Leonīds Breikšs

National service From 1937, Leonids served his two years of national service in the Latvian Army. After his basic training he was awarded the rank of corporal, but even while serving he continued to write, publishing over 30 pieces including "Latvian's prayer".

Dismissed by the Soviet occupation forces from his work at the Ministry of Social Affairs, as they formed the Latvian Soviet Socialist Republic (LPSR), Leonids and Anna like many Latvians began a life of hardship between occasional hard but low paying work. They initially worked in the repatriation of Baltic Germans to Germany, but after that worked manually in construction and farming.

Severely physically tortured in the Cheka building in Riga, the interrogation of Breikšs was focused on members of the Latvian national resistance organization, specifically journalists: Edgars Samts, Voldemārs Krastiņš, plus students Leonids Vezis and Atis Ansis Zalitis (all later shot at Astrakhan prison on 28 November 1941). During their investigation, the Cheka also arrested writers Anšlavs Eglītis and Mārtiņš Zīverts on 27 May 1941, in connection with their case against Breikšs. All were eventually convicted based on paragraphs of article 58, which allowed convicts to be both harshly sentenced and deported. Transferred to Riga Central prison in May 1941, where on 11 June he signed a "Protocol on ceasing investigation". On 20 June 1941, Breikšs was convicted based on the 58th paragraph by a Captain of the LPSR.

Post war and legacy After moving within Riga in September 1941, Breikšs' parents and sister departed as post-war refugees to Germany on 8 October 1944. During the 1988–1991 Singing Revolution in Latvia, "Sacred Prayer" was revived as a popular nationalist song.

During the 2010 Winter Olympics held in Vancouver, his grandson Chris Breikss's office became the unofficial base for the Latvian Olympic team.