Type of Army: Army, Air Force (except marine aviation), the Coast Guard, the NKVD Border troops. Division: 83rd Guards Rifle Gorodok Red Banner order of Suvorov Division. Vasily Nikiforovich Gaponov was born in 1905 in the Smolensk region. He was married to Tatyana Gaponova and had three daughters. This family lived in the Oryol region, in the city of Ordzhonikidzegrad, Kirov street. Today this is the Bezhitsky district, the city of Bryansk, liberated from the Nazi invaders on September 17, 1943. Vasily Nikiforovich was called to the front from the city of Ordzhonikidzeabad, Orel region by Ordzhonikidzegrad enlistment office. Unfortunately, the exact date is unknown. On November 10, 1943, Vasily Nikiforovich wrote a letter from the front to his wife(my great-grandmother). Here is the text of the letter: ""November 10, 1943.A letter from Vasily Nikiforovich Gaponov. Hello, dear wife Tatyana Ivanovna.First of all, I inform you that I am currently alive and well, and I wish you the same . I inform you that I will join the battle, if I am alive, I will inform everyone about my health. Then good-bye. We will beat the enemy. When you receive my letter, write a response. I'll wait for it. Send to adress:Oryol region, Ordzhonikidzegrad, Kirova street, barrack 31, apartment 7. To:Gaponova Tatyana Ivanovna."" Two letters with almost identical contents were found in the family archive. The first letter, dated by August 22, 1944: ""Hello, comrade Gaponova. I am sending you a reply to your letter.Your husband Gaponov Vasily Nikiforovich left for the hospital due to illness.He didn't come back to our unit.With front-line greetings A. Seryakov."" The second letter, dated by June 26, 1945: ""Gaponova T. I. I Respond to your request.Your husband Gaponov Vasily on December 22,1943 left for the hospital due to illness.A. I. Seryakov ( the author of the first letter) - Major, Deputy commander of the Battalion of the 252nd Guards Rifle Regiment of the 83rd Guards Rifle Gorodok Red Banner order of Suvorov Division. In this connection, a possible place of his service was: the 2nd Rifle Battalion of the 252 Guards Rifle Regiment of the 83d Guards Rifle Division. On December 23, 1943, Vasily Nikiforovich was declared missing (according to the website of the memorial, and information from the report on irretrievable losses of December 21, 1945.). On March 9, 2016 Saint Petersburg informed that there is no data about Gaponov Vasily Nikiforovich (born in 1905), as well as in the documents that provided medical support for the Rifle Division (54286 - field mail number) for November-December 1943. Until now, we do not know his fate and the place of his burial. We hope very much that we will be able to find such information soon!!"