Vernon High School tradition brings back genocide speaker

VERNON — Phil Tintle once again treated his students to a visit from Sam Azadian to tell the personal story of the 1915 Armenian genocide. Now in his 80s, Azadian has been a regular visitor to Tintle’s “Issues of Conscience” class at Vernon Township High School for several years and makes history come to life. Co-founder and chairman of the Times Square Armenian Genocide Commemoration, Azadian grew up with a father, mother and sister who escaped and survived what is dubbed “the 20th century’s first genocide.” In the Spring of 1915, the Turkish government ordered the systematic deportation of the Armenian people. Village by village and town by town, men, women and children were taken away and murdered. An entire nation was destroyed and the Armenian people were effectively eliminated from their homeland of nearly 3,000 years. The genocide was from 1915 to 1923. Over a million people died in 1915 alone. To this day, the Turkish government claims the people were “casualties of war,” blaming World War I on causing the deaths. Azadian was invited by Tintle to speak to his class, which covers the topic of genocide throughout history. As a result of his commitment to his family history and Armenia, Azadian has been named Man-of-the-Year by both the Knights of Vartan and the Armenian General Athletic Union.