Did you know this man? Asked Էդուարդ Մանվելյան (EdMan), as a post - November 13m 2026, on his Facebook page and then went on to say that “We gave everything to everyone, keeping for ourselves only the sorrow, the pain, and the losses.” Attached is my aided translation of his post. Vaհe H Apelian.
"On December 10, 1988, a short article by William Donley—a speechwriter for the Pentagon—appeared on the front page of *The Washington Post*: "Yesterday, at George Washington University Hospital, a Pentagon legend passed away following a long and arduous illness. In his passing, the U.S. Armed Forces and the American people have suffered a great loss. Though he lacked American roots, he served the security of the United States for nearly forty years."
And so, we return to the same poignant question: do people in Armenia—or even beyond its borders—recognize the young man in this photograph?
For thirty-eight years, he held some of the highest positions within the U.S. Pentagon. He was the son of immigrants who had survived the Armenian Genocide—a man who possessed nothing but the stories he had heard from his parents about Turkish atrocities. The obituary that appeared on the front page of *The Washington Post* on December 10, 1988, was about him: Vahe Kupelian—born in 1912 in Marash to Simon and Marie Kupelian—who served as the head of the U.S. Army’s Weapons and Missiles Design and Development Department, a presidential advisor at the Pentagon on intercontinental ballistic missiles, a designer of American stealth bombers, and a developer of the American "Patriot" class of missiles.
Vahe Kupelian (note Vahey Kupelian) is credited as the engineer who modernized the American Northrop B-2 Spirit stealth bomber—an aircraft that strikes fear across the globe today—while Hal Markarian is also noted among its designers.
In 1960, the McDonnell Douglas F-4 Phantom II—an American fighter-bomber—took to the skies for the first time; its designer was Vahe Kupelian, a native of Marash in Western Armenia.
P.S.
Now, if we add to the names of Hal Markarian and Vahe Kupelian those of Roland Martirosov—the designer of the state-of-the-art Russian Su-34 supersonic bomber—and Hovsep (Iosif) Hakobyan—the mastermind behind a modern Russian air defense system—and then look back at Yerablur, perhaps you will understand, ladies and gentlemen, the purpose behind my five books (with a sixth on the way). We gave everything to everyone, keeping for ourselves only the sorrow, the pain, and the losses—losses that, as Hamo Sahyan might say, "no one can snatch from our hands."
You can read more about Vahe Kupelian in my first book, *Between Sunset and Sunrise: The Armenian Phenomenon*.
Read books, people.
Reminder: Reproduction of this material is not permitted. Those who use the materials in any way without citing the author will be held accountable under the law. The copyrights for the books are protected. The books are not sold in bookstores; they can only be obtained by placing an order—by calling 098 90 63 78 or 096 99 62 62 (within Armenia), or via WhatsApp or Viber at 0033 6 52 41 28 01 (for calls from outside Armenia)."
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| Courtesy Էդուարդ Մանվելյան (EdMan) |
Picture: Courtsy Էդուարդ Մանվելյան (EdMan), Vahe Kupelian and the McDonnell Douglas F-4 Phantom II fighter-bomber he helped design.
