“OUR SON FOUGHT LIKE A HERO …”

Junior Sergeant Aram Gyulamiryan. He was drafted on January 13, 2020. He was killed by an enemy rocket fired on October 10. In the Gyulamiryan family, however, the countdown to the days of their youngest son, Aram, did not seem to stop. They are automatically counting until the the two years are complete. Their son still serves with his behavior, determination to defend the homeland, to do the possible and the impossible on the battlefield, being an example for present and future soldiers …

We are at the Gulamiryan family. The father, Arman, and the mother, Liana, tell about their child, remember, get excited for a moment and return to reality. On the wall is a picture of the Gyulamirians’ Baptist grandfather during the defense of Van. On the table are the paintings of the modern hero Aram… The sacred work of defending the Homeland is inherited from generation to generation.

Mrs. Liana responds with a gentle smile to the memories of her son, and the father speaks with a sore throat ստի

– Aram was born ten years apart from our older children, he grew up in the center of universal love and attention. We affectionately called it a “soft toy.” We traveled a lot, because there is no place in Armenia where we have not gone, since we were 6 months old we have taken him to mountains and canyons. It hardened Aram a lot, he could be left alone anywhere, light a fire, get food. He did not sleep in the car while traveling, he had to see everything, not to stay with his brothers. He always tried to be like the elders. He was a mentally strong boy, at the same time excited and compassionate.

He was an initiator, he was the spirit of the company. He communicated with both big and small. He reached out to the occupants of the building and helped them as best he could. One of the relatives had a stroke, the passers-by did not understand, they left him lying on the floor, thinking that he was drunk. And Aramiks immediately understood, immediately called an ambulance and saved our neighbor’s life. They loved him very much, one of the neighbors, grandmother Shoghik, gave candies to Aram every day, after going to the army he gave me to collect and take my son …

After graduating from school, he continued our family tradition and entered the University of Architecture and Construction. Before being accepted, I said that he would not become an architect. He did not paint with pleasure, he solved math problems, but after being accepted he changed. he did what he liked with all responsibility, striving for maximum results. It is difficult to get the profession of an architect, it immediately puts a burden on your shoulders, many people are disappointed, even after the first year or after the army they move to another faculty. In Aram’s case, the opposite was true, he became more and more devoted to architecture.

One day he came home saying that he was going to join the army soon and that he wanted to be baptized. As an architect, I participate in the reconstruction of the church in Aparan community. My son’s wish was inspiring, և a few days later the priest of the Holy Cross Church in Aparan, Father Sargis, baptized Aramis in a half-built church, which had not functioned for about 500 years. In addition to the relatives, the Yezidis of the nearby village also came, saying that they were not Christians. Aram was very happy, it was a memorable event for a lifetime.

Recognizers find it very difficult to bear our loss. One of the leaders of the Yezidi community, Sheikh Nouri, said to me one day, “I wish I did not know you, I would not have known Aram through you, so that I would not take you so hard.” And the priest came to our house after Aram’s death and expressed the following thought: now our dead soldiers are our intercessors, after this we must turn to them for our place in heaven …

We left for the army on January 13. My son never complained about the service. was very pleased. After being transferred from the training military unit to the main place of service, he immediately distinguished himself with his sergeant knowledge, was praised by the command, and was appointed deputy platoon commander. We were unable to visit due to epidemic restrictions. One day I told my wife that the road to Artsakh had been opened, let’s go and see the child. They will go to the positions on September 18, and then they will take part in military exercises, and in the winter we will not be able to go, as it is convenient, to visit a military unit. We set off, and on the spot the commander said, “Well, you have come, you have reached from afar, so you can meet without leaving the military unit.” We sat and talked for a long time. Last time we saw…

On the morning of September 27, I read about the war on the Internet. At first I did not believe, then I left my job in the church, went to the municipality of Aparan, where the people were already gathered. In fact, it was a war. We had no news for two days, he called on September 29, we learned that he was in one of the hottest spots. His comrades-in-arms say that he clearly performed his duties, constantly giving instructions during the battle. When he saw that his comrades-in-arms were exhausted, he did not wait, he left with the bullets. Often, in order not to waste time during the shooting, he did not pull the rope, but fired from the cannon mechanism, instructing the others to enter the hiding place. There were cases when they received a retreat order or a warning that the enemy would strike in that direction, all of them hid and Aram stayed and fired. In short, young and daring. He was already often but he did not say much, he just said that everything was normal. A few days before the tragic incident, he was very excited, he said, a volunteer participating in the April four-day meeting was taken to his platoon, he is an architect, he can do good calculations. And he added, “Look, what are we going to do with them now?” He was convinced that someone had come to his aid. It was Frunze Arshakyan who died with Aramis on the same day.

According to the information I received, Aram’s platoon was ordered to shoot all the ammunition in certain directions. A large group of the enemy was found. Apparently, our boys fired well, inflicting painful losses on the enemy, after which they came under the strong influence of drone.

We had no news for several days. We had already watched the video spread by the enemy, hitting the firing points of our divisions. Thanks to the architectural education, we compared the coordinates in the video on the Internet, checked the location, and realized that the strikes were in the direction of Araments’ battery. In a few days I was finally able to contact the commander, և he reported the sad news…

The loss is heavy. Even many of our loved ones do not have the courage to call or sympathize with us. And on November 10, it seemed that we would lose Aram for the second time …

Aram was calling from different numbers, his phone number was unavailable. Then we found out that he had left his number to connect with his favorite girl. We accidentally found out about the girlfriend on October 8. One of my acquaintances, whose granddaughter was Aram’s classmate, called to say that my granddaughter was questioning Aram a lot and asked for information. I talked to my son the same day and joked, “Why don’t you call Mary, your girlfriend?” He was confused for a moment, after exchanging a few words, he turned off the phone. Then, Mary is not my favorite, but her friend Hasmik.

… Hasmik also came to Aramis’s farewell ceremony. Even now he often comes, hugs Liana and can’t cut himself. Tells and tells about Aram, brought photos. She is a wonderful girl, let her be happy instead of my son.

My son fought heroically, we are proud of him. I met some of his fellow friends. We will not bring Aramis back, but I want to know about his last days, what happened and how. Many of the boys are psychologically depressed, unwilling to talk, to present details. They seem to feel guilty that their friends died and they survived. But, well … it was a war … And I do not blame anyone. just every information, memory about our Aram gives us the strength to live …

By ARSEN AGHEKYAN