MY HAND DID NOT TREMBLE…

“My hand did not tremble, my finger was on the trigger. I waited for the right moment, took aim and fired…”
Soldier Hayk Hakobyan

There was fog, visibility – a few meters. I took charge at 16:00 and it was already 10-15 minutes, that me, private Hayk Hakobyan, was responsible for the section of the border zone. It was not the first time for me on the positions, internally I was calm, admiring the beauty of nature and making observations. And suddenly in the fog I noticed three moving points. Using the fog, they were trying to quietly move closer to our positions. What to do? It is necessary to make the right decision.

If I call to help and wait, the enemy could have time to escape or, worse, be able to take a comfortable place for the promotion of the main forces of the scouting group.

For me, making decision lasted very long, but in reality – a few seconds, and I pulled the alarm, aimed my gun and started shooting. My hand did not tremble, but I felt more confident when I saw that just from the first shot one fell down. The other two immediately staggered backwards. And I continued to shoot. I thought about not allowing them to surround me, so I can protect my comrades. I calmed down only when the guys came to the rescue. So, all right: I could prevent the attempt of infiltration of sabotage and Intelligence Detachment of the enemy.

Shooting began. Suddenly we heard 2 explosions. The fleeing enemy was forced to enter the minefield and… Till the evening we did not let them to approach and pick up their dead or wounded. At night, we noticed that medical service machines arrived at their position, probably they found their “heroes”…

For bravery in the defense of the motherland boundaries Minister of Defense Seyran Ohanyan awarded Hayk Hakobyan the medal “Andranik Ozanyan.” Later the brave soldier during the awarding ceremony of the magazine “Andin” had the honor to represent the collective image of an Armenian soldier.

Prepared by ARSEN AGHEKYAN