My father, Tatul Krpeyan
I was one year and two months old when my father died. My mother became a bridge between me and my father. Although we didn’t spend a lot of time together, our small family has many memories. The way my name was chosen is one of those memories. My parents had decided that if they had a daughter, my father would choose the name, and if they had a son, my mother would choose the name. I was born, and since my father loved the name Aspram, he named me Aspram, inspired by the novel “Gevorg Marzpetuni” by Armenian writer Muratsan-“My mother always says in me she sees the principality and persistence of my father and his constant struggle for justice.”
“My father was a pioneer of the youth and students. He was one of the first who realized that fighting on the streets is not effective and that he needed to take arms to defend the homeland from the enemy. He was also one of the first to dedicate his life to the homeland and save thousands of people. He was only 26 years old when he was granted the highest “Homeland” Order of the Republic of Armenia for his exceptional services to the homeland. I take pride in the fact that the example of my father and his friends-in-combat inspired and disciplined a generation of patriotic Armenians, and I am one of the representatives of that generation. Although the problems facing us Armenians are a little different today, there are priorities such as the defense of the homeland, the preservation of the native language and national values and other priorities that are always current. Being the driving force of society, youth must be actively engaged in these processes.”
My father, the youngest National Hero of the newly independent country, died in Getashen on April 30, 1991. He never once thought of giving up the native land and showed that he was an Armenia with strong willpower.
Not a day goes by that we don’t remember our father and feel his presence in our lives. Be it in the family or in different life situations or in human relations, my mother reminds me about how my father would act, what he would say, what advice he would give and what phrases he would use in this or that case. But the most important message that my father had told my mother was to be unconditionally dedicated to her family and the homeland.
By ALINA NAHAPETYAN
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