"The economy of war." Unusual ways to deliver mail to the front.2

The main number of postmen or forwarders, as they were then officially called, were men.

The reason is very simple, no sexism: -the total weight of the cargo, which they had to carry, consisted, in addition to the usual outfits of many letters and newspapers, and almost equal to the weight of the machine gun.

For reference, the weight of the then-hand machine gun Red Army (manual means the easiest) - a machinegun Degtyarev with bipods was 12, 2 kg.

Senior sergeant G.I. Dubinenko, the postman of the unit of Lieutenant P. Refuge. South-Western Front. However, the severity of the postal bag was measured not only by kilograms of letters. And the human emotions and tragedies that came with them.

Appearances of the postman in each house simultaneously waited, and were afraid, after all messages could be not only good, but also tragic.

Letters in the rear became practically messengers of fate, each of them contained the answer to the most important question: is the person who is expected and loved alive?

This situation imposed a special responsibility on the postman, each of them daily had to experience both joy and sorrow along with their addressees.