Gevorg Vardanyan, from Gyumri, will always be remembered for his wide and sincere smile.

The 19 year-old was killed on the night of April 3, 2016, during fighting in the Talish area of Artsakh. Also killed during the fierce fighting with Azerbaijani troops were Hrach Galstyan, the commander of Gevork’s platoon, and Argishti Gaboyan, his company commander.

“He enjoyed meeting people and talking to them,” says Gevorg’s father Gagik Vardanyan. “He was six when we moved to Russia, to the Altay region. When he reached military age, he told me that he wanted to return to Leninakan to serve in the army. He arrived in Armenia on January 24, 2015. He was flat-footed and his hand was broken in two places due to a sports injury. He was sent for a medical check-up twice by the conscription committee. They finally accepted him. He would tell me that he would serve no matter what.”

Gevorg couldn’t read or write Armenian. But he learnt the ABCs in order to read the oath of service.

During his one year of service, the family of Gevorg’s uncle stood in for the young man’s parents still living in Russia.

Shahane, Gevorg’s mother, was somewhat aloof and didn’t engage in our conversation. She’s merely shrug her shoulders when hearing us talk about her son. She’d hide her tears, holding her head in her hands.

Gevorg’s parents, who hadn’t seen their son for almost a year and a half, arrived in Armenia on April 8, after hearing of his death. Gevorg was buried two days later in a closed coffin.

Two other soldiers were also buried that day in Gyumri – Hrach Galstyan and Tigran Abgaryan.

Hovhannes, Gevorg’s cousin, remembers that they last spoke by phone around 5 p.m. on April 3. Gevorg had called to say that a close friend of his, Vladimir Melkonyan, had been killed and asked Hovhannes to attend his funeral. Vladimir was buried the next day in Gyumri. Hovhannes went and the next day he heard the news that Gevorg had died.

Gevorg was a machine gunner in Artsakh. Mr. Vardanyan says his son never once complained about serving and always had good things to say about his comrades and officers. “We never imagined losing our only son,” said the father, adding that they have one daughter as well.

“On the day of my son’s funeral, a boy named Arsen approached me and said that he owed his life to Gevorg. He said that my son had saved his life last year when an Azerbaijani unit attempted to infiltrate the front-line. He told me my son was a real hero,” Mr. Vardanyan related.

Gagik and Shahane and their 18-year-old daughter now live in the Gyumri house of Gagik’s brother. Their daughter wants to continue pursuing her law education in Armenia.

“Now, we have to finance her education, find work, and get a place to live. We returned and there is nothing. But we won’t go back to Russia because my Gevorg is here,” Mr. Vardanyan said.

“We left Gyumri because we had no work or a place to live. Gevorg’s heroic death brought us back to the homeland,” added Mr. Vardanyan

The only wish uppermost in the mind of Gevorg’s father is to meet some of his army buddies who served with him. He wants to talk to just one of them who can recount the last few hours that his son was alive