“The hardest fighting I went through was in Dukhovshchina, Smolensk Region where huge numbers of German troops and technical equipment were concentrated. We broke through the enemy defenses. 2 days later the Supreme Commander in Chief issued an order giving our division the title of Dukhovshchina Division.”

As a paramedic in a light infantry unit, Efim would run throughout the front lines administering medical aid. He would also help move injured soldiers to hospital bound trains. Unlike the doctors who worked away from combat, Efim treated his patents in the middle of the battlefield:

“We crawled up to the soldiers. If the injury was not too serious we gave first aid, put on dressings, gave pain killers, and injections.”

Efim was injured near Latvia and sent to Moscow hospital. He recovered in time to rejoin his unit for The Battle Of Riga in October 1944.

After the war, Efim moved to Toronto.