Introduction

his is a true story written by one of the survivors of the Armenian genocide. His name is Sempad Shahnazarian the son of Der Kerope Shahnazarian one of the victims of the massacres at Moush. This is not just another Armenian "genocide" story. No! it's much more than that. It's a historic documentation of the events taken place in Turkey during World War I and the cruel treatment of the Armenian nation at the hands of the Turkish government.

  Mr. Shahnazarian was born in Turkey and attended the Armenian College in Constantinople where he received his AB degree shortly before the war began. He was drafted into the Turkish Army and served as an artillery officer until the Turks treatment of the Armenian people drove him to desert. He was arrested... escaped again... and joined the French Legion d’Orient fighting the Turks until the end of the war. After the war Mr. Shahnazarian immigrated to America and lived till the age of 96, he passed away on September 22, 1985, in Brownsville, Texas.

  His story sheds light on some of the Armenian traditions practiced by the people during popular feasts. The author with his fluent and poetic pen describes in detail his beautiful homeland, its mountains, rivers, valleys, forests and animals. He recalls the people who had influenced him when he was a child growing up in Moush and later in Constantinople where he was studying.

  The story is a bouquet of colorful emotions and experiences, sprinkled with heroism, fear, love, hate, despair, hope, friendship, philosophy and sometimes humor. The author vividly describes the tortures and the cruelty practiced by the Turks against his nation and fellow countrymen, his experiences during his service with the French 'Légion d’Orient' and the valiant deeds of the men who fought under his command.

  This story is divided into 15 chapters, it starts with a 'preface' by the author followed by a copy of 'The Légion of the East - Citation' awarded to Mr. Shahnazarian by Général Dufieu, Commander of the First Division of the Levant. At the end of the story the reader will find Mr. Shahnazarian's obituary as published in the 'Armenian Courier Newspaper' Los Angeles, California. We have included some pictures of the author and his loved ones throughout the story supplied by his son Mr. Arsen Shahnazarian. The genocide pictures where taken from a well known Album Revolutionnaire by Avo.