“THE MOTHERLAND STARTS FROM THE TRENCH …”

Manvel Karapetyan had a special respect for military since his school years. There was a military unit nearby. Be strong, for the weak have no friends in the world. Show two things to prove your strength. The first is that you know how to die consciously, with a meaningful death, the second is that you know how to kill.

… He was admitted to the Vazgen Sargsyan Military University, graduated with good grades and was assigned to the front line. The military unit was at the end of the world, a semi-desert area, cut off from everything. The area is complicated, the relations are complicated. It is not easy to lead soldiers of almost the same age. Their military unit located in the northern part of the world was always in the target zone of provocative actions of the enemy, frequent violations of the ceasefire.

He was a new officer when he received his first military baptism.

It was a hazy autumn day of 2011, it was raining heavily, at 3-4 o’clock in the morning an enemy movement was noticed. From the loud murmur of the rain they caught their cautious step in the wet clay soil, the images outlined in the thick darkness slowly approaching. Diversion penetration was successfully prevented without losses. The enemy was wounded; traces of blood and abandoned ammunition in some places.

Manvel was awarded the Vazgen Sargsyan medal for excellent performance of the combat task. It was his first medal …

Over time, the number of medals, the number of stars on the shoulder straps increased, and with each promotion, responsibilities increased.

The battalion led by Manvel Karapetyan was always among the best in the military unit, but the young officer was never satisfied with what he had, he always strived for the maximum. “Every day presents new demands, new solutions. Every day, every hour, it is necessary to improve the tactical knowledge and skills. We are on the border, the enemy is in front, peace is in turmoil, we must be ready for any development. ”

The lieutenant colonel also took part in the April military operations, fought in one of the most dangerous directions, in Talish. When talking to the boys of the battalion, he often recalled events and episodes from the days of April, enthusiastically recounted the heroic deeds of the war heroes and repeated as a message: keeping it impregnable.

… He kept every millimeter of the border entrusted to him … at the cost of his life. An order to retreat was given, but he did not leave the position, he did not leave his fighting friend …

The comrades-in-arms say that Manvel was killed when he tried to pull his wounded friend out of the fire. When he was warned, they said, do not go, he is already dead, even then he did not back down from the decision, I will not let my friend’s lifeless body be tortured by the enemy…

“Our brave commander fought and died like a hero,” say his soldiers. “He was a commander who cared of soldiers.”

“He served on the front lines for eleven years, and he never spent a single New Year with his family in his own home,” says Manvel’s wife, Victoria. “I have only two children at home, and many others in the battalion … When one of my two daughters was born, he was at the outpost, and when the second one was born, he was at a training. Sometimes I was upset, after all, it is not easy to take care of everything alone. He then would say, “You are the soldier of our house, Vika, you are very strong, you can, you are an officer’s wife.”

We got married in November 2014. A month after the wedding, we moved to Talish, Manvel’s place of service. The conditions were far from satisfactory, but every difficulty can be overcome when there is a caring, devoted husband next to you, when there is mutual understanding in your family. Then we got an apartment in Mataghis. Manvel was soon to take part in officer training, get an office job in the capital, but…

“Early that morning they called and told him to go to the military unit immediately,” Victoria recalls of the harsh September dawn. “He was in such a hurry that did not even say goodbye.” Shortly after he left, a shell exploded near our house, shattering the windows. The explosions did not stop. I hugged my anxious children in their bed clothes and went down to the basement-shelter of the building, all of them hurried in half-dressed to take shelter in the cold and damp basement. After a while, we realized that staying there endangered our lives. The enemy soldiers had already entered the village. We left Mataghis by car. My husband’s friend, Sargis, later told me that when Manvel saw shells explode in the direction of our house, started to cry, saying “my children …”, but when I called him to say I was already on my way to Armenia, he had calmed down…

Manvel’s last phone call is still in my ears. “I love you all very, very much.”

Then I called, my call was always unanswered, and then my heart fell into terrible doubt…

He was very attentive to all of us, he was a caring father, devoted husband, a wonderful child…

I was married for six years, but three years out of six, and even more, we did not see each other, he did not come home for days during April, and then he was in position for 14 days, and many times when he left position, he stayed in the military unit so that his work would not be incomplete and he would not suddenly fail in one work. But I definitely would not have made a better choice than him. I count each day I had lived with him as a year. It is difficult, it is unspeakably difficult without him… When despair and uncertain worries suddenly want to creep into my heart, Manvel’s words wake me up: “Vic, you are very strong, you can, you are an officer’s wife….”

By ALIS ALAVERDYAN