"Fact" daily writes:
"Since childhood, he loved sports, played football and wrestling. He participated in many competitions in Armenia, Iran, Russia. He returned home with victories, medals and certificates of honor.
Karens was very nimble, lively. She quit the sport, but when her teammates had to go to Iran for competitions, Karen went with them. It was his last competition, from which he returned with a victory," said father Artur, recalling his son Karen's childhood and youth in a conversation with "Fact".
According to him, his son paid equal attention to all subjects at school, but for him sports were in the first place. "He promised to continue training after being discharged.
He used to go to the gym during his free time in the army, and he took the boys with him as if he was their coach."
Talking about her son's character, she says that he was friendly, honest and kind. After graduating from school, Karen entered the National Agrarian University of Armenia. He was a student for one semester, and on January 25, 2019, he was drafted into the army.
He served in the Tsor military unit of Stepanakert. "He went to the service with love, he said. "I don't want to fall behind my peers. I will serve, I will come, I will continue my studies."
He was promoted to sergeant in the sixth month of service. He was disciplined, consistent, everything had to be in its place. He was respected by both the commanding staff and the soldiers.
He probably had difficulties during his service, but he never grumbled or complained." But the war also changed the course of Karen's life. It has been in the hottest spots since day one.
He took part in combat operations in the hottest places: Hadrut, Fizuli, Karintak, Shushi. "When the war started, he was on duty.
From there they were immediately taken to Khojaly. They stay there for two days, then they transfer to the village of Karakhambeyli, in the lower part of Hadrut. They stay there until October 24-25. There were fierce battles, they escaped death.
They said that they dug trenches at night and fought during the day. Pictures were taken in those trenches, the pictures are there. Then, when Hadrut was handed over to the Turks, and Hadrut was handed over, they were not captured, at that time they were moved to another place to rest for a few days.
When the cars moved, a "shell" exploded at the place where the cars were standing. It turns out that by some coincidence the boys survived. They were given weapons, Karen was an anti-tank grenade launcher, a machine gunner. Then the boys were transferred to Karintak.
There they also fought fiercely against the enemy. Sometimes we heard the sound of gunshots on the phone. He would turn it off, and after some time he would call and say, "We escaped death."
Karen told her parents only one thing: everything is fine, even after she escaped death several times, when she went through indescribable hardships.
He destroyed an enemy tank in Hadrut, that way to avenge his friend. After a hot battle in Karintak, having escaped death again, he told his friend, "I am born again." "In Karintak, they notice with night devices that the Turks are coming, six people with their officer are going down the road to Stepanakert.
They managed to stay hidden somewhere for two days, they were told by the military unit that they will come and take you to rest, but they did not take you. Tricked, kept there, then taken back to Karintak, probably higher. On November 5, when Karintak was surrendered and the army was withdrawn, one of their officers said, "Why did you stay here?" Karenin responds that they have not received an order to leave.
From there they took Shushi, so I should mention, near the intersection below. They stayed there on November 5 and 6. On November 7, the road above Shushi was open and the enemy was already there.
I talked to him that day at 7 am. He never complained, he said everything was fine, but nothing was fine. No matter how many times we called after the morning call, it was disconnected, unreachable, they were in a fight.
Now I think that he didn't answer the calls on purpose, what would he say if he did? Karen has already been injured. They tried to climb from the bottom to the top, then their friends were killed. Karen and one of the boys managed to hide while wounded.
Karens got a leg injury, he treated himself and bandaged his leg. He was wounded in three places, his friend - one."
The father could not see the place where his son was killed, he could not for a simple reason. Before the 44-day war was over, Shushi was no longer under enemy control.
Karen and a friend make a difficult decision. Anticipating that they might end up in captivity, using their last bullets, they immortalized themselves in the hands of Shushi on November 7. "The Turks did not touch them.
His military notebook, which even now smells of his favorite perfume, papers, telephones, everything was left with him."
Shushi's absence, whether you call it a surrender or a capture, still raises many unanswered questions.
The history of Karen, in which the fortified city of Shushi is also a red thread, still has many unanswered questions. The officer, who Karen's father said abandoned the soldiers, then contacted the boys to leave the area. But how could they leave that area when they were already injured?
Or the commander of the military unit, who was supposed to send a car after the boys on November 5, but didn't.
The question is, how did the enemy appear in Shushi? "I served in the artillery, I know the roads of Shushi by heart. How could the enemy be in the area above Shushi?' And in the end, about the power to live.
Karen has a younger sibling who was born after her death. “Little Karens seems to be the improved type of everyone. He attends kindergarten, he already stands out for his dynamism and dexterity.
My daughter, Karens give us strength to live. I always say: fifty percent of my heart is joy, fifty percent is sadness, that's how I live. My little son makes us all smile, makes us happy, we all live with him. Of course, Karens are still Karens.
He was respected in the Farm, he walked, everyone looked behind him. The heart was pure, sincere, friendly, hospitable. Karen has been driving since she was young.
Now everyone is saying that he didn't leave anyone on the road. He was a good-hearted boy." H. G. - Sergeant Karen Mirzoyan was posthumously awarded the "Combat Service" and "For Courage" medals by the decree of the President of Artsakh. Buried in Agarak Cemetery.
Lusine Arakelyan
