Militärakademie für Ingenieure der Luftstreitkräfte „Prof. N. J. Schukowski“
John Gridunov was born in Serhetabat, then Kushka, Turkmenian SSR and named after American writer and activist John Reed. In the birth certificate Gridunov was recorded as John (Reed), in brackets. In 1941 Gridunov entered the Voroshilovgrad Air Force Academy. During the Second World War, he served as a mechanic in Soviet 999th, 58th and 80th Air Regiments. Though Gridunov never received a degree in engineering, he finished the Serpukhov Air Mechanics Military Academy in 1944. In November 1949–April 1950 he was a student of Zhukovsky Air Force Engineering Academy.