Alexei Maresiev

(1916-2001)

Kucherova Tatiana

Alexei Maresiev was born on May 20, 1916 in Kamyshin, Volgograd region.

He was a pilot, a Hero of the Soviet Union.

Due to the severe wounds during the Great Patriotic War he had both legs amputated. However, despite the disability, the pilot returned to the skies and flew with prosthesises. During the war he made 86 sorties and shot down 11 enemy planes.

In the postwar period, partly due to the book

"The Story of a Real Man" by Boris Polevoy,

Maresiev was very well known, he was invited to many celebrations. He often participated in meetings with students.

The example of Maresiev’s feat was widely used for the education of the younger generation.

On May 18, 2001 a gala evening on the occasion of the 85th Maresiev’s anniversary began at the Theatre of the Russian Army,

but just an hour before the concert, Alexei Petrovich had a heart attack, after which he died.

The gala evening took place, but it began with a minute of silence. Alexey Maresiev was buried in Moscow at the Novodevichy Cemetery.