Artak Vardanyan voluntarily participated in the 44-day Artsakh War. His father, Husik Vardanyan, told Iravaban.net as part of the “Immortal Victims of the Artsakh War” series that they were unaware their son was leaving for the frontline. Artak called his father when he was already on the bus heading to the battlefield.
“Before the war, he had been accepted into the police patrol service, with only the final interview remaining. He was scheduled for an interview on October 7. He had passed all other exams. My wife was at work, I was at home, and he was supposed to go to work at 3 pm. I got up, preparing to go to the village. I called and said, ‘Artak, mom has prepared everything, come eat before going to work.’ He said, ‘Yes, dad.’ Five minutes later he called and said, ‘Dad, I’m leaving.’ He didn’t imagine that I would stop the car and catch up. I said, ‘Son, what’s happening?’ He replied, ‘Dad, there are people with children going, shouldn’t I go?’ And I didn’t know what to say,” the father recounts.
According to him, he spoke with his son every day during the war. To his mother’s constant pleas to come home, Artak responded that he couldn’t leave the 18-20-year-old soldiers alone: “I can’t, I won’t leave, come back.”
“Even if something happens, this was the path I chose, but everything is fine,” Artak said during his last phone conversation with his father. Two hours later, they received news of their son’s death.
Artak died while saving a wounded commander: “Grigor Soghomonyan was their leader. Someone came in and said, ‘Grigor’s been shot.’ They say Artak jumped up immediately. They said, ‘Artak, where are you going? They’re shooting from above.’ Artak replied, ‘He’ll bleed out, how can I leave him?’ Artak went and reached Grigor, embracing him. Grigor himself told me this later, saying, ‘I opened my eyes and saw Artak above me. I said, ‘Artak, water, I need water.’ Artak had run for water. I said, ‘Artak, pour the water on my head.’ From there, I don’t remember anything. I opened my eyes in the hospital and immediately asked, ‘Where’s Artak?’ My brother said, ‘Artak is gone now.'”
Details in the video.
