Sophie Mekhitarian emigrated to the United States in 1949; one of thousands of displaced Armenians resettled after World War II thanks to the efforts of the American National Committee to Aid Homeless Armenians, or ANCHA as it later became known.

Her family had fled Soviet Russia and spent time in a military camp in Germany in a kind of limbo, she says, “a hopeless state.” Eventually, with the help of ANCHA, her family made it to New York, then Los Angeles, and finally settled in Fresno.

“My parents were very grateful for that life,” says Mekhitarian, who has spent the past three years honoring the work of ANCHA and its founders, with a memorial to be dedicated in a ceremony at 12:30 p.m. Sunday in of the Holy Trinity Armenian Apostolic Church in downtown Fresno.

American National Committee to Aid the Homeless Armenians (ANCHA) chairwoman Sophia Matewosian Mekhitarian, left, and co-chairman Varoujan Der Simonian, right, seen alongside the 13-foot memorial that will honor profiles in Armenian history and will be inaugurated in a ceremony on Sunday. April 16 at the Holy Trinity Armenian Apostolic Church. The public is invited to the ceremony, which will be followed by a reception. Photographed on Wednesday April 12, 2023 in downtown Fresno.

The memorial is a black granite slab more than 4 meters high, adorned with images of “Ancha’s triumphant trio”: founders George Mardikian, Suren Saroyan and Brigadier General Haig Shekerjian.

These men were true humanists, Mekhitarian says, and hold a special place in the community of displaced Armenians in Fresno and across the country.

Most notably, Mardikian gained national notoriety for his humanitarian work with the US government. In 1953 President Harry S. Truman awarded him the Medal of Freedom.

Mardikian is particularly revered, says Mekhitarian.

She recalls her father seriously discussing donating a kidney to Mardikian, who once in his life needed a transplant. Ultimately, her father didn’t have to make that choice.

There has already been a large influx of volunteers from the community, she says.

“He did so much good”

In addition to his philanthropic and humanitarian work, Mardikian was a restaurateur who popularized Armenian food in America at Omar Khayyam’s, a fairly famous restaurant on Powell Street in San Francisco. Before that, he ran the restaurant on Van Ness Avenue in Fresno and served on the board of Holy Trinity Church in Fresno, which became a meeting place for Armenians as they settled in the community.

“We all belong to the same church,” says Mekhitarian.

“The Church that took care of us.”

The parish has taken in complete strangers, she says, “one family after the other.” It helped them find places to work and live.

The church and others like it are also honored with a special plaque on the monument, as well as several unsung heroes who prevented the deaths of Armenians, particularly their prisoners of war, during WWII.

The memorial is intended to serve as both a reminder and an inspiration, Varoujan tells The Simonian of Fresno’s Armenian Museum, which facilitated its installation and dedication. Certainly, it aims to educate the wider public about ANCHA and the role it has played in relocating Armenian communities to the United States.

But beyond that, “it’s a calling to serve,” he says.

“It’s a great example of serving humanity.”

Archivist of the American National Committee to Aid the Homeless Armenians Rosie Megrdichian Bedrosian (left), Chair Sophie Mekhitarian (center) and Co-Chair Varoujan Der Simonian (right) pose in front of a model of the 13-foot-tall monument in Armenian on Wednesday -Holy Trinity Apostolic Church, April 12, 2023 in downtown Fresno.

Originally published Apr 15, 2023 at 7:30 am

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SAN JOSE (KPIX) – The Vietnamese community in San Jose on Saturday unveiled a new memorial in History Park to honor soldiers who fought against communist forces 50 years ago while the United States abandoned its allies in the country.

In 1972, when the US left the country, North Vietnamese troops overran the provincial capital Quang Tri and its old stone citadel. The army of the south resisted overwhelming adversity and after three months recaptured the fortress.

“They put up the flag and this is the image of the soldiers who put the flag up over the Quang Tri Citadel, which means the victory that was hard won during this battle,” said memorial organizer Sam Ho.

The image of soldiers hoisting a flag over the citadel, reminiscent of Iwo Jima, is cast in bronze on the Quang Tri Victory Monument. It is a source of immense pride for those who still wear their uniforms from then.

“It means that by the time the US abandoned its allies in the Vietnam War, we fought back with what we had and we won against the overwhelming enemy forces. That is the meaning of this battle, ”said Lan Quoc Nguyen, board member of the Quang Tri Memorial.

7,700 South Vietnamese soldiers died in the battle and 18,000 North Vietnamese troops were also killed.

Without US ground support, the war was ultimately lost, and the South Vietnamese army has since been criticized in films and in the media for being unattached fighters.

“Not only are the stories unfair, but I find them extremely offensive and we have to tell this story,” said Ho.

That’s what the memorial is supposed to do – remember those of Quang Tri who went on fighting alone with no help or supplies. Kristin Hong, a young Vietnamese-American student, said the courage she has shown in this moment and every moment since has been a source of inspiration for her generation.

“We were able to hold on and get to where we are now, even if it meant a lot of effort,” she said. “But we could come here and go through so much just to have a better future for ourselves.”

Nguyen says there was some bitterness about the way the US went after the war, but Vietnamese Americans have since shown the strength to forgive and move on.

“We should remember the past but look forward to the future,” he said. “To learn to be independent, to learn to be alone.”

The memorial was originally erected in Westminster, Southern California, but city support for the project was later abandoned. Instead, the city of San Jose was approached, dealt with and started construction within months.

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