The 345th Session of Memory Night-4

Adjusted by Leyla Rostami
Translated by Ruhollah Golmoradi

2023-12-22

The 345th session of memory night was held in Revagh-e Shahadat (portico of martyrdom) (campus of the Artistic Sect of Islamic Republic of Iran) on Thursday, April 27, 2023. In this session, Brigadier Dr. Nasrollah Ezzati, Nezam Ali Salehi, and Second Brigadier General Mohammad Reza Fuladi shared their memories. The narrators told the memories of the first group of Imam Ali Officer’s Academy students sent to the operational areas of Holy Defense in 1980 commanded by Martyr Major General Namjoo. Davood Salehi was presenter of the session. The body of an Assyrian newly-discovered martyr named “Johnny Bet Oshana”, one of the martyrs of Iranian religious minorities, was special guest of this memory night.

The second narrator of the session, second Brigadier General Nezam Ali Salehi, continued his speech and said, “On the eighth day of the war, we were suddenly informed that Iraqi tanks had come to Dej Garrison and exploded the ammunition dump. Martyr Javanshir was a very brave and truly fearless and patriotic officer. He came and said, “I need twenty RPG operators. He pointed at me and said are you ready? I said yes. We were twenty RPG operators who were selected and went out of town in a Toyota. We had taken neither water nor portable transceiver. He said we will move forward in the form of fire and maneuver, as they teach in the officer academy. For example, three people lay down and three fire. They go forward in the same way.

I counted thirty or forty tanks that exploded the ammunition dump with armor-piercing bullets. There was a desert and these rockets would explode. They also hit government-leased houses. I said Captain! This cannot be done now. He said, “No, that's what I'm saying.” We executed the command. My colleague, that is, my assistant, Mr. Moulaei was a very good officer and was from Hamadan. We had some bullets, one side of which was held by him and the other side by me. In short, we went forward. There was a streamlike place where we slept. For a short time, the Iraqis did not shoot at us. They waited for us to go forward and then capture us; But after a while, there was a rain of bullets and we heard zing sound of the bullets. raising our heads meant being pierced.

Radmanesh was one of the students who told me that I am dying of thirst; do you have water? I said, I have, but I can't bring it to you, I throw it away, pick it up. I threw the canteen for him. He took a sip of water and said it was very hot. I said it is what is it; it was Khorrampazan[1] and Khorramshahr was very hot at that time. We were sleeping in the stream when we saw two aircrafts were coming. We didn't know where they were from? Then we realized that they were our own aircrafts! The heroic and brave pilots walled off with the aircraft and bombarded the Iraqi tanks and left. They turned again to the other side, walled off and bombed. All the tanks caught fire and exploded.

Captain Javanshir said, get up and retreat. We wanted to retreat when two Iraqi airlifters moved from above and below to surround and hit us. When they came near us, Martyr Javanshir said, hit them. We shot those two airlifters with RPG and then retreated. We were retreating when Iraq hit in Khamsa Khamsa, which means five by five. The earth was filled with fire, smoke, and dust. Captain Javanshir said, go through the dust. I had laid down. I had a RPG in my hand, I was about to get up, I saw something came in front of us, whistled, and struck my stomach. It was more than two grenades that I got a lot of pain. I turned back and said, Captain Javanshir! I was shot. He said, the guy, you were struck by a mortar! Go and lay down in that hole. If you can, go toward the city. We were told in the officer academy that save yourself when your body is warm. I was running in a zigzag pattern towards the city when I heard the voice Javanshir. I came back and saw that he was also shot with caliber 50 and his intestines were torn out. In the same situation, he said go and bring forces and don't let these unmanly come into our country.

In short, I went; But when I was near the road, I was depleted. Another bullet hit me from behind, but it didn't have much effect. There was someone named Ali Mehrabi, who later became the deputy operation intelligence officer of the ground force. I said Mehrabi! I was shot again. He said, hey guys, you are like a sack of straw, you were hit by everything and always say I was shot. I laughed. Committee members took me to Mossadegh Hospital and I had an operation there. I revived in the middle of the operation, but I could not move. For a moment, I thought I was going to leave this earth; I mean, I saw life and death at that time, but I fainted again. I regained consciousness in the evening.

Our commander Mr. Kheirkhahan came and said Mr. Salehi! Out of the twenty people who went, eight died a martyr and the rest were injured, and we are constantly involved there. The Iraqis bombed the hospital at night. All the doctors had taken refuge.  It was 12 o'clock at night, I have a serum in one hand and a serum in the other along with thirty stitches on my stomach. They had sent a truck and said we want to take those who are alive to Darkhovein. They took us to Darkhovein, then Ahvaz and then to Tehran. I was in hospital 502 when my mother came to the hospital. As soon as she stood beside my bed, the alarm sounded. My mother asked what is it?! They said it might be bombarding. I said, pull the sheets quickly, pull the sheets! Not being bothered by bomb. After that we laughed a lot. I said to my mother, you thought bombs or rockets don't pass through the sheets!

Continuing his memories, the narrator said: Three hundred devotees of Mr. Khalkhali were present in Khorramshahr as Basij members and they really sacrificed. Navy rangers, or Green Berets, were also present and I saw a ranger who had lost one of his legs but was still shooting.

To be continued...