Monte Melkonian

Monte was born in California.

He liked to play baseball and the clarinet. He also studied old history at a big school.

Later, Monte went to live in other lands. He wanted to help his people. He learned to speak many ways to talk.

He became a leader for many soldiers. He helped keep people safe in their homes.

People called him Avo.

Monte died while he was working with his soldiers. He was a very important leader.

Now, his home land calls him a hero. We remember him today.

Monte Melkonian was born in California in 1957.

As a child, he played baseball and the clarinet. He loved to learn. He studied ancient history at a college in California. He even went to a school called Oxford.

Later, Monte moved to the Middle East. He wanted to help Armenian people. He learned to speak many languages. He spoke Armenian, Spanish, French, and Japanese. He also knew Arabic, Italian, and Turkish.

In the 1980s, he joined a group called ASALA. He spent time in Lebanon and France. In 1990, he moved to Armenia. He worked at a place for science. He studied old cave tombs.

Soon, a war began in Nagorno-Karabakh. Monte became a leader for the defense army. Many soldiers called him Avo. He led about 4,000 troops. He helped make people feel safe in their homes.

Monte died in 1993 while working with his soldiers.

In 1996, Armenia named him a National Hero. We see his name on honors like the Order of the Fatherland.

Monte Melkonian was a man who lived many different lives. He was born on November 25, 1957, in Visalia, California. As a young boy, he was very active in his community. He joined the Boy Scouts and played baseball as a pitcher. He also enjoyed playing the musical instrument called the clarinet.

Monte was a very bright student who loved to learn. He went to the University of California, Berkeley. There, he studied ancient Asian history and archaeology. He finished his degree in less than three years. He was even accepted to study at the University of Oxford. However, he chose to travel to the Middle East instead of staying in school. He was a person who could learn many languages very quickly. He spoke Armenian, Spanish, French, and Japanese fluently. He also knew Arabic, Italian, Turkish, Persian, and Kurdish.

His life changed when he traveled to Iran in 1978. He went there to teach English. During this time, he saw people fighting for change in the Iranian Revolution. Later, he moved to Lebanon. He lived in Beirut and joined a group called ASALA. This group was an Armenian militia.

In the 1980s, Monte spent time in different places. He lived in France and was even in prison there for a few years. He was released in 1989. In 1990, he finally arrived in Armenia. At first, he worked at the Armenian Academy of Sciences. He studied old cave tombs for his research. This work was later published as a book in 1995.

Soon, a war began in the Nagorno-Karabakh region. Monte became a leader in the Artsakh Defense Army. Many of his soldiers called him "Avo." He led about 4,000 Armenian troops. He worked hard to make sure people in towns like Martuni felt safe. Sadly, Monte was killed by soldiers on June 12, 1993. He was in the village of Merzili at the time. In 1996, Armenia gave him the title of National Hero.

Monte Melkonian was an Armenian-American revolutionary and a military commander. He was a key leader in the Artsakh Defense Army. He also became known as a National Hero of Armenia. Melkonian lived a life defined by intense political and military activity across several different countries.

Melkonian was born on November 25, 1957, in Visalia, California. His parents were Charles and Zabel Melkonian. His father worked as a self-employed cabinet maker. His mother was an elementary-school teacher. As a child, Melkonian was involved in the Boy Scouts. He also played baseball as a pitcher and played the clarinet. His interest in his Armenian heritage grew after a family trip in 1969. During this trip, they visited Merzifon in Turkey. This town once had 17,000 Armenians, but most were lost during the Armenian genocide in 1915. This experience deeply moved him.

Melkonian was a very gifted student. He attended the University of California, Berkeley. He earned a degree in ancient Asian history and archaeology in less than three years. He was even accepted to the archaeology graduate program at the University of Oxford. Instead of continuing his studies, he chose to travel to the Middle East. He was a polyglot, which means he spoke many languages. He was fluent in Armenian, Spanish, French, and Japanese. He also spoke Arabic, Italian, Turkish, Persian, and Kurdish.

His journey into political activism began in 1978 in Iran. He traveled there to teach English. During the Iranian Revolution, he participated in movements to overthrow the Shah. He helped organize a teachers' strike in Tehran. Later, he moved to Beirut, Lebanon. He joined an Armenian militia to defend the Armenian quarter in Bourj Hammoud. During the Lebanese Civil War, he fought various right-wing militias. He also took part in combat against Israel during the 1982 Lebanon War.

In 1980, Melkonian joined the Armenian Secret Army for the Liberation of Armenia, known as ASALA. He served as a militant and a contributor to their journal, Hayastan. During this time, he received military training from Palestinian militant organizations. In 1981, he was involved in a planned attack on the Turkish consulate in Paris. He was later arrested in France in 1985. He was sentenced to six years in prison for carrying an illegal handgun and using false papers. He spent over three years in Fresnes and Poissy prisons.

Melkonian was released from prison in 1989. He arrived in the Armenian Soviet Socialist Republic in October 1990. For his first eight months, he worked at the Armenian Academy of Sciences. He prepared a research monograph on Urartian cave tombs. This work was published in 1995. He noticed many economic and political problems in Armenia. He believed the collapse of the Soviet Union would make things very difficult for the Armenian people. He focused his energy on the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict.

During the First Nagorno-Karabakh War, Melkonian became a significant military leader. He commanded an estimated 4,000 Armenian troops. Many of his soldiers called him "Avo." In 1992, he became the regional commander in Martuni. His leadership helped civilians feel more secure. He helped push back Azerbaijani armies and reduced the shelling of residential areas. In April 1993, he was a chief strategist for the operation to capture the Kalbajar region. This operation took four days of heavy fighting.

Melkonian died on June 12, 1993. He was killed by Azerbaijani soldiers while surveying the village of Mərzili. This happened during the Battle of Aghdam. He was with five other Armenian soldiers at the time. He was buried at the Yerablur military cemetery in Yerevan. In 1996, the government of Armenia posthumously gave him the title of National Hero. His life remains a major part of Armenian history.