My dad, Sobachkin Vladimir Gavrilovich was born on February 24, 1918 in the village of Alexandriiskaya in the North Caucasus Territory. In 1933, the family moved to Moscow. In 1937 he was a student at a steam locomotive technical school. In November, they took their father, Sobachkin Gavriil Semenovich, who worked as the head of educational unit of one of the Moscow schools (shot in February 1938). Then they took their mother, Elizaveta Ivanovna Sobachkina, 8 years old in the camps. The younger brother was placed in an orphanage, and dad was sentenced on 24.06.38 as an a Public Enemy for 5 years from 29.12.1937.From December 1937 to December 1942 he was in the labor camps of the NKVD: Medvezhyegorsk camp, Karelo-Finnish SSR, Solikamsk camp, Perm region, with. Borovskoe, Solikamsk. Released on December 29, 1942, volunteered for the war. Was drafted to Solikamsk in February 1943. From March 1943 to September 1945 - served in the ranks of the army. Awarded: 1943 - Medal "For Courage", 1944 - Order of the Red Star, 1945 - Medal "For the Liberation of Warsaw", Medal "For Victory over Germany". He fought - 2nd Belorussian Front, 118th Guards Red Banner Regiment, 37th Guards Rifle Division. Commander of the artillery control squad, guard senior sergeant. From the beginning of hostilities on the Kursk-Oryol Bulge and to the shores of the Baltic Sea (Rostock), he was always on the front line, worked as a senior reconnaissance officer in a 120-mm mortar battery, penal battalion. He was promoted to the post of commander of the command department For the courage shown during the breakthrough of the enemy's defense in the area of ​​N of the item. Kalinovichi was awarded the medal "For Courage". In the battles during the crossing of the Western Bug, he was awarded the Order of the Red Star for personal heroism. When breaking through the heavily fortified enemy defense south-west of Zhlobin, he received gratitude from the commander of the 18th Red Banner Infantry Corps. Repeatedly received orders of thanks from the Supreme Commander-in-Chief: November 18, 1943 for the liberation of Rechitsa; the crossing of the Oder The Military Council of the Army announced gratitude; July 8, 1944 for the capture of the city of Baranovichi; from May 1, 1945 for the capture of the cities of Stralsund, Grimmen, Demmin, Malkhin, Waren, Wesenberg; of March 6, 1945 for the liberation of the town of Grudziandz (Graudenz); dated June 28, 1944 for the release of the railway. Osipovichi node; of March 7, 1945 for the liberation of the cities of Gnev and Starograd; of March 30, 1945 for the liberation of Gdansk (Danzig); of April 26, 1945 for the forcing of the eastern and western Oder and for the capture of the main city of Stettin in Pomerania. Three times he was wounded. He refused hospitalization. Demobilized from the ranks of the Red Army in November 1945 (Freiburg, Germany). Nowhere to go, no home, no family. It was not allowed to stay in big cities. They offered a choice of three cities, one of them - Dnepropetrovsk. The commander offered to go to Dnepropetrovsk, to the Southern Machine Building Plant. So I stayed there. Rehabilitated in April 1957. In peacetime, my father worked at various large factories in Dnepropetrovsk. The last place of work - the head of the Kharkov Institute "Ukrgipromash" in Dnepropetrovsk. As a war veteran, he was invited to school for lessons in Courage. He kept up a correspondence with the children from the orphanage in Volgograd, came to visit them, brought gifts. He died in 1980.