They Set Out Together, but Returned Without Kim

“Our contemporary heroes.” Kim Khachatryan

We must recognize the names of our contemporary heroes who sacrificed their lives for the homeland. Kim Khachatryan, the boy in the photograph, was a student at the Yerevan State Medical University’s Faculty of Dentistry. The words uttered by our contemporary hero are often repeated by his friends after his death, feeling the depth of their meaning: “A soldier's fortune is either death or freedom.”

“It is very difficult to speak about Kim in the past tense. Our Kim was a unique person, with a capital letter. There are not many people like him who are patriotic, kind, sincere, simple, and just,” recounts his classmate Manon Gevorgyan, continuing that Kim was a person with unique values, dedicated to national values and ideas. It was those very ideas that he stayed true to when he set out to the front line on October 12 with his friends from the ARF “Nikola Aghbalyan” student union.

“They set out together, but returned without Kim,” emphasizes the student of Yerevan State Medical University.

Besides being patriotic, the dentistry student was also very sociable, often inviting the entire group to his hometown Areni to drink wine and see the sights. His classmates will not leave Kim's invitation unanswered. Even though they have already graduated, they have decided and promised to go to Areni to drink wine in memory of Kim.

“Our Kim was radiant. I will never forget how he sang in Getashen during a bioethics class, embodying his characteristic patriotic spirit. He had a great sense of humor; I remember once he saluted without a hat, and we mentioned that one does not salute with an empty head, to which Kim responded, ‘Why is it empty? It’s full of smartness,’” recalls Manon. She is confident that there is no need to say more; looking at the photos, one can notice a lot in the hero's eyes and gaze.

The young warrior was born on March 17, 1995, in the village of Areni, Vayots Dzor Province. From 2001 to 2012, he studied at Areni Secondary School. From 2013 to 2015, he served in the Armed Forces of the Republic of Armenia (in Meghri). His goal was to develop a professional career in his hometown after finishing his studies and to establish a dental clinic. Kim Khachatryan had been on the front line for a long time and was killed on October 31.