18 January marked the 28th anniversary of Serob Melkonyan, the captain of the Second Staff of the Defense Battalion, who died in the Artsakh war. The relatives had gathered in Yerablur to celebrate Serob’s birthday.

A fellow serviceman says that they called Serob “Avo of our days”. They carried out a sabotage operation together twice, both of them were successful.

Serob’s mother, Varditer Melkonyan, says that her son constantly strived for service․ “He liked to create constantly, that is, how to strengthen his position and he did it. Every day wjenm he was a pupilof the 2-3 grades, he would read about a fidayin, put it under his pillow, and sleep,” his mother says.

Serob Melkonyan is a father of two children. His wife, Srbuhi, said that he was a very good father for his children․ “Whatever the children wanted, he did his best to do,” his wife said.

According to the wife, Serob was a very strict officer, even at home, everything had to be in order.

“He kept Martuni well, he did heroic deeds all the time and as a result he was appointed commander of the battalion. He called and said, “My dear, your husband is already a commander of battalion.” I said, “I’m not very happy for that, be careful please.” He said, “Don’t be afraid I shall not leave you alone” tells the wife.

“He was very devoted to the army and he was so devoted to the end that he gave his life,” says the wife.

Serob Mekonyan was born on 18 January, 1993, and died on 26 October, 2020.