A twenty-meter obelisk of red granite rises above the blue expanse of the sea. At its foot, the Eternal Flame blazes day and night. The people do not forget their sons, who defended their homeland at the cost of their lives and exalted its glory. On the banner of the city is the Order of Lenin and the Golden Star. This is a reward to all defenders of Odessa, alive and dead. Descendants should know the heroes, be proud of them, take an example from them. In his memoirs, I. I. Azarov, a member of the Military Council of the Odessa Defensive Region, talks about many people - infantrymen and sailors, pilots and sappers, workers and workers who built fortifications, armored trains and tanks under fire, about the leaders of party and Soviet organizations of the besieged city...