Day of Victory

One of the most vivid memories from my childhood dates to a May 9th. I was watching television, which tells me that it must have been after 1964 – my parents bought a television in 1964 to watch the Tokyo Olympics, the first Olympics to be broadcast in our country.

There was a parade on the screen. My parents and grandparents were not particularly looking at the screen, which surprised me, since what was being shown struck me as highly entertaining. Soldiers stood in formation on Red Square. Silence reigned. A man in uniform was riding in an open car. He would stop before one group and then another. “Hail, Tankman Comrades!” “Good health to you, Comrade Marshal!” “I congratulate you on Victory Day!” “Hurray!”

At least that is how I remember it.