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Alexander Kosmodemyansky was born in 1925. He was a big friend of his sister Zoya. Their father died at the age of 33, when Zoya was 10 and Sasha1 was 8. The money their mother earned as a school teacher was not plenty. When in 1940 Zoya was hospitalized for meningitis Sasha decided to by her a new dress to make her feel better. To accomplish this he took orders from a factory for technical drawings and worked long nights for many days. In less than a year he stood at his sister's grave. The brother and sister were very different. Alexander did not read much, and spent most of his free time outdoors. But there was one similarity in their character. When he stood at Zoya's grave, Alexander bit his lip and did not cry. |
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When Alexander learned of his sister's death, he immediately tried to enlist with the military. He was turned down because of young age. When Alexander turned 17 he was admitted to studies in a military college, which he completed in 1944. Afterward he was sent to front and served as a commander of a self-propelled gun. He rose to command a battery of self-propelled guns and reached the rank of Senior Leutenant. He was killed in April 1945 during the storm of Königsberg. Lt. Kosmodemyansky accomplished many daring feats. He was posthumously awarded the title Hero of the Soviet Union. |
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| Excerpts from Alexander's letters to his mother:
I am in good spirits, especially after our last attack. In that battle I stayed in my tank for more than two days. It's a miracle we remained whole, everything around was in flames and shaking with explosions, and the tank was chucked about like a box of matches. So don't worry about me, Mom. |