Rank: Sergeant _x000D_ Branch of troops: Ground Forces _x000D_ _x000D_ Konstantin Ivanovich Smirnov was born on October 14, 1903 in Astrakhan into a merchant family. When the Great Patriotic War began, he had the right to be exempted from the active duty, but in September 1941 he went to fight voluntarily. In December he was sent to the front, into the army. _x000D_ He served in the 349th Infantry Division, received the rank of Sergeant, becoming the commander of a recon squad of a Separate Reconnaissance Company. From the first days of its arrival at the front, the 349th Infantry Division had been fighting bloody battles, defending the cities of Ukraine. It was baptized by fire in the Kramatorsk region. It broke through the enemy's defense line and occupied a number of settlements near Kramatorsk. On the left was Slavyansk, on the right was Izium. Here the division held its defenses until mid-May 1942. _x000D_ When the Nazi troops launched a counteroffensive, the 349th Rifle Division was thrown in to cover the frontal gap that had formed south of Izyum and was surrounded. _x000D_ Konstantin Smirnov got his first wound in heavy combats. He used to have jet-black hair ... However, when he returned alone of the entire reconnaissance group carrying out a mission behind enemy lines, he was seriously wounded and his hair turned completely gray... _x000D_ After being treated in the hospital, he returned to his division. Then, at the beginning of July 1942, there were short days of rest, when the almost completely destroyed division was withdrawn for reorganization to the area of Krasny Luch, Luhansk Region. _x000D_ On July 17, it was deployed to defend the southern borders of Stalingrad. Here, in July-September 1942, my grandfather went missing in a regular reconnaissance raid behind enemy lines.