Alex was born in Minsk, Belarus, on 2 December 1977. He emigrated to the United States in December 1989, landing in San Francisco, California. He later moved to Monterey, California, where he graduated from high school with honors in 1995. He attended Washington State University on an Air Force Reserve Officer Training Corps scholarship, graduating with a degree in Computer Science in May 2000. His desire to fly drove him to fight for selection to attend Strike Fighter Navigator training at Pensacola Naval Air Station, Florida, upon entering active duty with the United States Air Force. Tragically, on 27 September 2000, Alex died doing what he loved when his T-34C aircraft crashed outside Silver Hills, Alabama, during a routine training sortie. We will always remember our son's unbridled joy that followed each training flight and unquenchable passion to slip to bonds of earth once more.