The 332nd Night of Memory- 2

Compiled by: Sepideh Kholousian
Translated by: Fazel Shirzad

2022-2-22

Note: The 332nd Night of memory was held on Thursday, January 27, 2022, in the presence of the defense staff of the Air Force of the Islamic Republic of Iran in the Soureh Hall of the Arts Center, by Davood Salehi. In this ceremony, Brigadier General Ibrahim Merati, Colonel Khosrow Khatib Ghavami, and Colonel Seyed Ahmad Kia narrated their memories.

The second narrator of the program was Colonel Khosrow Khatib Ghavami, born in the February of 1955 in Ariana neighborhood (the intersection of Jeyhun Street and Malek Ashtar Street). While introducing him, the presenter said: "he remembers two events well as a child: the flood of the year 1964 and the demonstration of Tehran's people in the same year. He recalls images of tanks were coming down from Jey barracks into Tehran; because their house was next to the barracks. In December 1974, he joined the army with the specialization of air defense and spent a total of 2903 hours of specialized ground-to-air courses. During the revolution, he and a group of air defense forces, like other soldiers, joined the people and, satisfied with this event, helped the revolution during this period, and they and their comrades participated in the war and made a pride."

Colonel Khatib Ghavami, the second narrator of the program, after congratulating the birth of the Lady of Islam and congratulating the mothers of the community, began his memories as follows: Proudly, as a defender who has passed eight years of sacred defense and got help from God to attend on the front, I'm here and I attempt to relate the issue of sacred defense to the family. This is because if there were not the support, encouragement, and motivation from our families, we would not have been able to end the war with victory. This is not a slogan, and we have touched on the fact that when a mother stands aside and you go on a mission, she will be both happy and sad. He will be happy because his son is doing a national duty and sad because he does not know what will happen for him that he is leaving.

It was the support of families that gave us the spiritual strength to be able to go for 45 or 50 days to places like the top of Mount Shahan, the top of Mount Dalahu, etc. to raise some devices that we wanted to be prepared and installed for Operation Valfajr 3 and 4. This was very difficult.

In the preliminary Valfajr operation, we expanded a site in the Fakkeh area with the Bushehr group and the Dezful group. My specialty was the HAWK missile, and I trained in the United States. My main specialty is the T.G.O. HAWK Missile Operations Officer. It was a very, very dangerous place. If you look at the map of Faw and Fakkeh on the map of Iran, you will see a ridge in the west of the country that is inclined to the south, which is almost outside the territory of Iran. Both sides of the area were occupied by the Iraqis, who hit us very easily with their cannons. The location of our site was also where we were being attacked from all sides and we were heavily bombarded by artillery. To be able to defend and secure the surface forces that took part in the Dawn Preliminary Operation and to secure their skies, we had stationed this site there, and this site was named "the site of the Amir al-Mo'menin". We got busy and the site became operational; But almost every day from 5 pm to about 5:20 pm when it was getting dark in the winter, we were under a storm, and except for those who went to the operating room to guard and control the site, the rest stayed in the bulwark. One day we wanted to make mischief. There was a highway called Haj Ahmad Motusalian next to our site. Khuzestan and Azerbaijan were also on the road due to the construction of jihad. I said to some friends:" let's go back to jihad now that we are not in shift; At least today when we are comfortable, we can go to their bulwarks and get rid of the artillery. Due to the lack of prevention of sands of a storm, Down Preliminary also has problems. In short, we moved and left the site. By five minutes to five o'clock p.m., we were about twenty or thirty steps from the site when the artillery began to strike. We were taught that if you hear the whistle of the ball, it means that it has passed you and you are comfortable that it does not matter; but if you do not hear, lie down on the ground for the first blow from the artillery. At that moment, a whistle raised. I went back to the site and saw that the site was not in good condition and because the dust was rising, the devices seemed to be shaking. On the one hand, we were upset that the devices were being injured, because HAWK site was the only one where the supporter supported the surface forces in the sky that secured the sky. on the other hand, I was afraid that if we went there, the same thing would happen to us, I mean we may be fired. So we waited to see what happened. At the suggestion of two comrades, we decided to go in the same direction. There was also one of the artillery of the Army of the Islamic Republic of Iran and the commander of that artillery was Mr. Sharifi Nami. We contacted him and told him to go there. As soon as we said goodbye, two or three balls fell near us and we lay on the sand and gravel as we had learned. As I laid myself on the sand, I felt that something fell on near me in sands. Next to me, there was Mr. Kashefi, who was taller than me. When I raised my head, I said: "Do not raise your head." It is as if the enemy saw us and was beating us. We were there for about ten to fifteen minutes when I heard people say from behind: "Do not get up, we were in an inappropriate situation." Another comrade from the site came out of the site to reach out to us and tell us not to return to the site until the artillery fires were over. I got up to take a look, but I could not see. It took until the shelling ended and the ground forces started firing. When the artillery of the ground forces fired, they cut off, and the same artillery fire of the ground forces caused the enemy artillery to be cut off towards Iran and the site of the Fakkeh region; we got up. I was not at all aware of the something he had fallen on the ground. We went to the site to help the comrades. Less than ten steps ahead, I turned to see what that thing was, I saw a hole the size of a coin on the floor. I pushed aside twenty to thirty inches of sand and see a tall quiver. It was a rectangular but shiny quiver. It was made of steel and its sides were cut. When I put my hand forward, I saw that even after twelve minutes, the quiver was still hot. I picked up the quiver and took it up and went to the site. On the site, we saw that, fortunately, nothing has happened to the devices during all the time that the artillery fired. Masjed Soleymanۥs Air Force was about one hundred or one hundred and fifty meters away from us, and helicopter pads for the helicopter forces were stationed there. The air force was fired and two of the Air Force's helicopters were wrecked, but despite the congestion of the equipment we had, including our power radar, which is a radar that locks on to the target, nothing happened and only two soldiers were injured who were being transported. Among the other devices, only the generators and our devices were turned off due to the explosion, and the comrades were all trying to turn them on after the artillery fire. We also helped and turned on the devices. At six o'clock in the evening of the same day, one of our comrades, who was from Kerman, was able to fire one of the targets. Because it was dark and they usually did not come at night, he destroyed one of the targets that night and made a pride. Since we came from Bushehr, someone had reported the news to Bushehr out of emotion. The news was sent to Bushehr by line-by-line communication, and the head of operations of the Bushehr group, Major Nabyee in our neighborhood, is informed, and since he was the head of operations, he was told that the Fakkeh site, where the forces of Bushehr are, has been fired. He also goes to our house so that they do not give bad news to our family at one time and thinks that they have given the news to my family. So he says to my wife:" I have come to visit you and tell you if you have been informed that something has happened to the site of the Amir al-Mo'menin in Fakkeh, do not worry. Nothing and everyone is healthy." My daughter also reacted: "What happened to my father? Injured? Martyr? Mr. Nabyee replied: "believe me, don't worry, nothing happened!" As they could not bear it, he took them home and contacted internal telephone of the office with his phone." It was difficult that the internal telephone of Bushehr Sixth Air Base wants to contact a site that has a tactical connection in the Fakkeh operational area. This is very troublesome and the forces of the communication unit know it. Finally, they contacted hardly and told us that you have a phone from Bushehr. We went to the room the operating room and saw that Mr. Nabyee attended there and we contacted Dezful radar. I said: "We are all good and we have even fired all targets. he said: "So, if possible, talk to your wife." When my wife picked up the phone, she wanted to cry but did not. I called out to her for a few seconds: Madam, nothing had happened to me, I insisted her speak and to be happy; finally, she speak and say something. This time I heard my daughter saying: "Dad, how are you?" I said: "nice, my dear. Do not worry Sahar!" she said: "daddy, our neighbor said that something had happened." I said: "nothing, baby. Don't you know daddy's voice? I'm talking to you; so, nothing happened, I am alive!" She gave the phone to Haj Khanum. I said to her: "Not only I am good, but the rest is also good too." She said:" Thank God and do not worry about us. When does your mission end?" I said: "ten days after." she said: "You wanted to stay longer and do not worry. So what about those who martyred? We were a little worried at first, but now we are not worried at all and we heard your voice. Go and continue your mission, God will help you." It was a fact that there was psychological support for the families without complaint; a woman in a strange area in Bushehr base, with two small children, caught up in support and school and shopping, etc., but they stood behind us and we were able to be present on the fronts with strength. Those like martyr Ali Mardani Khameneh, martyr Dastnbo, martyr Sattari, martyr Qasem Hamid, who was the first martyr of air defense who was martyred in Dezful on December 23^th of1980, and other martyrs also gave us the strength of heart, and still today, thanks to Forces of Air Defense continues on the way, strongly and powerfully. We were not even given a radar lamp so that we could turn on our radar to find target and fire, but today I want to say that in honor of today and yesterday the air defense that we stood and protected the Iranian sky; I want to claim that in honor of those martyrs, We are the sixth radar power in the world. Be sure that the Iranian sky is safe!"