Pankratov Alexander Grigorievich was born on February 16, 1914 in the village of Kurilovka, Novouzensky District, in the family of a pharmacist. He was the only child in the family. Alexander graduated from the Kurilovka 7-year Middle School, where he assembled the first radio receiver being in the 7th grade. Later he graduated from the Novouzensk Pedagogical College, which was located in the former building of a Boarding School. From 1933 to 1936 he served in the army, then worked at the Kurilov Machine-Tractor Station, and in 1938 he entered the Kuibyshev (Samara) Higher Political Aviation School. _x000D_ He went through the whole War, participated in the capture of Konigsberg, was wounded and contused. He was a brave man: more than once he had crossed the front line to get a “prisoner tongue”, flew to the partisan detachments, and was piloting an aircraft. _x000D_ After the war he served in Riga, then in Uralsk and in the Kazakh SSR. In Kazakhstan, he took part in the development and guarding of virgin lands, transportation and storage of grain and equipment. In 1959 he went into the reserve with the rank of Major of State Security. After retiring, in 1959, together with his family, he moved closer to his native place, to the city of Novouzensk, where he began working in Secondary School No. 8 as an auto business instructor and entered the Saratov Pedagogical Institute (by correspondence), which he graduated at 54. While working at School, he led some vocational circles: aircraft modeling, shooting, and rocketry. The members of the circles regularly became winners and prize-winners of various competitions, both at school and regional level. Often he used to have air gun shooting lessons at his place. He attached the targets to his felt boots, and the guys shot at the targets from an air gun, so the felt boots were covered in small holes. _x000D_ Alexander often met with young people and told them about the efforts of his friends at the front, about front-line life, brotherhood, and friendship. He talked about what a man should be as a defender of his Motherland, his family. He took his sons to the places of the battles in which he participated, and to Riga, to a meeting with his front-line friend, the Latvian Lujans Janis. _x000D_ Pankratov A.G. was a versatile person: he drew well, knew how to play various musical instruments, from balalaika to piano, was well versed in literature, politics and economics, was an excellent lecturer in international affairs and propagandist, knew how to arrange holidays for his children, was a good friend and a great father. But the consequences of combat wounds and contusions led to a serious illness. Alexander passed away on 02/05/1971 at the age of 57.