Erik Abrahamyan and Artak Sukiasyan were classmates in their native village of Arevatzag, in Armenia’s Lori Province.

The two 19-year-olds both died on the battlefield in Artsakh, fighting in the war unleashed by Azerbaijan and Turkey.

In June 2019, they graduated the village high school, and twenty days later, they left for military service. The were to be discharged in eight months.

Erik's mother, Diana Vardanyan, says her son loved the village and farming.

"We have five cows and cultivate five hectares of land. Erik enjoyed field work and was his father's backbone. He loved driving a tractor and made friends with other farmers in the village. He had friends his grandfather's age. He would say that he did not like the city, and that he’d never live in the city,” says Mrs. Vardanyan.

Village residents regard Mrs. Vardanyan and Artak Sukiasyan's mother, Anahit Nikoghosyan, as hero moms. 

"I would have liked to be an ordinary mother, my son to be alive. But I will walk with my head held high. Erik has become a hero for the homeland," says Mrs. Vardanyan.

She last spoke to Erik on the evening of October 12. After that, Erik did not answer his mother's calls. On the evening of October 17, the news of her son's death was announced.

While in the army, Erik had made a promise to his father.  "Dear pop, survive this one season on your own. I am coming home next summer, and you’ll be out of a job in the field.”

Artak Sukiasyan’s mother, Anahit Nikoghosyan, recounted her son’s childhood. She fondly remembers one of the happy days with Artak during the potato harvest in the fields of Arevatzag. It was when Artak was a child, transporting potatoes from the field in his father's truck.

"When the car appeared on the road, the potato pickers shouted, 'The car is coming, the car is coming!' The car was coming, but the driver was so small he couldn’t be seen behind the wheel. Little Artak then laughed and poked his head out of the car,” Mrs. Nikoghosyan recalls.

Mrs. Nikoghosyan says all residents in the village, young and old, were friends with Artak.

Upon leaving for the army, she told Artak that his older brother Argam was also in the army and that she didn’t want to have a party until they both returned.

"He said, 'Mom, we'll either have a big party or nothing.' So, we had a big party. All the relatives came. He invited all his friends. My husband went and brought his brother Argam home. Artak was in a happy mood when he left for the army,” says Mrs. Nikoghosyan.

She says that Artak never talked to his parents while serving in the army. Her eldest son, Argam, was discharged in January this year.

Artak had his special place to relax in the beautiful valley of Arevatzag. Speaking to a friend the night before his death, Artak requested that a 30-seat pavilion be built in the gorge. "Now friends are building it," says Mrs. Nikoghosyan.

Arevatzag school principal Armineh Yeritsyan says that Erik and Artak are the pride of the school.

"Nine of the 12th grade graduates of our school in 2019 were boys and two were girls. Eight of the boys left for the army after graduation. One was not drafted due to his health. Our Eric and Artak died in the war. We’ll soon name the classroom where Eric and Artak spent twelve years learning side by side in their honor," says Yeritsyan