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Military secret: WWII veteran Gohar Hovsepyan recollects her wartime
past, life after war - Video
http://armenianow.com/society/features/45989/military_secret_wwii_veteran_gohar_hovsepyan
FEATURES | 09.05.13 | 10:54
NAZIK ARMENAKYAN
ArmeniaNow
As the world marks the 68th anniversary of the end of World War II in
Europe, Armenia celebrates its own veterans who engaged the enemy as
part of the Red Army in 1941-45.
Gohar Hovsepyan has preserved her fighting spirit despite being 93.
Medals clank on the chest of the decorated veteran as she carefully
lays out on the table books of her poetry and memoirs - the work of
her entire life.
Even in her declining years the woman has not lost her feminine charm.
With her trembling, but still well-groomed hands Gohar leafs through
the books, recollecting her wartime past marked by experience of
fighting in two different fronts - first against Nazi Germany and then
against Imperial Japan.
Still as a second-year student at the Teachers' Training Institute
Gohar volunteered to join the army and was deployed with air defense
forces as an anti-aircraft gunner in Batumi, Georgia, to protect the
Black Sea port from Luftwaffe attacks.
Gohar learned about the Allied Victory in Europe when their regiment
was near Lake Baikal as anti-aircraft defense forces were being
redeployed to the Far East for a new front against the formidable
Kwantung Army.
It was in the war theater in Manchuria that senior lieutenant Azat
Minasyan, who had feelings for Gohar during the whole war, finally
asked her to become his wife. Austere field conditions
notwithstanding, Gohar insisted that they be married by a state
official. She remembers that General G. Barkhudarov then said that
only an Armenian woman could demand marriage in a state office in such
a `remote and goddamned place'.
There were a few bottles of vodka, onions, garlic heads, a loaf of
bread, some smoked fish and canned food on the table during their
wedding party.
The love that was born during the war proved a lasting experience for
Gohar and Azat as they lived happily for four decades until death
parted them in 1985. The couple had three children and four
grandchildren. At present, Gohar lives with her son and
daughter-in-law. She says it is due to their care and attention that
she has lived so long.
From: Baghdasarian
past, life after war - Video
http://armenianow.com/society/features/45989/military_secret_wwii_veteran_gohar_hovsepyan
FEATURES | 09.05.13 | 10:54
NAZIK ARMENAKYAN
ArmeniaNow
As the world marks the 68th anniversary of the end of World War II in
Europe, Armenia celebrates its own veterans who engaged the enemy as
part of the Red Army in 1941-45.
Gohar Hovsepyan has preserved her fighting spirit despite being 93.
Medals clank on the chest of the decorated veteran as she carefully
lays out on the table books of her poetry and memoirs - the work of
her entire life.
Even in her declining years the woman has not lost her feminine charm.
With her trembling, but still well-groomed hands Gohar leafs through
the books, recollecting her wartime past marked by experience of
fighting in two different fronts - first against Nazi Germany and then
against Imperial Japan.
Still as a second-year student at the Teachers' Training Institute
Gohar volunteered to join the army and was deployed with air defense
forces as an anti-aircraft gunner in Batumi, Georgia, to protect the
Black Sea port from Luftwaffe attacks.
Gohar learned about the Allied Victory in Europe when their regiment
was near Lake Baikal as anti-aircraft defense forces were being
redeployed to the Far East for a new front against the formidable
Kwantung Army.
It was in the war theater in Manchuria that senior lieutenant Azat
Minasyan, who had feelings for Gohar during the whole war, finally
asked her to become his wife. Austere field conditions
notwithstanding, Gohar insisted that they be married by a state
official. She remembers that General G. Barkhudarov then said that
only an Armenian woman could demand marriage in a state office in such
a `remote and goddamned place'.
There were a few bottles of vodka, onions, garlic heads, a loaf of
bread, some smoked fish and canned food on the table during their
wedding party.
The love that was born during the war proved a lasting experience for
Gohar and Azat as they lived happily for four decades until death
parted them in 1985. The couple had three children and four
grandchildren. At present, Gohar lives with her son and
daughter-in-law. She says it is due to their care and attention that
she has lived so long.
From: Baghdasarian