“As soon as you realize I’m not there, escape with the children,” this was the last order given by Major Edgar Matevosyan, or Matos to his friends, one hour before his death. On October 2nd, he had an important task to fulfill. The experienced scout knew very well where he was going and why. Unfortunately, he did not return, but he was able to save the lives of his friends in combat and his soldiers.
“He put on his military uniform and went to fight with a smile on his face. He even knew that he might not return. He went to fight for life or death. When he is working, he doesn’t call, but he called 2-3 hours before he died and said that he was fine. But what was fine? He was fighting in the worst battles. He liberated positions and mountains, which I later learned from his friends in combat,” the fallen hero’s wife, Astine, told Aravot Daily.
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Starting on September 27th, Edgar Matevosyan participated in the heaviest battles in Artsakh and was wounded in the leg in the first few days. According to his wife, “They wanted to take him to the hospital, but he refused and asked how he could leave his soldiers to fight alone. He bandaged himself up and continued to fight. And now the officers and soldiers from his base who visit our house tell me that they owe their lives to him because he saved them. I can’t believe it. I can’t believe that something could have happened to him. He was so smart, so fearless. He had a different kind of bravery. He didn’t sleep at night because he was scouting or digging trenches. He did everything for the army.”
The major’s two young children bid him farewell as he went to Artsakh. His son is 10 years old, and his daughter is eight. “My son is not taking it well. People are giving them some hope. They say, ‘we’re the children of a hero.’”
Major Matevosyan is one of the few heroes whose name is written in golden letters at the Vazgen Sargsyan Military Institute as an excellent student. The lives of dozens of soldiers were saved because of him during the April War, for which Matevosyan received the Order of the Combat Cross and the Courage Medal.
The major was excellent and tough with everything, especially for himself. One of his combat friends, Ruben Martirosyan, wrote, “The battle was tough. We began to get fired upon at 4. But that one sunrise was even tougher because it was fateful. I couldn’t stand it anymore and finally slept for 30 minutes. Then, Matevosyan came and was calling all sergeants. We went and he was sitting in front of me. That lasted for a minute. When I realized what was happening, I grabbed onto him. He “let go,” gave me his hand, and said, “Good job, you’re saving lives, it’s wonderful.” But there was a but… the clean and tough chief of staff couldn’t say that our territory was dirty. Yes, he was that kind of person. He left and we didn’t see him again. He said that he would come back. He didn’t. It was interesting; he was both in charge of all of that, and he was the most tired of all of us, but he came to give us hope. And he gave us so much! It was the first or second day of the battle when we were talking, and we all agreed that it would be better for us to get shot than him. He also realized that we couldn’t have done it without him. One hour before he died, he told one of the officers, ‘As soon as you realize I’m not here anymore, have the children escape.’ He even thought about that. He died one hour later. He knew what he was doing. There are no words to describe it. He’s a new Monte for me. He became immortal.”
Major Matevosyan grew up without a father, and he promised his children that he would never leave them without a father. Alas…
Hripsime Jebejyan
