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He was independent, intelligent, very curious, extremely daring, and analytical. Without hesitation, Markar Melkonian began recounting his brother’s long and difficult road. “We would go for walks and have long discussions. Out of memory, he would reconstruct history and tell me what happened to him, one thing after another, very systematic. It was important for him to do that,” Melkonian recalled about a national hero, his younger brother, Monte Melkonian.
In a bright university conference room, surrounded by books and tapes, Melkonian remembered his childhood and relationship with his brother. They grew up in a small county near Fresno.
As children, their family’s Armenian heritage was never discussed. Melkonian recalls his grandmother speaking in Armenian and Turkish about daily activities and other various subjects, but never about the genocide that they had survived, since “it was considered shameful to be a victim.” “I remember seeing Armenian women who were victims of the genocide with tattoos [a sign of slavery and servitude] on their chins,” remembers Melkonian.
On June 12, 1970, the Melkonian brothers and their family visited their ancestral town of Merzifon, Turkey. 13-year-old Markar and 11-year-old Monte saw their ancestral house, the church that had been turned into a cinema, and met the family that lived in the same home that had been taken away from Melkonian’s ancestors over 50 years ago. Years later, the Melkonians learned that the only reason the Armenian family currently lived there [in Merzifon] was because they secured their safety and well-being by identifying all the Armenians in the town to Turkish authorities during the genocide.
It became clearer in high school how daring Monte really was. At the age of 15, Monte traveled to Southeast Asia, where he stayed at a Buddhist monastery in Korea, met student radicals in Japan, and learned martial arts. “He was like a dry sponge when it came to his environment, always learning new languages and cultures” said Melkonian.
Monte graduated from UC – Berkeley in three years, majoring in ancient Asian history and archeology. Monte was an inclusive person who went to great lengths to find out about his ethnic heritage. He was interested in unique cultures and always tried to draw connections and commonalities between Armenians and other ethnicities.
After graduating college, Monte traveled to Iran, where he taught English and participated in the movement to overthrow the Shah. “He was quick on his feet and always ready for change,” said Melkonian. In 1978, he traveled to Beirut to fight against the various factions in the Lebanese Civil War. Monte was also a member of the Armenian Secret Army for the Liberation of Armenia (ASALA), where he carried out international operations. After his arrest in 1981, Monte was sentenced to six years in prison for possession of falsified papers and carrying an illegal handgun.
During this time, the brothers did not see one another for 8 years. However, they kept a regular correspondence through letters. Markar recalls his mother being very apprehensive while getting pieces of news from everywhere about her youngest son.
While in Lebanon, Monte met the woman he would eventually marry. Melkonian experiences a flashback to Monte’s joyous wedding at the monastery in Geghart, in what was then known as Soviet Armenia. Melkonian, the best man at his brother’s wedding, remembers the first toast of the night honoring “those who are no longer with us.”
Monte was finally on Armenian soil. He soon realized that the Soviet Union was dangerous to the Armenian people. He also saw the fate of Karabagh as vital for the security of the Armenian nation. Monte believed that if Azerbaijan succeeded in deporting Armenians from Karabagh, they would easily do the same in other regions of Armenia.
Monte Melkonian became a commander to almost 4,000 men in the Karabagh War. He first joined a volunteer brigade, and then rose to the rank of Lieutenant Colonel in the budding Armed Forces of the Republic of Karabagh. He not only fought in the Shahumian region - north of Karabagh - for three months, but also restructured Karabagh’s defense forces, disciplined soldiers, walked them to one victory after another, and gained honor and support from civilians.
June 12, 1993 marked the final day of the hero’s journey. To this day, the 35-year-old’s cause of death is speculated. Melkonian reconstructs Monte’s death during battle in his memoir and biography My Brother’s Road: An American’s Fateful Journey to Armenia. He is convinced that his brother died in a chance encounter with Azeri fighters. “I bent over backwards to reach a conclusion regarding his cause of death. I reconstructed the scene, collated different testimonies, skepticisms, inspected physical evidence at the point it took place, spoke to survivors, doctors, an Azeri prisoner of war, and so on,” explains Melkonian.
One of the reasons Melkonian wrote the book was to clear up misconceptions. “It was a labor of love,” he admits. Published in different versions, editions, and languages, Melkonian used his own experiences, interviews with others in various languages, journals, documents, film footage, and archives to accurately narrate the story of an ordinary child who grew up to become a freedom fighter in Armenia.
Melkonian, now a Philosophy professor at California State University – Northridge, is also one of the founders of the Monte Melkonian Fund, a non-profit fund which provides support to needy children and their families in Armenia. Many children who benefit from the fund are refugees who have suffered physical or psychological trauma or have lost their parents.
Today, Monte Melkonian’s heroism affects the lives of many. He remains a national hero, with schools, hospitals, roads, and a museum named after him, as well as a military academy where men aspire to become a revolutionary soldier like Monte Melkonian.
Monte was once asked, “How do you see Armenia’s future?” and he responded with “Without corruption and just.” Would the revolutionary be proud of Armenia now? “Respect who we are; we are no better or worse than anyone else,” Melkonian explained. “That was Monte’s spirit.”
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