Many heroes of this
great war of the peoples, unprecedented in history, were awarded the Order of
St. George, St. George Swords and Crosses of St. George of all four classes,
and some, although they received only one cross, accomplished outstanding
feats. Unfortunately, the exploits of many have already been irretrievably lost
to posterity and even to contemporaries, for the heroes who returned back to
the battlefield valiantly lay down their lives in the struggle for the glory of
the Motherland. Currently, it is necessary to immediately begin recording their
exploits as they themselves describe them, paint a picture now, <…>
otherwise they will go into battle, many will be killed, and after the war
everyone will go home, and then it will be almost impossible to collect a
complete description. A living word is needed so that a living word would be
passed on to a living generation. And it would be absolutely impossible to
revive some brief reports of the past, to resurrect the situation and imbue it
with a sense of life. That is why the Commission established by His Majesty for
the description of the combat trophies of the Russian army proposed to take
photos of such heroes, record their exploits and paint a picture based on their
own words, but fully fact-checked, and send it all to their small homeland to
their parents and family, to the village and to the regiments where they serve
now. Such work will create a worthy monument to the valor of the Russian army
<…>, which would naturally inspire hundreds and thousands of grateful
Russians to new exploits; they would be grateful to their beloved Sovereign for
commemorating the feats of their kinsman. Children at school will see the face
of the hero from their village, and their love for their Tsar and Fatherland
will rise and strengthen…
