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Military captain of a company of engineers who died heroically during the April clashes of 2016 would have turned 29 today.

Captain Kirakosyan was born on 23 August 1988 in Apaga village of Armenia’s Armavir region. Over the recent years he moved for a military service in Mataghis village of the Nagorno Karabakh Republic Martakert region with wife and two sons.

Hovsep Kirakosyan served in the Armenian Armed Forces starting in 2006. After completing the school, he went to the Vazgen Sargsyan Military Institute in Yerevan. Upon graduation, he was stationed in Stepanakert, Nagorno-Karabakh, and afterwards - in Mataghis.

As his relatives recall today he had always dreamed of becoming a military despite his father’s opposition. Hovsep Kirakosyan’s mother had always felt pride for his achievements while studying in the institute.

Captain Kirakosyan was one of the first victims during the Four-Day war in 2016, when Azerbaijani forces launched a full-scale offensive toward the Karabakh defense positions on the night of April 1-2. 

His wife Mariam later recalled that Hovsep woke up at night and asked her to get their children out of the village, while he went to the frontline to stand by his soldiers.

“Sorry Mariam, I can’t stay longer, 25 soldiers are in need of help. You are strong and can cope with leaving,” were the last worlds of the captain when leaving the family.

During the severe battles, Kirakosyan left his soldiers in the trenches and went out onto the battlefield alone. Although heavily wounded, he ran forward 30 meters and used grenades against the enemy Azerbaijani soldiers. One of his soldiers saw that blood was coming from Hovsep's ears and eyes, but he still continued to fight. When his soldiers brought Captain Kirakosyan back to the trenches, they were not able to remove him from the area because of intense shooting. He ordered his soldiers, "Boys, I am fine. You go fight."

Captain Hovsep Kirakosyan was supposed to have received the title of major in six months from April. He was posthumously awarded with the Republic of Armenia "Military Service" medal.