MARTOUNI, Nagorno-Karabakh - Monte Melkonyan, a Californian-Armenian, will end a 15-year armed odyssey in search of his Armenian roots Saturday when he is buried in Yerevan, the capital of his adopted homeland.
His search took a circuitous - but always military - route as he fought in armed struggles in Lebanon, Turkey and Iraqi Kurdistan before "returning" to his ancestral home 18 months ago to participate in the war for Nagorno-Karabakh, the Armenian-claimed enclave of Azerbaijan.
In a radical turn from his studies in archeology at the University of California at Berkeley, Melkonyan, 35, became one of the most successful commanders in the struggle for Nagorno-Karabakh.
The guerrilla career of the Californian was snuffed out last Sunday when he was crushed by an armored car that crossed the front line from Azerbaijan by mistake as he patrolled in his jeep.
In an interview shortly before his death he referred to himself as a professional soldier, but was reluctant to talk about specifics of his guerrilla activities.
He did acknowledge, however, that he "was associated with the diaspora anti-Turkish movement", a reference to the Armenian terrorist group that has conducted a bombing and assassination campaign against Turkish diplomats.
Bearded and balding, Melkonyan was one of a breed of expatriate soldiers who have gone to their ancestral countries to fight in ethnic conflicts.
Just as Croats, Serbs and Moslems have returned to Yugoslavia to fight, Melkonyan, a member of the large Armenian diaspora, went to Nagorno-Karabakh.
Six weeks ago, while driving a jeep along the front line occupied by the 4, 000 men under his command, Melkonyan described his long and violent road back to the Caucasus.
"My parents don't really understand what I'm doing", the fighter said. "They'd really prefer that I was doing something else like being a lawyer".
"As a kid I never even knew where Armenia was", added Melkonyan, who still had the soft Californian accent of his hometown, Fresno.
"When I was growing up I was completely American. I could not even find Armenia on the map", he related as his young Lebanese-Armenian wife jolted along next to him in the jeep.
"My ancestors were the first Armenians west of the East Coast. They got to Fresno, California, in 1881. It's a long story but I eventually became interested and started to learn about Armenia". Melkonyan said that after graduating from Berkeley, he went to Lebanon to fight with the Armenian militia there. Later he helped the Kurds to fight against Iranian and Iraqi troops.
Melkonyan also said he spent four years in jail in France for traveling on a false passport, a crime for which he was still wanted in the United States.
And he was also involved with the Armenian struggle that aims to force Turkey to accept responsibility for the genocide of 1915, when more than 1. 5 million Armenians were killed.
Asked if he had ever participated in any anti-Turkish attacks he laughed, saying, "I can't comment on that, but the French police sure think I did".
Using his diverse military experience, Melkonyan was said to be one of the most accomplished commanders in the war against Azerbaijan, although he said he never had any formal training.
He and his men led an attack on the Azeri town of Kelbajar in April, resulting in one of the largest Armenian successes of the war.
Explaining why he felt the Armenian cause in Nagorno-Karabakh was just, Melkonyan said, "We have to have our historical borders. People look at a map that's existed for 70 years and think that that negates 3, 000 years of history".
A five-year war in the enclave has resulted in several thousand deaths, although the precise casualty figures are unknown.
Asked if he planned to settle down in Nagorno-Karabakh once the war was over, Melkonyan said he saw no future for himself in a peaceful country.
His search took a circuitous - but always military - route as he fought in armed struggles in Lebanon, Turkey and Iraqi Kurdistan before "returning" to his ancestral home 18 months ago to participate in the war for Nagorno-Karabakh, the Armenian-claimed enclave of Azerbaijan.
In a radical turn from his studies in archeology at the University of California at Berkeley, Melkonyan, 35, became one of the most successful commanders in the struggle for Nagorno-Karabakh.
The guerrilla career of the Californian was snuffed out last Sunday when he was crushed by an armored car that crossed the front line from Azerbaijan by mistake as he patrolled in his jeep.
In an interview shortly before his death he referred to himself as a professional soldier, but was reluctant to talk about specifics of his guerrilla activities.
He did acknowledge, however, that he "was associated with the diaspora anti-Turkish movement", a reference to the Armenian terrorist group that has conducted a bombing and assassination campaign against Turkish diplomats.
Bearded and balding, Melkonyan was one of a breed of expatriate soldiers who have gone to their ancestral countries to fight in ethnic conflicts.
Just as Croats, Serbs and Moslems have returned to Yugoslavia to fight, Melkonyan, a member of the large Armenian diaspora, went to Nagorno-Karabakh.
Six weeks ago, while driving a jeep along the front line occupied by the 4, 000 men under his command, Melkonyan described his long and violent road back to the Caucasus.
"My parents don't really understand what I'm doing", the fighter said. "They'd really prefer that I was doing something else like being a lawyer".
"As a kid I never even knew where Armenia was", added Melkonyan, who still had the soft Californian accent of his hometown, Fresno.
"When I was growing up I was completely American. I could not even find Armenia on the map", he related as his young Lebanese-Armenian wife jolted along next to him in the jeep.
"My ancestors were the first Armenians west of the East Coast. They got to Fresno, California, in 1881. It's a long story but I eventually became interested and started to learn about Armenia". Melkonyan said that after graduating from Berkeley, he went to Lebanon to fight with the Armenian militia there. Later he helped the Kurds to fight against Iranian and Iraqi troops.
Melkonyan also said he spent four years in jail in France for traveling on a false passport, a crime for which he was still wanted in the United States.
And he was also involved with the Armenian struggle that aims to force Turkey to accept responsibility for the genocide of 1915, when more than 1. 5 million Armenians were killed.
Asked if he had ever participated in any anti-Turkish attacks he laughed, saying, "I can't comment on that, but the French police sure think I did".
Using his diverse military experience, Melkonyan was said to be one of the most accomplished commanders in the war against Azerbaijan, although he said he never had any formal training.
He and his men led an attack on the Azeri town of Kelbajar in April, resulting in one of the largest Armenian successes of the war.
Explaining why he felt the Armenian cause in Nagorno-Karabakh was just, Melkonyan said, "We have to have our historical borders. People look at a map that's existed for 70 years and think that that negates 3, 000 years of history".
A five-year war in the enclave has resulted in several thousand deaths, although the precise casualty figures are unknown.
Asked if he planned to settle down in Nagorno-Karabakh once the war was over, Melkonyan said he saw no future for himself in a peaceful country.