On the second day of the war we were on the southern border of Artsakh. After meeting the artillerymen and covering their actions, we moved forward to the boys who had fought with the enemy on the front line. Lt Col Hakobyan led the battle from the command post, directed the artillery fire and ensured the evacuation of the wounded from the battlefield.

Trying not to disturb the lieutenant colonel, we recorded the tense situation with a camera and were interested in the fighting spirit of the boys. It was there, near the command post, that we met our next hero.

– Your name?

– Abraham Khachoyan.

-Where are you from:

– From the massiv.

Our question and answer, however, was very brief: “At that moment, a blast over our heads interrupted our conversation. Abraham only managed to shout. “Get down” and tried to protect me from the blow…

In this way, in a kneeling position and trying to calm each other down, we survived the first and the second explosions …

About half a year has passed since the war. During all that time, I was thinking about the boys who our film crew met in different border areas of Artsakh during the war.

I was very happy to learn that Abraham is alive and well and continues to serve in one of the military units.

“Do you remember how you protected me?” I asked Abraham with a smile.

“Well, at that moment you were also protecting me,” he says with a familiar, modest smile.

Our conversation about memories brought to mind the day when Abraham and the other soldiers of the platoon took refuge from the explosions at the command post, on which minutes later the enemy shells began to fall.

“Well, we went through something that many of us could not go through,” Abraham says and confesses. For example, our boys hit a helicopter with an anti-tank Fagot, we hit a drone with a machine gun…

And I will never forget the will and willingness to fight that even in those difficult moments did not leave Abraham. He was saying.

“They have come, they have reached our land, of course, we must bring it back, we must go further.”

Now remembering those days of war and showing the wooden cross on his neck, Abraham confesses:

“The cross kept us safe…”

He takes out the picture of the Mother of God from his pocket, with which he still does not share …

“On the third day of the war, one of the soldiers gave it to me. And it protects me. This cross and the picture were always with me… 550 people went to the defense, the Grad battery was working in our direction for about 5-8 minutes, and fortunately we had no casualties.”

Like the parents of all the soldiers, Abraham’s mother, Mrs. Christine, did not sleep and rest for 44 days and nights … She watched the video endlessly and incessantly, prayed for all the soldiers and was openly proud of her child.

“Everyone had that video, but they did not show it to me. Then they called and said. ‘Watch this video, but be careful.’ It is impossible to explain what I experienced. At first I was very proud of what my son was doing, but I immediately thought about what he was going through.

By the way, in those days, Mrs. Christine’s eldest son, Marat, had left for Artsakh to help Abraham and the other boys fighting the enemy. He gathered the boys in the yard and a few days later they stood together next to Abraham.

Remembering that day, Mrs. Christine says: “At work, Marat came to say goodbye to me. I went out behind him to see what was going on, why did he suddenly decide to go because we had not talked about it at home. When I saw my friends coming in turn, I said, “Where is this?” They answered. “We are going too, Marat is not alone….”

Browsing through the photos taken during the war, Abraham says that he will never forget the inexplicable feeling of unity and fighting company on the battlefield, which gave them strength and vigor at the most difficult moment. Then, taking the photos in his hand, he says: “We did what we did together. “We ate with each other, we were hungry with each other, we fought with each other.”

As for future service and plans, Abraham unequivocally says that every soldier who has seen a war and lost a comrade-in-arms has taken an oath. Whenever the need arises, nothing will be able to keep them from the promise they made.

“Undoubtedly, I was young, the adults came, stood by me and did what they had to do. I have to do the same. Because the house must be kept, the homeland must be kept. Both the family and the future generation, which does not exist yet, will be born and raised on the mother earth. There is nothing more precious than the homeland…”

By NERSES IVANYAN

Photos by FELIX SHAKHTOYAN\

ARSHAK KHACHATURYAN