Preserving The Oral HistorIES of Combat Veterans
5:37 | Michael Mirson was a prisoner of the Germans but that was actually better than being in the Russian Army. He was a trained veterinarian so he was valuable to them as they retreated from the Caucasus. One day, an officer told him that the Americans were fifty kilometers away in that direction and the Russians were close in every other direction. That began a mad dash to the American line.
Keywords : Michael Mirson Russia (USSR) Soviet German horse veterinarian blacksmith Caucasus Mountains Germany Russian Army
Michael Mirson grew up in the mountains of Armenia on an idyllic alpine farm. His father was a good farmer and food was plentiful. Life was good. That all changed with the Soviet ordered collective farm system. It wasn't long before famine set in.
He saw no future in the collective farm so Michael Mirson set out for Yerevan, the capital of Armenia and applied himself to college. He was nearly done with his education as a veterinarian when the Russian Army pressed him into service.
The Soviets put Michael Mirson in a transportation battalion. He was a trained veterinarian and took care of the horses but it wasn't long before he was shipped off to the infantry. He was expected to fight the Germans with little weaponry and an empty stomach.
Michael Mirson had just recovered from the wounds he received in his first battle as a Russian soldier when he was sent back to the battlefield. Some poor tactical decisions by his superiors led to his capture by the Germans. They didn't feed him but neither did his own army.
The hunger was getting serious. Michael Mirson had been captured by the Germans and he watched them butcher a horse. He begged for some meat but was ignored. A little later, he was given the head and a lung, which was shared by the prisoners. They took him to a prison camp where his survival was assured when he went to work in the infirmary.
The Russian Army was coming. Michael Mirson had been in that army but was now a POW in a German camp. Rather than than face a dubious "liberation," he set out with several thousand others in the direction of Germany. By chance, he was selected to aide the Germans at the front, which ensured he would get fed.
After enduring grim experiences in the Russian Army and as a German POW, Michael Mirson was finally catching a break. He emigrated to the United States after a sponsor was found and he found peace and prosperity at last.
After Michael Mirson emigrated to the United States he worked his way through a series of jobs and owned his own business for a while. He was frugal and saved enough money to help his relatives back in Azerbaijan.
