ALMA ARMENIAN LEGIONNAIRE TRAVELING EXHIBIT BEGINS NATIONWIDE TOUR
ticle/2009-08-19-alma-armenian-legionnaire-traveli ng-exhibit-begins-nationwide-tour&pg=2
Wednesd ay August 19, 2009
Watertown, Mass. – Legion Armenienne: The Armenian Legion and Its
Heroism in the Middle East is a traveling exhibit developed and
prepared by the Armenian Library and Museum of America (ALMA) in
honor of the Legionnaires and their devotion to their nation and to
the cause of liberty during World War I. The exhibit explores the
formation, training, military action, and postwar activities of this
all-volunteer force through photographs and narratives.
ALMA will premiere the exhibit at Northbridge Town Hall (7 Main St.,
Whitinsville Mass.) from Aug. 31 through Sept. 22. The exhibit is
open to the public Monday 8:30 am to 7 pm; Tuesday, Wednesday and
Thursday 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.; and Friday 8:30 a.m. to 1 p.m.
On Monday, Sept. 14, ALMA will host a free public reception at
Northbridge Town Hall from 5 to 7 p.m. in celebration of the exhibit
embarking on its first nationwide tour. Following its premiere in
Whitinsville, "Legion Armenienne" will travel to the West Coast
in October.
The story of the Armenian Legion reflects the community’s attempts
to come to grips with the destruction and devastation following
the Armenian Genocide. It also represents the successful efforts of
Armenians from different social, economic, and political backgrounds
to work together for a common cause. The Legion encompassed a
group of remarkable individuals–some of them officers, others of no
special rank or distinction–who volunteered throughout the Diaspora,
overcoming tremendous difficulties in order to serve their people and
nation courageously, often at great personal sacrifice. Their lives
are well worth remembering.
Example of dedication
One of these individuals, Hagop Arevian, provides an example of
the dedication exhibited by the Legionnaires under extraordinary
circumstances. Born in 1894 in a small village near Sebastia (Turkey),
he experienced the tragedy and dislocation that have affected so many
Armenians. His family miraculously survived the massacres ordered
by Sultan Abdul Hamid in 1894-1896, and moved to the capital of
Constantinople (Istanbul), where Hagop’s father, Nazareth, obtained
work as a port supervisor. However Nazareth was soon arrested and
imprisoned by Ottoman officials on charges of illegal political
activism. Despite repeated appeals to the authorities, even to the
Sultan himself, Nazareth remained in prison and ultimately died there.
Hagop received his education in Mekhitarist schools in the capital, and
in 1914 he went to Alexandria, Egypt, to join his older brother. With
the outbreak of World War I, he resolved to fight for the Allies and he
went to Marseilles, France, to volunteer for the French Foreign Legion.
After training in Algeria, he joined the French Army in France. On
leave in Paris, he met Boghos Nubar Pasha and learned of the plans
to form the Armenian Legion to fight with the French/British forces
in the Middle East; as part of the plan the Armenians were promised
autonomy in the regions of Cilicia, southern Turkey, which had been
allocated to France, according to World War I secret agreements
between the Allies (France, England, and Russia).
Arevian, now a corporal first class, returned to the battlefield in
France and was seriously wounded at Vitry-le-Francois. Receiving the
valued Croix de Guerre, he was detached from the Foreign Legion in 1917
and assigned to the Armenian Legion, which was then training in Cyprus.
After helping to train the Armenian volunteers in Cyprus, Arevian
joined the Legion as it marched to Palestine to join in the campaign
being waged by British General Edmund Allenby. As a member of the Fifth
Battalion, Arevian participated in the Legion’s victory at the Battle
of Arara (near Rafat, Palestine) against a combined Turkish/German
Army commanded by Mustapha Kemal (later Ataturk). The victory marked
the collapse of the Turkish/German forces and culminated in the end
of the war in November 1918.
Marching north with General Allenby’s forces, Arevian joined
other Legionnaires in rescuing Armenian women and children who had
survived the death marches of the Genocide. The Armenian Legion was
now assigned as the advanced guard to occupy Cilicia. Lt. Col. Louis
Romieu, commander of the Legion, granted Arevian’s request for his
section to have the honor of being the first to land in Cilicia,
at the port of Mersin. Arevian was subsequently stationed in Adana,
the center of the French occupation in Cilicia, where he served for
the following two years.
By 1920 the political landscape had shifted drastically. France
turned Cilicia over to the Turkish nationalists, thus abandoning
thousands of Armenians who had returned to their homes under the
promise of French occupation and protection. France quietly disbanded
the Armenian Legion, and Arevian (now a citizen of France) returned
to Egypt, where he married and established a family and a successful
business. He died in Paris in 1965.
Enthusiastic response
In recognition of the importance of remembering the Legionnaires
and their devotion to their nation and to the cause of liberty,
the Armenian Library and Museum of America prepared a major exhibit
in 2001. The exhibit was curated by Ardemis Matteosian in close
collaboration with ALMA Board Members Dr. Barbara J. Merguerian and
Arakel Almasian. The enthusiastic response to the exhibit revealed
a tremendous interest in this overlooked and in many ways unwritten
story.
In response to requests to bring the exhibit to other locations in
the United States and as part of its goal of a broader community
outreach, ALMA commissioned this traveling exhibit, incorporating
the community spirit of the original into an informative historic,
literary, and artistic presentation.
The traveling exhibit was made possible by a grant from K. George
and Carolann S. Najarian, M.D. Foundation with additional support
provided by The Armenian-American Veterans of Milford, Mass., Inc.