By V. Shurygin
My father once shared with me this piercing, truly chilling idea:
The main Victory Day Parade took place June 24, 1945 in Red Square, with ten thousand troops participating. The formations of soldiers and officers had marched for thirty minutes.
And it hit me.
In the four years of the war, our combat casualties equaled to almost nine million. Every one of the fallen had given everything – his very life – and every single one of them is worthy to march in the Parade. So, if you put them all in a combined column, those formations would have marched through Red Square for nineteen days…
All of a sudden, I could just see that Parade right in front of me.
Glorious formations of twenty by ten people each.
One hundred and twenty steps per minute.
In ragged shoes and boots; in trench coats, overalls, vests, and jackets; in caps, helmets, balaclavas, and berets.
This continuous flow of fallen battalions, regiments, and brigades would have lasted for nineteen days and nights. The Parade of heroes. The Parade of victors.
Think about it!
Nineteen days and nights!..
Russian source:
https://vk.com/byt_russkim?w=wall-51889384_18608
Link active as of February 7, 2017