"Eternal Flame" by Eduardo Cruz: why a simple Mexican guy redeems the orders of Soviet soldiers. “I only rest on Sunday and spend all my free time doing this project”
For 12 years, a Mexican has been buying awards of the Great Patriotic and World War II from third parties and transferring them to the families of the former owners or to military museums.
Do this Eduardo Cruz Mercado started when he was seventeen - a friend from Russia, an orphan, showed him a box of medals as the only thing left from the blood family. To date, Cruz has redeemed 11 orders. This year he is the Russian national award for good deeds "Let's do it together!" Publishing House "Arguments of the Week". The Social Information Agency contacted the benefactor and recorded his story.
Eduardo Cruz during a teleconference at the Let's Do It Together! Photo: Arguments of the week
“Here in Mexico, historical works hardly mention the feat Soviet people in World War II. Our books say that the United States won it. Now terrible news is spreading around the world about people and entire nations committing acts of vandalism against monuments to soldiers, awards are melted down into nationalist paraphernalia. This prompted me to continue my modest work to preserve Soviet orders and medals.
Today with the help of friends from different countries the Eternal Flame project achieved the return of four Soviet orders to the Russian Federation: one - Patriotic War and three - the Red Star. Three orders went to the United States, one each to Argentina, Nicaragua and Mexico. In addition, we found in a pawnshop in Ukraine the Order of the Red Star No. 3456439 and the medal "For Military Merit", which belonged to Bondarenko Alexander Pavlovich, a native of Donetsk. We know that they were going to be melted down into military insignia "People's Hero of Ukraine". These awards are ready to accept the Donetsk Military History Museum of the Great Patriotic War.
Basically, I find lots on private online auctions in Ukraine and in the States. My friends - there are about 40 of them - are also looking for in Israel, Bulgaria, Lithuania, Estonia, Hungary, Latin America in markets and shops, help with the translation of letters and forwarding. Our volunteers speak English, Spanish, Russian, Ukrainian. Some of them have never met each other and even do not know each other in absentia. None of us receives money for work in the project, this is pure volunteering. We believe that cultural values deserve respect and their place in museums or in the families of heroes who sacrificed themselves to free the world from Nazism. They have nothing to do in the markets, where they are vulgarized and turned into souvenirs.
When we find an order or medal, the first thing we do is post its serial number in social networks: Facebook, Instagram, VKontakte. Sometimes the owner can be found in a few days, in other cases it takes months. The consulate of the Russian Federation in Mexico helps us to send awards to Russia. We have no other partners either among state institutions or among commercial companies and public unions.
A cover letter from Eduardo to one of the families of WWII soldiers. Photo: Eduardo Cruz Mercado Out of respect for the relatives of the fighters, we do not disclose the details of where they found and how the awards were returned. (Earlier, the Notebook edition told the following story: the son of the pilot Aristarkh Kazantsev discovered the loss of all his father's awards after his funeral. Cruz found and returned them 25 years later. - Note. ASI.) All families have their secrets, some rejoice and thank for the news of the return of the relics, while others are deeply upset. But I don't comment on it. Also, we do not cover the amounts for which we redeem orders. How much is the glory of a hero worth?
My main work is not related to either history or military affairs. I am a jeweler, I work from Monday to Saturday from 9 am to 9 pm.
My family does not approve of our project. Thinks I'm a communist (I'm not). It's just more happiness to give than to receive, this is also written in the Bible. For 12 years now I have been thinking about how society has devalued the pride with which fighters wore and kept their awards, and I can’t come to terms with it. ”
0 October 28, 2013, 11:22 am 
It would seem that Eduardo Cruz has long dotted their relationship, but, as it turns out, this time the couple's separation can also end in a happy reunion. The actress and her ex-boyfriend were seen at a New York restaurant this weekend, and, apparently, the date was not at all friendly.
Eyewitnesses told reporters that on Saturday, Eva and Eduardo came to one of the institutions of the city and behaved like a couple in love. Restaurant goer says:
They held hands and kissed. Their table was in full view, but they didn't seem to care that anyone was looking at them.
On the evening of the same day, Longoria and her ex-boyfriend were again seen together when they were already heading to another institution in the center of New York. According to observers, both were in a great mood and did not stop smiling.
The relationship between the Desperate Housewives star and younger brother began in February 2011, three months after Longoria officially divorced ex-husband Tony Parker.
In March 2012, Eva and Eduardo for the first time, then started dating again, but in June of the same year they ended their relationship again.
Recently, Longoria met with businessman Ernesto Argüello, one of the participants in his television show Ready For Love. The novel lasted only a few months, and already in the summer the actress. According to insiders, the reason for the gap was the employment of the star, which did not allow her to spend time with Argüello.
They say that after breaking up with Cruz, Eve could even with George Clooney himself, but rejected the advances of the Hollywood sex symbol. Maybe after a series of failed relationships, the actress decided that she broke up with Eduardo in vain?
He lives in Guadalajara, works as a jeweler, learns Russian and loves the history of our country.
Recently, the Network was stirred up by the news that the Mexican jeweler returned the military award he bought at the auction to the relatives of the hero of the Great Patriotic War. This is not the first time a resident of the city of Guadalajara has acted this way. Eduardo has been fascinated by history for a long time - for more than a decade he has been trying bit by bit to “finish” the historical picture dedicated to the Second World War and restore justice. He searches for military awards in pawnshops and online auctions around the world, redeems, and then finds the descendants of the heroes and gives them to them. the site found Eduardo in social networks, contacted him and asked in detail about his hobby.
"If it is not possible to find the relatives of the heroes, this valuable cultural heritage is sent to museums for eternal storage,"
Cruz told us. He very kindly responded to the desire to communicate and said that he and his team are looking for combat awards on the Internet, redeem them and return them to the relatives of the war heroes or the veterans themselves, if they are still alive. Eduardo became interested in the history of our country more than ten years ago, after he met several Russians. Then new acquaintances told him about the exploits and self-sacrifice of Soviet soldiers during World War II. Eduardo was so touched by these stories that he decided to personally take care of preserving the memory of the heroes who, for one reason or another, lost their military awards.
He and his associates redeem orders and medals at their own expense, arrange all Required documents and through the consulate they send awards to the owners or their relatives.
“I only rest on Sunday and spend all my free time doing this project,”
talks about his life Eduardo Cruz. Our hero works as a jeweler. He works tirelessly 6 days a week. Starts at 7 am and ends at 10 pm. He is a real workaholic. Because of his work, he has absolutely no time for his personal life: Cruz admitted that he has not yet started a family. A few months ago, Eduardo started learning Russian. This occupation absorbed him very much - very soon he will be able to study the history of our country without the help of online translators.
When asked to send photographs for material where Eduardo is at home or at work, he politely refused. Cruz explained that there is a very unsettled situation in Mexico right now - he would not want to endanger himself and his family. It is likely that his fears are not connected with his hobby, but with professional activity. He did not elaborate on this.
“I don’t speak Russian and have never been to Russia,”
the sympathetic Mexican is recognized. But Cruz hopes that one day he will be able to visit our country, which has already become so dear to him. He really wants to come to Russia in winter, because he has never seen snow in his life.
Photo: personal archive Eduardo Cruz Eduardo does not condemn the people who once took the awards abroad. Although it is generally accepted that the owners and their relatives are always to blame for the loss of family and cultural values, the Mexican history buff is sure that this is absolutely the wrong approach. In the 1990s, many former USSR literally had to survive - it was then that the most of orders and medals. The veterans themselves and their loved ones were forced to sell awards in order to somehow make ends meet. Cruz is sure that no one can be blamed for this.
By the way, some of those who regained long-lost military awards with the help of Eduardo became part of his team, which is called "Eternal Flame".
“Thanks to the help of my friends in Russia, Ukraine and Latin America, we managed to return 12 awards,” recognized by Eduardo Cruz.
What do you think about the Mexican guy's hobbies for our history?
