Aram Karamanokian, one of the Armenian founders of the Syrian Army in 1946

Aram Karamanokian (1910-1996) joined the French-created Army of the Levant during the years of the Mandate. In 1948, he was appointed Commander of Missile Command by President Shukri al-Quwatli and served in this capacity during the Palestine War. He was retired from the Army in 1957 and became an MP for Aleppo in 1961. He died in New York at the age of 86 in 1996. In his will, he asked that his remains are divided between Armenia and Aleppo. Karamanokian was the first Armenian officer to assume a commanding role in the Syrian Army in the 1940s.