ARNO Monte Melkonian Song Armenian Hero

This song was born when in early 2012, after being inspired and moved by Monte s story and legacy, I asked my father, Harout Piloyan to write a poem about Monte and add it to his collection of over 100 Armenian songs. poems and short stories. Using that poem, I then created and recorded this song for all Armenians and nonArmenians around the world to recognize the story of Monte and the story of the Armenian people. Neshan Piloyan. Monte Melkonian was born on November 25, 1957 at Visalia Municipal Hospital in Visalia, California to Charles and Zabel Melkonian. He was the third of four children born to a selfemployed cabinetmaker and an elementaryschool teacher. By all accounts, Melkonian was described as an allAmerican child who joined the Boy Scouts and was a pitcher in Little League baseball. In the spring of 1969, the family traveled across Turkey to visit the town of Merzifon, where Melkonian s maternal grandparents were from. Merzifon s population at the time was 23, 475