Remembering the tireless general of war documents

The life of “Ahmad Sowdagar” as narrated by wife

Maryam Asadi Jafari
Translated by M. B. Khoshnevisan

2018-2-21

Personalities like “Sowdagars” are not repeatable. The more we distance from their absence, the more we miss them. I first saw him in the Research Centre for Sacred Defence Science and Education. He had a southern accent but did not look the people of that area. After the press conference, he answered the reporters’ questions with patience and eagerness. This news connection with Brigadier General Ahmad Sowdagar continued for over five years. He had many dreams and goals for organizing war documents; the war to which he had devoted his youth. The late Brigadier General Ahmad Sowdagar was a commander and designer of military operation during the Sacred Defence who after the termination of the eight-year Iraqi imposed war against Iran moved toward research and beside military positions, founded the Research Centre for Sacred Defence Science and Education. Compilation and publication of “Sacred Defence Encyclopaedia”, creating connection between Sacred Defence and universities and the endorsement of a two-course lesson of “Becoming Familiar with Sacred Defence Principles” were among the most prominent measures of this great general. He could change the viewpoint of the universities regarding the Sacred Defence and for this reason, defending the theses related to this area was boosted. He also endorsed two-course professional lessons of Sacred Defence in four fields of “Art”, “Literature”, “Engineering” and “Geography” some two months before his martyrdom.

The news of the martyrdom of General Ahmad Sowdagar on 10^th of February 2012 shocked everyone. His body was buried in Dezful’s Martyrs Cemetery on 13^th of February. On the occasion of the sixth martyrdom anniversary of Brigadier General Ahmad Sowdagar, the website of Iranian Oral History has conducted an interview with his wife “Khadijeh Sandough Saz” which is as follows:

*Mrs. Sandough Saz, tell us how you became familiar and married general Sowdagar.

*I and Haj Ahmad were both born in the town of Dezful and stayed in Dezful during the whole period of war even during missile bombardment except the times the missile bombardment was increased and we moved to Dezful suburbs. Haj Ahmad’s proposal ceremony was completely traditional and at that time, I was 17 and a student. The first proposal ceremony was done by his mother and aunt in 1983. Dezful was a small town. All had relations with each other in one way or another. For instance, my uncle was a comrade with Haj Ahmad and my brother was in the war fronts at the same time. Our house with Haj Ahmad’s was a street away and we were neighbours. They had obtained our address for the neighbours and relatives. At the time of matchmaking, he was busy with an operation and had told her mother to go for proposal ceremony until the operation ended and he himself came back. His mother came to our house for the second time and spoke about why he was absent how was disabled. Apparently, he had lost his right leg to a landmine in 1982 during a reconnaissance operation. Some seven months had passed since his mother had returned. It was evening and in late winter of March 1983 when the door bell was rung. My uncle and Haj Ahmad had come back from the front. My brother Nasser had also returned a little earlier. My uncle was also informed of the proposal marriage of Haj Ahmad's mother. Hajj Ahmad had told my brother that he had come to remove his artificial leg so that I made sure whether he had the ability to live with her. My brother told me his intention. I said that if he was going to do this, return to home right now since we were living at war time and all of us knew that living with a disabled person had many difficulties. Finally, Haj Ahmad did not remove his artificial leg and was with us for one hour. The first time I entered the room, I took notice of his pleasing and cordial face. I sat down in the room just for a few minutes and left the room without saying anything. When Haj Ahmad had come back to his house, had told her mother that he had visited us. Haj Ahmad's behavior was such that when you first saw him, it was as if you knew him for a long time. He was so delightful. He was very good-tempered and cheerful.

*You mean that you did not talk with each other at all in the proposal ceremony?

*Those who went to war, did not have enough time to spend with their families. Haj Ahamd had come from the south to go to Kurdistan. Thus, we did not have enough time to speak with each other; just a few hours before wedding, he came with my uncle and we talked to each other. We married two or three months later. Originally, we were supposed to hold marriage ceremony with Mahmoud Sowdagar, Haj Ahmad's brother concurrently, but in 1983 one week before marriage, when we were preparing the wedding's provisions, a problem happened to Haj Ahmad's severed leg and the marriage ceremony was postponed for two weeks. When I was informed that Haj Ahmad had been transferred to the hospital, I and my mother went to see him. I saw him in the operation room, I prepared myself for his martyrdom. On those days, I also waited for him to be injured and martyred. I felt that my responsibility had started from the age of 17 and God wanted to make me understand that I had to be ready from now.

*What happened after the operation?

*When he came out of the operation room and I looked at him, he looked as if he had not had a surgery operation. He was so active and cheerful who gave everyone energy. Since the preparations we had arranged for the wedding and the guests we had invited, it was not possible to change the time of the marriage ceremony of my husband's brother and it was held on time. Haj Ahmad took a leave of absence from the hospital for one hour in order to take part in the ceremony. Two weeks after Haj Ahmad was released from the hospital, our marriage ceremony was also held very simply and with low number.

* What were the demands and criteria of general Sowdagar about you as a wife?

*Firstly, he invited me to Velayat-e Faqih or guardianship of the jurist and then to patience and tolerance. He always said that everyone should take part in the funeral procession of the martyrs. When I had two children, I hugged one of them and the other one was brought with my husband's mother we took part in the funeral procession of the martyrs.

*The martyrdom of general Sowdagar was shocking for all of us, because he looked quite healthy.

* Nobody believed the general's martyrdom even his children. He worked very hard. He went to the Research Centre for Sacred Defence Science and Education almost at six AM and worked until late night. Despite his tiredness and pains resulted from heart problems and deterioration of his leg, it was very difficult for him to sleep. In the morning, he removed his leg's infection without letting the children understand. It happened very less that the children saw this moment. He felt pain at nights but everyone who saw his morning, said that he was quite fine.  He totally slept three hours in a day if he felt pain he did not even sleep the same three hours. He went to work in the morning with full energy. Even the neighbours who saw him sometimes did not believe that he was disabled. He did line to be nursed by someone.   

*I know that recalling these memoirs are very bitter and hard, but tell us about the last days of the general.

* The last days were unbelievable. 20 days before his martyrdom, He had gone to Behesht Zahra Cemetery for the funeral ceremony of martyr Ahamd Sayaf Zadeh. Whatever I waited for him, he did not come back. I called him and said, "Haj Agha, why are you so late?" He said, "I am in the mausoleum of Imam (Khomeini)." He had sat down in the mausoleum for almost six hours. When he came back, he was in another mood. He was supposed to travel to Mazandaran Province for the affairs of the research center. I asked him to lessen his work a little and spend more times with the children and family. In response he said that he would make himself retired after returning from Mazandaran. However, I found out later that he did not had such an intention and had gone to Mazandaran to promote the lesson of becoming familiar with the Scared Defense principles in foreign countries. I was supposed to accompany him in traveling to Mazandaran, but his relatives came to Tehran and I had to serve the guests. He called me every other one hour in a way that I had been surprised. He called not only me but all of his friends. It seemed that he had felt something. He sent a message from Mazandaran, "I love God and for this I will leave you to God." I had read all of the messages except this one. I saw this message on the third day of his martyrdom. We were all upset. The phone rang and for a moment, this message came in front of my eyes. The children said, "Mum, did not you see this message at all?" I said, "No. I did not see this one. God wanted me to forget it so far."