It is in my Blood...

This is my Grandfather - Waldemar Konanovich Sheetik. This picture was taken in 1942.

I am a re-enactor of the Great Patriotic War or World War II (Eastern Front). My interest in the RKKA's or the Soviet Army's history developed since childhood, when I was listening to my grandparents' stories of their participation in the War. Even still the Russians of my generation refer to the Great Patriotic War as the War. It is in our blood, in our conscience, in the memory of our people. I grew up playing in the trenches and battlefields of the Leningrad front, soaking its history from the ground itself, from the stories of those who still remembered it well. I live in Texas now and am a part of the 8th Guards Mech. Corps, which is a re-enactment group, based in Texas, New Mexico, Kentucky, Indiana, Oregon and several other states.