My great-grandfather, Yuri Filaretovich Kovalenko, was born in Alexandria village in Blagodarnensky district on January 24, 1922. After leaving seven-year-school he chose the profession of the teacher and entered Pyatigorsk pedagogical College. After graduation he worked in Kievskaya high school. Then he studied at Stavropol pedagogical Institute, and in August 1942 was drafted into the red Army. He began his service as a member of the 74th separate service company of the distribution station No. 2 of the Army of Primorie in the North Caucasus front as a squad leader of anti-aircraft machine gun platoon. In October 1942, he participated in the battles for Mozdok and Armavir. Reading his service and combat characteristics of those years, you understand that no matter what Yuri Filaretovich took on, he did everything perfectly, because the phrase "during his service he showed himself as a strong-willed, disciplined commander, demanding of himself and his subordinates" was an essential part. He passed the roads of war throughout the North Caucasus, Ukraine, Belarus and Poland. It was difficult everywhere, and throughout the war, he never ceased to wonder how the war was possible at all, why humanity allowed itself to be plunged into the chaos, for which people brutally killed their own kind. These questions were especially acute when Yuri Filaretovich participated in the liberation of prisoners from the Auschwitz concentration camp in Poland in 1942. These were the most terrible memories that tormented him all his life. And how could you forget the warehouses, where with German accuracy piles of gold dental crowns, cut out scraps of human skin with unusual tattoos, cut off women's braids were laid out, as well as the mutilated corpses of the people of different nationalities, which the Nazis did not have time to destroy. And the torture chambers? They were, according to my father, scarier than the medieval Jesuits. The survivors were no less terrifying: they were not people, but skeletons covered by the skin… Sergeant Kovalenko was demobilized in December 1945 from Dresden, where he was awarded the order of the Great Patriotic war of the second degree for the excellent execution of his tasks of the battalion command and for the organization of the headquarters operation. In addition, my great-grandfather has many other awards - "for the defense of the Caucasus", "for the victory over Germany", as well as various commemorative medals. After demobilization, he worked as a geography teacher at Divenskaya secondary school, then moved to Petrovskoe village, where in 1947 he began his career as a Director of the school for working Youth. From 1949 till 1964, he was the head teacher of the secondary school No. 6, and from 1964 he worked as its Director. He graduated from Stavropol pedagogical Institute in absentia with the prestigious diploma. For 12 years he took a position of the Director of the eight-year school No. 2. After its reorganization, from 1978 to 1982, he had been working as the head teacher of the newly opened secondary school No. 3. He loved his profession very much, and devoted the whole his life to it. He was a mentor not only for schoolchildren, but also for the young teachers. When in 1982 the former students, who are now already established and well-established people, came from all over our vast country to congratulate him with his 60th anniversary, we were interested to know more about Yuri Filaretovich and about his wonderful human qualities. It was touching to see how already gray-haired people, who had seen a lot in their lives, bowed their heads in front of him. Many people still remember my great-grandfather with respect. His former student E. Sheremetev mentioned him with a great warmth in his book "$2000000 ransom". In addition to military awards, Yuri Filaretovich was awarded the "Excellent student of education" badge, the "Veteran of labor" medal, as well as numerous certificates. And the memory of his life will be with us, as well as with those who were lucky to meet a wonderful person - Yuri Filaretovich Kovalenko.