That Strange Night
(Lieutenant Ali Rahimian)
He went into the operation building while his face was happy and bright so early in the morning. When I met him he ordered me to take all the unattended letters to him. He himself had opened the safe and had put all the important letters on the table and was checking them.
I sensed that he was going to start a long mission when I saw that he was doing the undone jobs so hastily.
I saw he was busy cleaning the table drawers and. He was making sure not to have omitted anything and not to have left any job incomplete. I
went ahead and said, "Excuse me! General! If you need any help tell me to do it." While he was reading a letter, he moved his head to show me that he didn't need my help.
I left the room. But that day seemed so odd to me. He had reduced the number of personnel visits he usually had with other personnel and he didn't agree to meet others frequently. Sometimes I entered his room pretending to take letters or
something in the room. I saw that his eyes were wet. I would leave the room and started to ponder over it.
I was sitting in my office before the sunset when suddenly the door opened and General Ardestani came in while he looked sad. I stood up immediately and waited for him to give his orders. But he said nothing and went away. He sat in the corner of the room, right in front of Martyr Babaee's picture, which had been put on the wall.
He was staring at the celestial face of that martyr and he murmured silently. "Abbass! You went away and left me alone. I am trapped in this strangulating world and I was staring at him and I was feeling sorry because of his mood. Suddenly he began to murmur loudly and said, "My friends went away one by one. God! When will it be my turn." I went ahead and I tried to pacify him a little then I said, "General! Why are you so heavy- hearted? You are tired , please rest for a while. He kept silent and continued to look at Martyr Babaee's picture, I added, "You look so different these days. To tell you the truth, we are having a hard time. Please tell me what the matter is. Maybe we can help you." He smiled for a short time and touched my shoulder and said "Nothing! I don't have any problems. I only know that I have a different mood these days. I remember Abbass and other friends so frequently." He said goodbye and moved towards his home. I was so worried that night and I was busy thinking about the behavior and deeds of the General. It was late at night when I fell asleep. I began to dream an air maneuver is being performed. Lots of pilots have gathered in Mehrabad Airport and each one of them went aboard on his plane and they are moving towards
the runway. But no information is available about Martyr Ardestani. I tolerated for some moments and I cast my eyes on every direction for the likelihood of catching sight of him. The General and a holy Sayed are moving shoulder to shoulder towards an airplane which had two cockpits when I looked carefully I saw that
General Ardestani and holy Sayed went aboard on the plane together.
Their plane was different from that of the others, the maneuver had already begun and each one of them was showing off in the sky. I followed General Ardestani's plane, which was distinguished from the others and it was outstanding among the other planes. Suddenly it separated from the other planes and moved towards the sky. It continued flying vertically up to the time when it disappeared.
I woke up early in the morning. Remembering the dream I had had the night before made me shiver. I moved towards the office, while I was feeling worried. Whenever I vitalized the scenes I had dreamt of, I tried to condole myself in a way and I said, "Dreaming is the reflection of daily activities.
I was sitting at my office desk. The noisy commotion inside the corridor and colleagues greeting each other in the morning were indicating the face that the General was coming to the operation building. He came in after some moments and shook hands with me and into his room immediately.
I was looking for a chance to talk with him about last night's dream. I went into his room to relieve myself and to get rid of anxiety and fear. I said, "Excuse me, General! You made us annoyed last night up to such a degree that we didn't sleep for a short time, and I had some disturbing dreams that made me feel annoyed." He answered, "Tell me what kind of dream you have had" I told him whatever I had dream of. He listened carefully.
Then he said, "Rahimian! Don't talk about my dream to anyone! I hope it is a sign of blessing."
I moved the desktop calendar towards myself and turned over one of its pages to start another day of office work. It was 14/10/73, according to the solar calendar. The General began to handle affairs. It looked as if he was cleaning the house.
The phone rang on that day's evening. I took the receiver. It was Martyr Colonel Sharifi, the boss of the office of the Air Force commander. He said "Mr. Rahimian! General Sattary has started that General Ardestani should be informed of the fact that he or the substitute (General Pourali) should attend Mehrabad Airport tomorrow morning at 6,30 (15/10/73).
They are supposed to go to Kish together with General Sattary and a group of the responsible persons." I went to the office, dedicated for the registration of the missions. General Ardestani had ordered us to set up an office, in order to register the missions in it one by one in order to observe the justice about the entrusted missions.
And to be aware of jobs and happening in a way that first he himself went there and the next time his substitute (General Pouali) would go there. I referred to the office on that day and checked the register book.
The deputy of the operations had to be traveling and was not there and the General and I went to a chest-beating place in Ray Street every week (in the months of Rajab and Sha'aban) and we enjoyed the presence of one of the religious authorities. Since I was sure that I would go to that chest-beating place with the General on that night, I decided to retell him the subject of the mission. When we went into the chest-beating place, I said "General! You have to be in Mehrabad Airport tomorrow morning at 6 o'clock.
There was a call from the Air Force commander's office and they said that you are supposed to go to Kish together with some of the other commanders. Meanwhile, I looked at the register book. It is General Pouarli's turn. But you know that he has gone on a trip. Therefore, you have to go there yourself. When he heard this piece of news, he started to think, then he said, "Rahimian you have given us a piece of good news! I don't know why I had an odd feeling. It looked as if someone took off my heart."
He stood up immediately to say his prayers.
We were standing in a row to say our prayers and I was standing next to General Ardestani.
When I glorified God, I felt a person in white was sanding next to me. As I couldn't turn my face while I was saying my prayers, I thought I was hallucinating or I was in a mood which General had talked about before. So I didn't heed and when it was time to bow down. I did it with a little delay in order to be able to see Martyr Ardestani whom I had felt beside me in a white suit some moments ago. Unbelievably, I saw an angel in white, who had spread her wings and had fallen down onto the ground and he said, "Yes,
Yes".
I was taken by fear a moment. My body hair had become stiff and my knees were trembling. I tried hard to cry but it was not possible. It looked as if I had gotten speechless. I continued to pray with difficulty, but I didn't know how I felt.
After prayers, we sat down to listen to a sermon. But I couldn't hear and couldn't talk like deaf and dumb persons.
The sermon finished and we began to move towards home. But I couldn't sleep a night till morning and I was surprised by what I had seen.
On the morning of 15/10/ 73 General Ardestani had gone to Mehrabad Airport earlier than the time when I stepped into the office. General Sattary and his assistants participated in Kish Air Base to finish the council of commanders of the
Air Force of the Islamic Republic of Iran.
When they were returning, they went into Isfahan Air zone to have a short inspection. After doing the inspection, the pilot guided the airplane towards Tehran at 20, 42 on 15/10/73.
The pilot announced to the control tower that he was forced to get back to the airport because the cockpit window had opened. The airplane crashed down while it was turning to get into the position for landing 64 kilometers away from the base on the southern zone.
General Ardestani and some of the other capable commanders of the Air Force were martyred. It looked as if his daily prayers had been accepted and his celestial ghost had joined God's favor. Then I noticed that whatever he had done before martyrdom was an indication of his awareness about Godly trip and we were unable to understand what he had seen….
He went into the operation building while his face was happy and bright so early in the morning. When I met him he ordered me to take all the unattended letters to him. He himself had opened the safe and had put all the important letters on the table and was checking them.
I sensed that he was going to start a long mission when I saw that he was doing the undone jobs so hastily.
I saw he was busy cleaning the table drawers and. He was making sure not to have omitted anything and not to have left any job incomplete. I
went ahead and said, "Excuse me! General! If you need any help tell me to do it." While he was reading a letter, he moved his head to show me that he didn't need my help.
I left the room. But that day seemed so odd to me. He had reduced the number of personnel visits he usually had with other personnel and he didn't agree to meet others frequently. Sometimes I entered his room pretending to take letters or
something in the room. I saw that his eyes were wet. I would leave the room and started to ponder over it.
I was sitting in my office before the sunset when suddenly the door opened and General Ardestani came in while he looked sad. I stood up immediately and waited for him to give his orders. But he said nothing and went away. He sat in the corner of the room, right in front of Martyr Babaee's picture, which had been put on the wall.
He was staring at the celestial face of that martyr and he murmured silently. "Abbass! You went away and left me alone. I am trapped in this strangulating world and I was staring at him and I was feeling sorry because of his mood. Suddenly he began to murmur loudly and said, "My friends went away one by one. God! When will it be my turn." I went ahead and I tried to pacify him a little then I said, "General! Why are you so heavy- hearted? You are tired , please rest for a while. He kept silent and continued to look at Martyr Babaee's picture, I added, "You look so different these days. To tell you the truth, we are having a hard time. Please tell me what the matter is. Maybe we can help you." He smiled for a short time and touched my shoulder and said "Nothing! I don't have any problems. I only know that I have a different mood these days. I remember Abbass and other friends so frequently." He said goodbye and moved towards his home. I was so worried that night and I was busy thinking about the behavior and deeds of the General. It was late at night when I fell asleep. I began to dream an air maneuver is being performed. Lots of pilots have gathered in Mehrabad Airport and each one of them went aboard on his plane and they are moving towards
the runway. But no information is available about Martyr Ardestani. I tolerated for some moments and I cast my eyes on every direction for the likelihood of catching sight of him. The General and a holy Sayed are moving shoulder to shoulder towards an airplane which had two cockpits when I looked carefully I saw that
General Ardestani and holy Sayed went aboard on the plane together.
Their plane was different from that of the others, the maneuver had already begun and each one of them was showing off in the sky. I followed General Ardestani's plane, which was distinguished from the others and it was outstanding among the other planes. Suddenly it separated from the other planes and moved towards the sky. It continued flying vertically up to the time when it disappeared.
I woke up early in the morning. Remembering the dream I had had the night before made me shiver. I moved towards the office, while I was feeling worried. Whenever I vitalized the scenes I had dreamt of, I tried to condole myself in a way and I said, "Dreaming is the reflection of daily activities.
I was sitting at my office desk. The noisy commotion inside the corridor and colleagues greeting each other in the morning were indicating the face that the General was coming to the operation building. He came in after some moments and shook hands with me and into his room immediately.
I was looking for a chance to talk with him about last night's dream. I went into his room to relieve myself and to get rid of anxiety and fear. I said, "Excuse me, General! You made us annoyed last night up to such a degree that we didn't sleep for a short time, and I had some disturbing dreams that made me feel annoyed." He answered, "Tell me what kind of dream you have had" I told him whatever I had dream of. He listened carefully.
Then he said, "Rahimian! Don't talk about my dream to anyone! I hope it is a sign of blessing."
I moved the desktop calendar towards myself and turned over one of its pages to start another day of office work. It was 14/10/73, according to the solar calendar. The General began to handle affairs. It looked as if he was cleaning the house.
The phone rang on that day's evening. I took the receiver. It was Martyr Colonel Sharifi, the boss of the office of the Air Force commander. He said "Mr. Rahimian! General Sattary has started that General Ardestani should be informed of the fact that he or the substitute (General Pourali) should attend Mehrabad Airport tomorrow morning at 6,30 (15/10/73).
They are supposed to go to Kish together with General Sattary and a group of the responsible persons." I went to the office, dedicated for the registration of the missions. General Ardestani had ordered us to set up an office, in order to register the missions in it one by one in order to observe the justice about the entrusted missions.
And to be aware of jobs and happening in a way that first he himself went there and the next time his substitute (General Pouali) would go there. I referred to the office on that day and checked the register book.
The deputy of the operations had to be traveling and was not there and the General and I went to a chest-beating place in Ray Street every week (in the months of Rajab and Sha'aban) and we enjoyed the presence of one of the religious authorities. Since I was sure that I would go to that chest-beating place with the General on that night, I decided to retell him the subject of the mission. When we went into the chest-beating place, I said "General! You have to be in Mehrabad Airport tomorrow morning at 6 o'clock.
There was a call from the Air Force commander's office and they said that you are supposed to go to Kish together with some of the other commanders. Meanwhile, I looked at the register book. It is General Pouarli's turn. But you know that he has gone on a trip. Therefore, you have to go there yourself. When he heard this piece of news, he started to think, then he said, "Rahimian you have given us a piece of good news! I don't know why I had an odd feeling. It looked as if someone took off my heart."
He stood up immediately to say his prayers.
We were standing in a row to say our prayers and I was standing next to General Ardestani.
When I glorified God, I felt a person in white was sanding next to me. As I couldn't turn my face while I was saying my prayers, I thought I was hallucinating or I was in a mood which General had talked about before. So I didn't heed and when it was time to bow down. I did it with a little delay in order to be able to see Martyr Ardestani whom I had felt beside me in a white suit some moments ago. Unbelievably, I saw an angel in white, who had spread her wings and had fallen down onto the ground and he said, "Yes,
Yes".
I was taken by fear a moment. My body hair had become stiff and my knees were trembling. I tried hard to cry but it was not possible. It looked as if I had gotten speechless. I continued to pray with difficulty, but I didn't know how I felt.
After prayers, we sat down to listen to a sermon. But I couldn't hear and couldn't talk like deaf and dumb persons.
The sermon finished and we began to move towards home. But I couldn't sleep a night till morning and I was surprised by what I had seen.
On the morning of 15/10/ 73 General Ardestani had gone to Mehrabad Airport earlier than the time when I stepped into the office. General Sattary and his assistants participated in Kish Air Base to finish the council of commanders of the
Air Force of the Islamic Republic of Iran.
When they were returning, they went into Isfahan Air zone to have a short inspection. After doing the inspection, the pilot guided the airplane towards Tehran at 20, 42 on 15/10/73.
The pilot announced to the control tower that he was forced to get back to the airport because the cockpit window had opened. The airplane crashed down while it was turning to get into the position for landing 64 kilometers away from the base on the southern zone.
General Ardestani and some of the other capable commanders of the Air Force were martyred. It looked as if his daily prayers had been accepted and his celestial ghost had joined God's favor. Then I noticed that whatever he had done before martyrdom was an indication of his awareness about Godly trip and we were unable to understand what he had seen….
