The war didn't end on May 9
Eighty four-year old veteran, participant of the Great Patriotic War, Deputy Colonel Henrik Kharatyan hopes to meet his friends in combat in Moscow. He is among the Armenian veterans invited to take part in the festive events dedicated to the 65th anniversary of the Great Victory.
For Henrik Kharatyan, the war didn't end on May 9, 1945, but in 1949. He served as a tank driver in the Far East in Manjuria region on the Russian-Chinese border where the war was still going on after the victory in 1945. He saw his relatives again 7 years after going to the front.
"My friends and I secretly decided to go to the front. As I was going, I didn't think I would get hurt. While driving the tank, I was focusing on the opponent to win," Henrik Kharatyan told "A1+".
On these festive days Henrik Kharatyan pins the 30 medals on his chest. "I pin every medal with pride because each of them has a story," says the veteran.
Henrik Kharatyan preferred not to talk about veterans' problems on the threshold of May 9.
"We have many issues. No matter how many are solved, there is still a demand. The government has to have resources to secure us and from the way I see it, there are no resources," he said, adding: "Perhaps they are doing something secretly, but I can tell there are no resources."
The 84-year old veteran longs for his prime and is sad to see that youth today have forgotten the old precepts. "The youth today lack the love for reading and correct manners. That is where patriotism comes from."
Henrik Kharatyan currently writes books and his last book was about citizens of Dilijan.
"I decided to recollect the stories of my fellow citizens of Dilijan. I handed them to the mayor and said it would be needed for educating children. Unfortunately, youth today don't read books, but there will come a time when they will," Kharatyan told "A1+".
