341st Session of Night of Memory-2

The Greathearted

Adjusted by: Leyla Rostami
Translated by: Fazel Shirzad

2023-7-28

Note: The 341st Session of Night of Memory, titled “Daryadelan (The Greathearted)” and narrated by the honored warriors, veterans, and released prisoners of the Islamic Republic of Iran Navy was held in Hozeh Honari’s Sooreh Hall on Thursday, November 24, 2022. In this session, pilot, rear admiral Karamat Shafieifard and Mr. Farnoosh Seifollahifard shared their memories. Akbar Eini and Mohammad Ghasemipour hosted this night of memory.

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The second narrator of the program was Mr. Farnoosh Saifullahifard, born in 1949 in Astara, who spoke about his memories. He said: After the revolution, I first spent seven years in the Program and Budget Organization, the course of planning management under the supervision of the professors of this field. Then, in 1982-83, I served in the Housing Foundation and after six months, when I found that I did not have the morality, ability, spirit and resilience to hand over the land, I asked the authorities for permission and returned to the Program and Budget Organization. After 10 days, they ordered you to go to the Immigrants of Imposed War Foundation. I accepted in a state of shock! I said: What should I do there?! What is responsibility and work? They said you will learn. I asked them to send me to the technical parts to complete the work. I thought I could sit at a desk and talk in the framework of the office.

The narrator continued: On the second day, I saw that the movement was towards the war zones of Abadan and Khorramshahr. I consulted with two or three friends and went to Ayatollah Khansari in the Sahibul-Zaman Mosque and asked them to do istikhara and guide me. Since that day, I have not been home for)  to consult a book( a year. Saeed Khushdel Nikkho was my colleague in the program and budget organization, when we met in the midst of the Khorramshahr war, and the Iraqis took him in front of my eyes and killed him. Since then, I felt like Dean. Let's accept that feeling no longer has a role at this time; as if you looks for the assignment, and I also looked for it.

From Bahmanshir, we carried out the evacuation of our dear and great War victims and transferred them to other cities; but I got stuck somewhere and that was Mard Bridge. There was no mention of men and we hardly transported families and only women and children. We had about six jeep stations with supplies; what can I say about food, it was limited to bread and such things. I was really desperate at the Mard Bridge. God! We don't have water, guys!

On that path, a young man with a small stature and small face was walking with his troops. They said that this is the commander of the army and he came from Kerman with his forces. I said boldly and without asking his name: Do you want to give us water? He said: I have two hundred and fifty thermoses for my army, how much do you want? I said: All these women and children. He said: Well, one hundred for me, one hundred and fifty for yours. It's like they gave us the world. At that time, I knew him as a person who came from Kerman, and later I found out that this young man is the martyred General Qassem Soleimani.

The burden of supplies, especially water, food and clothing, was rampant, so that we could quickly pass these war victims to the cities of Aligoderz, Azna, Shiraz and Isfahan. We got into a lot of trouble on the way, but we were preparing to go to Khorramshahr. In Khorramshahr, the clashes continued violently. Thirty-four unique rangers killed forty people each! You won't believe it! It means people who left everything and came to defend themselves. I didn't have a gun, but I was looking for something to do.

I remember that martyr Mohammad Jahanara and his commander and successor Abdolreza Mousavi kept saying to me: What are you running for?! I said: I was left wondering what to do for these people. We went to Shif neighborhood. there was a smooth road; Of course, it was difficult for me to return. I saw that the ranger's stomach was opened and it came out bloody and dirty. I couldn't do anything. Two marine rangers said to me: Give me the cloth, I said, Dad! close his stomach, he will get tetanus and die. They said: Just tie it well. I close his stomach. Who is telling me this now?! Amir Habibullah Sayari, who later became the commander of the Iranian Navy. I didn't know it, he was a young man, he was passionate [1].

Mr. Mir Emaduddin Fayazi wrote the book " Khorramshahr  Rangers". I am very happy that someone has written these memories. The elite riflemen, whose leader was the 1st ranger captain Hoshang Samadi Kalkhoran, whom I praised. I was step by step in every part of the siege of Abadan and saw the area closely. I only did the things that were in my power and that allowed me to do. I didn't have a gun, they gave me an M1 gun that jammed twice and I couldn't shoot; I saw that I could do nothing.

Narrator went on to say: I would like to name the four sisters who were captured in Abadan; Mrs. Fatemeh Nahidi, Mrs. Shamsi Bahrami, Halima Azmoudeh, and Mrs. Masoume Abad's work, whose book "I'm Alive" is famous, and we are proud of these people.

Continuing his memories of Kurdistan, the narrator also said: We were ordered to cover the Kurdistan side and not allow them to come down from the heights. With twenty-two mules and twelve riding machines, we took flour, clothes, cloth and any facilities you can think of. The driver and I went the wrong way. On the way to the village of Shamshir Paveh, we saw my God! Basiji children were slaughtered with stones and thirteen people were beheaded. The driver said jocosely to me: you brought me here to be a martyr, then you go and take my wife? Now, with my hands and feet tied, I said, God, what is this saying! where am I?! They caught us and released us after three months and three days. Then I used to say this sentence to Haj Hossein Lashkari: What do you say at the age of eighteen! I was three months and three days... - I said in a tense state - Hossein, may God have mercy on him, laughed and said: You are right! I said: Hossein, they beat me a lot. I used to tell Hossein about my flocks, but Hossein flew away and left, and we still stayed.

Mr. Farnoosh Saifullahi answered the host who asked him to tell the story of his name and said: My father was a doctor and they were friends with Dr. Samii. It was decided that my father would name his son, and he would name me. They named me Farnoosh. They said he was an Achaemenes doctor and my father wished that when I got my diploma, I would go to Lebanon and study medicine there. My father died when I was twelve or thirteen. I stayed and a thousand and one dreams to become a doctor.

Narrator continued: Sometimes my first name causes me problems. Most of them consider Farnoosh as a lady and I used to face problems even when I was sent to the fronts. For example, I had to go to Germany to take a special course. I went to the officials' gate because of the security issues. I said: "It is written on my ticket, ma'am." I stayed there for three days until they went again and bought me a ticket, then I went to Germany. That is, this kind of situation happened.

He mentioned again the memory of one hundred and fifty Qomqamah from martyr Qassem Soleimani and said: I did not see martyr Soleimani again until one day we were sitting with Mr. Lashkari for Bandar Abbas flight to Tehran. In most of the flights, I was in the service of martyr Hossein Lashkari, Amir Shafii was also there. I saw General Soleimani come inside. I immediately stood up and offered my respects. They immediately hugged and kissed Hossein, I said: Sir, excuse me! Like we took ten or fifteen thermoses from you. He said: There were not ten or fifteen, there were one hundred and fifty! I said to them, can I do something now that you are on the flight? Mr. Lashkari said: Write one of those writings for him. I had gilded paper with me. I wrote Hafez's poem for them and presented it to them:

Let's be faithful and blameful and be happy

In our religion, it is a disbelief to be offended

He said: Are you a calligrapher? I said: No, believe me, no. I had a good teacher. At that time, he made me write in the early years of school. That night I wrote the same poem for martyr Soleimani. He took it, said: Hossein, sign it. I said: Excuse me! I wrote! He said: I don't care if you write or not, I have work with Hossein. He was a noble man. He promised us to be with him on the next trip, but the circumstances were different. During the time of Dr. Sheikh al-Islam, who was the ambassador, I went to Lebanon five times on a mission. They had ordered me to go to Beqaa. Due to circumstances, I came back after a while and told Hossein [Lashkari] that time was short, but it was very rich.

The narrator said to the youth: Think about the beautiful facts of the blessed name of martyrs. Who are these martyrs? They understood the Qur'an and loved the Messenger of Allah. I don't forget that I was almost martyred in Fakeh. We had gone the wrong way. Immediately a young man came, I said: Sir, I lost my way, I have to go back to Khorramshahr. He said: Do you even know where this is? I said: No, by God, I don't know anything. He said: In two hours, there will be a maximum rain of bullets, cannons, tanks and airplanes. I said: What are you doing here? He said: We are collecting mines. We open a way, we make a passage. I said: How should we go? He said: If you go in reverse gear, you are alive, but if you go around with a car, you will hit a mine. His soul is happy, the name of this young man was Hassan Najimi. He came from around Isfahan and I am always indebted to him. It helped not only me but many people. I saw him take off his clothes and shoes, I said: What are you doing, boy? He said: You go, I will do my work with my friend. Ten minutes later, these went on the air. The path was such that they could not do anything. They flew with mines. These guys definitely know the ways better than I do. Our generation is the generation of Qassim and the generation of dynamics. Get good books and put them in schools, universities and other places, or you want to sell them or you want them to read them there. I sent 600 volumes of books about martyr Bronsi to Sweden. May the supreme leader's life and honor be stable, he will insure and vaccinate us against the invading and foreign culture. God willing, our youth will also read books.

The End