Naval Commandos in Khurramshahr: Unheard Stories
Soureh Mehr Publications has published "Naval Commandos in Khurramshahr", the first work published by a naval commando of the first Iranian division to withstand Iraq's assaults on the city of Khurramshahr before its capture in 1980. The stories were never published before.
Captain Houshang Samadi, commander of a 600-strong division during the Sacred Defense who resisted wholeheartedly the Iraqi forces in a 34-day siege to save the strategic city of Khurramshahr, has told the stories. Of the 600 commandos in the division only 270 ones survived after the siege.
A few hours after Iraq attacked Iran in 1980, a division of commandos led by Captain Samadi was deployed to Abadan and then to Khurramshahr from their base in Bushehr to resist the enemy. They withstood Iraqi assaults 34 days before the city was captured by Iraqis.
The 300-page book reflects the memories of the comrades during the 34 resistance told by Captain Samadi and has recently been published by Soureh Mehr Publications.
This is the first time in the past three decades that Samadi has told the stories of the resistance within 45 hours of interviews with Ghasem Yahusseini.
The stories cover Samadi's memories of the beginning days of the Iraq-imposed war on Iran through his retirement as a naval commander.
The book's better part is dedicated to Samadi's recollections of the painful fall of the city in the hands of Iraqi forces. During the 34-day resistance, Samadi was injured 6 times but never retreated. He had a diary in which he recorded his every-day memories precisely. He also wrote the memories of his comrades.
Translated by: Abbas Hajihashemi
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