GLENDALE—In early June, members of Armenian Youth Federation Western U.S.’s “With Our Soldiers” Committee traveled to Artsakh with trained professionals of Code 3 Angels and donated 500 emergency medical kits to Artsakh’s Ministry of Defense. The kits, which included emergency bandages and tourniquets, were prepared by members of the committee beforehand in Pasadena.

These members also travelled to the military base in Tonashen and provided a review of First Aid/CPR training to some of the soldiers. The “With Our Soldiers” Committee had taken on this project with Code 3 Angels, a nonprofit organization that provides emergency medical services skills and training to people across the U.S. and in developing nations, as a part of its ongoing work to provide direct aid to Artsakh with the engagement of the Armenian Youth Federation membership.

In addition to preparing over 500 kits, members of the AYF also received the necessary training and became certified in order to assist the trained professionals of Code 3 Angels on their training sessions. This project will serve as just one of the next several steps that the “With Our Soldiers” committee plans to take on as a part of their consistent efforts in supporting our troops in the homeland.

As an update, the “With Our Soldiers” 2.0 campaign recently concluded a few months ago when our members completed dispersing funds to the 7 remaining families of fallen soldiers as a part of 2.0. The campaign provided each of these families with $1000, making the total amount delivered to the families of fallen soldiers of the 2016 Four Day War and the following months over $150,000.

Here is the information about these 7 soldiers:

Vardan Sargsyan (b. 1997) was a tall and extremely strong physically amongst his peers growing up and as a result spend his youth playing sports. Positionally, a defender during soccer, Vardan’s ability to excel in sports would transcend to other spheres of life including his ability to play instruments. Enjoying many wind instruments, among his favorite were the duduk and the zurna which he would often take to as a hobby and pastime. Vardan was killed on June 16, 2017 by Azerbaijani fire.

Vigen Petrosyan (b. 1997) was serving on the frontlines of Talish & Martuni and was at the frontlines during the April 2016 4-day war without the knowledge of his parents. The only person aware of the extent of Vigen’s involvement was his brother Vahe. Vigen was only 20 years old and one month shy of finishing his service when he was killed, alongside 2 of his fellow soldiers as a result of an Azerbaijani missile that hit a tree the soldiers were sitting under and detonated. He was killed on June 16, 2017.

Arayik Matinyan (b. 1998) was a sniper in the Artsakh Armed Forces. He was generally a hard worker and learned to survive off the land he lived on from his father. He was the oldest of three brothers and also had one sister. He was killed along with Vardan Sargsyan and Vigen Petrosyan on June 16, 2017 by Azerbaijan fire.

Vazgen Poghosyan (b. 1997) was serving in the eastern direction of the Line of Contact. He lived with his family in the town of Horbategh in the province of Vayots Dzor. Vazgen was posthumously awarded the “For Service in Battle” medal for bravery shown during his defense of the Artsakh border. He was killed on July 10, 2017 by Azerbaijani fire.

Narek Gasparyan (b. 1998) was a participant of the 2016 April War serving in Talish. According to family members, Gasparyan had one month before he was to be discharged from the Artsakh Armed Forces. Gasparyan’s brother also served last year and was recently discharged. Narek was known for being a very talented dhol player. Gasparyan was killed on June 17, 2017 by Azerbaijani aggression.

Arman Movsisyan (b. 1998) was a very active child growing up and liked to finish things fast and first. He was the only son in the family and had one sister. Arman enjoyed building things on his own and working on various projects. When he passed away, he left behind a bicycle that he was building as well as a garage he was building for his family. Arman was killed by Azerbaijani fire on August 14, 2017.

Artak Bisharyan (b.1991) was posthumously awarded the “For Service in Battle” medal for bravery and courage shown during his defense of his fatherland. Although he had finished his mandatory service he decided to remain and continue to carry out his duties for his nation and his people. Furthermore his brother is a police officer and thus for the Bisharyan family service to the state plays an integral role in their framework. Artak will be remembered as a kind-hearted individual who would always perform tasks and do things so that his friends would not have to and that is exactly how he spent his last few breaths. The Armenian military had a task to be fulfilled near the neutral zone and it was exactly then when the enemy infantry took aim, killing Artak. He was killed on August 27, 2017.

The AYF’s “With Our Soldiers” campaign, originally launched in 2012, provided medical services and assistance to more than 80 veterans of the Artsakh Liberation Movement. To learn more about the WOS campaign or to make a donation today, you can visit withoursoldiers.com.

Founded in 1933 with organizational structures in over 17 regions around the world and a legacy of over eighty years of community involvement, the Armenian Youth Federation is the largest and most influential Armenian-American youth organization in the world, working to advance the social, political, educational, and cultural awareness of Armenian youth.