Mohammad Reza Jafari said about Holly Defense in the Farvardin months

Different reception in the war area

Interviewer: Mehdi Khanbanpoor
Translated by Fazel Shirzad

2016-4-17

Mohammad Reza Jafari was diver, destructive battalion commander and custodian of destruction center during the Iraqi imposed war against Iran, and now he is a Holly Defense veteran. So you will read his memories of those days.

Farvardin 1362 (April 1983)

I was not seventeen years old yet when I went to war frontage of Iraqi imposed war against Iran. I was born in 1345(1966). I went to frontage at the end of 1362 and I came back by the end of 1366. At this time I was 21 years old and as a coach of destruction.  However, I was not at the frontage of war on a regular plan, sometimes injured, sometimes involved in examinations. But, totally I attended in frontage of war from 1361 to 1366 (1982-1987), and I was lucky that I was there for three Nowruz (beginning of New Year).

I attended in frontage of war at the time of Operation Valfajar that was occurred in Farvardin 1362. Because of the presence the entire troops and Muhammad Rasulullah (prayer of God be upon him) Army 27 in Operation Valfajar, there was no mood of Nowruz. Unfortunately, some of militants were martyred in the Operation.

After the Operation when we returned to the Do Kuheh Camp, speakers and projectors of the Camp were turned on, and Mr. Ahangaran came into “Morning Field” and performed a song and elevated the soldiers. I heard later, it was second song of him that was showing on broadcast lively. The first song has been performed lively on Muharram operations, and he performed another song in Camp of Do Kuheh and soldiers were impressed by the voice of Ahangaran, and they cried loudly for martyred friends. The song was: “Oh you that came back from travel! Where are our martyred friends? Where are our martyred friends...?” One of the martyrs of Operation was Shahid Saeid Mahdavi who was one of the successors for battalion in the Army 27 of Mohammad Rasulullah. When the soldiers returned back, he came back to gather the soldier troops, and then he martyred in prostrated position of prayer. Another friend was Mehdi Nazari who martyred by strike shrapnel to his forehead in Operation Valfajar 1. He used to prostrate God in his prayer for long time. Imam Khomeini has a statement that: "the martyr is intended to Vajeh Allāh” We were removed the martyr title of this statement and said to Mehdi Nazari jokingly: “Nazari is intended to Vajeh Allāh." 

• The penalty for filching

In March 1987, we were drafted as soldiers to Faw area for following Operation Valfajar 8. Some of my friends and I participated in the funeral of martyr friends a few days before the New Year and we were in tent (shelter) of martyr “Nabati” at the beginning of New year. There were a few blankets. I said to martyr Nabati: “we need blankets to sit in the tent”. Then we referred to Haj Aqa “Abbasi”, who was in responsible for supplies and was a serious and strict person, for preparing blankets. He responded: “The numbers of blankets are limited and we cannot give blankets more”. But we knew that plenty of blankets are available in storage. In fact, the storage was a place for required items of soldiers. My martyred friend “Tohid Mollazami” and I went there to bring blankets from storage. We named it “filching”. We arrived to the storage and faced to a big iron door and there was a big vent hole in top of it. I passed through the door easily; we went inside of storage by help of martyr Mollazami. It was very dark. We thought every time that we would face to mouse. We have previously seen where the blankets are, and we were sure about where the blankets are. I threw out 27 blankets outside; I touched two bags in the dark. I was surprised that what things would be there besides blankets! There were some bags of dried figs and apricots. We mixed the two bags in one bag and I said to my friend; “take it!”

We carried them toward the tent. It was New Year of 1365 S.H (March 1986), and other friends came from in our tent to visit us, and I have promised my friends to make a different our tent with other tents. I can’t remember whether or not I ordered the haft-seen (seven item) on tablecloth, but the war haft-seen was different. It consisted of clipper, barbed wire, trap wire and …our haft-seen was kind of distractive battalion one.

• Whoever came there, we would give him dried figs and apricots besides Anemone.

We have already put the apricots into the Limon juice and sugar, so they got pleasant taste and smell. Shahid Zainal al-Husseini, the battalion commander, who was fearless, brave and patient, he asked after visiting and going out of the tent: “from where did you bring dried figs and apricots? Shahid Nabati said: “are these robbed property?” Shahid Zainal al-Husseini asked wonderingly:  “from where?” we said the address of the storage. He got mad and said: “Call the Abasi, custodians of storage now! Shahid Zainal al-Husseini asked Abasi: “do you have dried figs and apricots?” Abasi show himself ignorant of this issue at first, but he said then: “yes” Shahid Zainal al-Husseini forced Abasi to bring all dried figs and apricots of the storage for Hussainia, then  he looked Shahid Tohid Mollazami and me, and said: “the penalty for your filching is that you should put the dried figs and apricots into water and salt to get pleasant taste and smell and distribute them among fighters when they are performing the night (Isha) and evening  (maghrib) prayer.   

Usually, fighters gathered in the Hosseinieh (a congregation hall for Shia)to listen the massage of Imam Khomeini for the beginning of New Year, and another massage that it was important for us to listen, was massage of the Supreme Leader of Iran who was a president at that time.