to be placed upon your grave, you must fight till your feet touch the ground,” said Vasily Margelov, who commanded the Airborne Forces of the Soviet Union for more than 20 years, making them the true elite of the country's military. No one in the Soviet (and Russian) "winged infantry" enjoyed more respect than the "airborne father" Margelov.
Lev Polikashin/Sputnik
"Paratrooper No. 1" began his combat career far from the Airborne Forces. At various stages of WWII he served in the marine infantry and guards rifle units, took part in the Battle of the Dnieper, the liberation of Kherson (for which he was awarded the Hero of the Soviet Union) and in battles in South-East Europe. “Hardly any of our regiment would have survived if we had not had Margelov as our commander,” recalled Grigory Babochkin of the 218th Regiment: “In seemingly hopeless situations... he kept his composure and found solutions... This guy valued soldiers’ lives, the lives of others. I wouldn’t be sitting here now if during those critical moments it hadn’t just been me shielding Margelov from the bullets and shrapnel, but he shielding me.”
