 He was a witness to revolution in Iran, an Armenian militiaman in Beirut, a guerrilla fighter in Southern Lebanon, and finally, a commander of 4,000 fighters and thirty tanks in Karabagh.He died in battle on June 12, 1993, and has since been designated a national hero of Armenia.The book was written by Monte Melkonian's elder sibling with the help of his widow, Seta, and covers his journey from the classrooms of California to the rubbles of Beirut, the Iranian revolution, ASALA, and the struggle for the mountains of Nagorno-Karabakh.