Exactly ten years have gone by. My memories, however, are still fresh; they have lived with me for one third of my life. I consider those enduring memories of trying times as blessings, because they have kept all of my comrades-in-arms alive and by my side.
The mind is always flooded with inconceivably numberless heroic feats. The exploits of a single platoon in the environs of Badme in the locality of Elala and Ghirme on June 10, 1999 could be taken as a drop in the ocean of the martyrdom of young Eritreans.
Our company reorganized itself after a reshuffle of not more than two months ago. I was a radio operator for the second platoon that was commanded by Taddele. I worked with Taddele for about two months then. He had fought a number of battles in the war for Eritrea’s liberation. After independence, he had been demobilized and was leading his life as a civilian.
When the war of invasion by Ethiopia broke out in 1998, Taddele was one of the first to enlist in the army in defence of national sovereignty. After reshuffling, he became the commander of the platoon. Within those two months, we could see his best qualities as a leader of the platoon in a battlefield.
During any warning calls from guards, Taddele would order every team leader to get the soldiers ready and sprint to the forefront. He arrived first at the banker to check how the situation was. Everyone admired his organizational skills of the platoon into its teams and columns. Unlike other command posts, he organized ours in the form of a column with the ability to back up separate units, and defend and attack the enemy. Most importantly, no one forgets his courage and zeal that was so contagious among all members of the platoon.
He came up with some ingenious ideas to some problems a number of times. One of such an event was when the platoon was digging a defence banker. The biggest part of the banker was easily dug. About five meters of it was so solid that we couldn’t get our hoes through it. Digging that kind of hard soil in front of a line of fire was unthinkable.
An idea came from Taddele. He told us to pour some water on it for two or three days and try it again. We didn’t consider the idea helpful. We reasoned that it had already rained for a couple of days prior that time; and if water was a solution, the rain would have already helped. Although we were his soldiers and had to follow orders, he led us in the digging after three days. To our surprise, all went well as it goes well.
June 10, ten years ago, at 10 o’clock, our company was ordered to charge the enemy line in an effort to capture a hill (namely Cheguar Taba) that had some military importance. Going through a gorge from our resting place, we reached to our trench. The place had baobab trees that are many hundred years old here and there. One can never go two paces without being caught by a thorny type of tree known for its nature of grabbing one’s cloth or skin and is never disengaged easily. For that reason we used to call it niredada’e – meaning let’s make a deal. The end of the gorge joined the middle of our trench stretching sideways to form a capital “T” shape.
It was unusual to start an attack at ten in the morning on our side; many battles often started at dawn. Therefore, it was expected to surprise the enemy for they usually went back to their resting place at that time of a day. Taddele climbed out of our banker and led us sprinting. We all had our first throw of hand grenade of that battle. The enemy left their first banker and tried to defend in their second. Unable to resists our attacks, the enemy again left their second banker and retreated to Cheguar Taba.
Our company’s attack was like a spear head; we broke into the enemy line and almost reached the hill. To our left and right, the other companies couldn’t push the enemy as far as we did since the land was so flat. As we pushed far into the enemy’s side, our foes found it easy to fire on our side. There was no other option but to return to our starting place to reorganize and attack again.
That attacks continued for five rounds within 32 hours. All this time, Taddele plunged himself into the fire ululating. He believed that that kind of sound had a terrorizing effect on the enemy. On the breaks between the five rounds of attack, we asked him how we were faring. He instilled into us unwavering courage saying, “As we are charging them, they are so shaken that they will leave right away.”
Taddele always called us my children. He was like a father to every one of us. He never acted as a boss or a superior who only shoots orders. He involved himself in every activity of the platoon that he kept as a single family.
Those two days, he pained with every wounded and/or martyred soldier saying, “My son or my daughter.” He couldn’t have it to stay behind many of his children-in-arms. He decided to follow those who left having protected those who were left. He ordered his members to carry those wounded and martyred to safety; he stayed behind to delay the charging of the back up unit of the enemy. A couple of hand grenade explosions were heard and he fell meeting what he intended to do.
Poet Wilfred Owen painted for us the ugly images of war in his famous poem: “Dulce et Decorum Est”. “In all my dreams before my helpless sight/He plunges at me, guttering, choking, drowning…All went lame, all blind;/Drunk with fatigue….” All these being true of any kind of battle, fighting along Taddele though taught me the strength of human spirit in a despicable moment. Even if the sun was blinded by the raining mortar shells and hand grenades, he lit the day for us being at the forefront. Missed is he – comrade and father-in-arms.
The writer would like to acknowledge that Awet Fessehazion told him all the facts of the story. Awet couldn’t remember the Taddele’s second name.
