Martin Avetisyan, a private in the Armenian army serving in Syunik, was killed in a drone strike on September 13, 2022 when Azerbaijani troops launched attacks along Armenia’s eastern border.

Martin would have turned twenty today.

Anna Gevorgyan, his mother, remembers her son with fondness, saying he never complained about army life.

"We were very close. We were counting the days when he would come home, and then this ill-fated war began," says Mrs. Gevorgyan.

Martin was considered missing for two weeks after he was killed. He was one of the ninety-five dead Armenian soldiers returned by Azerbaijan to Armenia on September 20.

Hayk Avetisyan, Martin's father, and his brother travelled to Kapan, the Syunik provincial capital, for news about Martin’s whereabouts.  Military officials did not give them any clear answer.

Mrs. Gevorgyan recalls the contradicting information they were given at the time.

“Some said his military position had been destroyed and no longer under Armenian control. Another said to go look in the forest. Nothing was clear until they handed over the bodies. They told us to go and identify him,” says Mrs. Gevorgyan.

The family finally identified Martin’s body by a tattoo on his hand and the clothes he was wearing.

"He was so modest and kind. He didn't want to trouble us with anything, even now that I'm talking about the past, I feel broken inside, I don't want to believe that he's gone," says Anna.

Martin, the eldest child, is buried in the family cemetery in Oshakan, Aragatzotn Province.