My Son, Whose Photo Has Recently Gained Widespread Attention Worldwide, Has Immortalized; My Grief Is Heavy, My Pride Is Great: Albert Hovhannisyan's Father

The boy in the famous photo has been killed while repelling Azerbaijani aggression - Albert Hovhannisyan. His father, Artak Hovhannisyan, announced this on his Facebook page.

His statement is presented below:

“My son, Albert Hovhannisyan, whose photo has gained widespread recognition around the world these days and has become dear to many of you, has immortalized. The pain for my family and me is immeasurable and bottomless.

For several days, we had no information about him, but many of you were with our family in spirit, words, and prayers, but... something else was predestined.

Through the tears that choke my throat, I want to ask that Albert remains forever young in all of your memories, an infinitely optimistic and extremely patriotic person who had great dreams and many tasks ahead, whose greatest love was the Homeland.

My grief is heavy and great, but my pride is greater that I am the father of a patriotic Armenian, our contemporary real Hero. I realize that my Albert is not only my Hero, he is the Hero of us all, a role model for present and future generations of Armenians who followed the path of his heroic ancestors and was immortalized... Glory to our heroes!”