Waves of Destiny

By Brigadier General Houshang Filsouf

We believe there is no other book like Waves of Destiny.The book is a true story, a biography and it is certainly most exciting and engaging. Waves of Destiny will give some information about Iran, one of the geopolitically and strategically important countries of the world, including one of the most portentous events of the 20th Century, the Iranian Revolution, which shattered and completely altered the culture of a nation.It is a fascinating love story, adventurous, touching, exotic, thrilling and inspiring. According to the forward by Professor Robert Wylie, in reading this book, the reader too may come to believe in miracles.

• Language: English
• Publisher: AuthorHouse
• Release date: Jun 9, 2004
• ISBN: 9781418458577

Brigadier General Houshang Filsouf

In the early days of 1979, when religious revolutionaries seized control of Iran and the Shah left the country, Imperial Iranian Air Force Brigadier General Houshang Filsouf was on a mission to the United States.  His British wife and children were behind in Iran - a Westernized family left to fend for themselves amid a society besieged by arrests, executions and hatred.  Filsouf, a military elite with feet firmly planted in both the Eastern and Western worlds, tells of the danger his family faced, their remarkable escape, and the faith that kept them alive.  This is a story of destiny, of the unexpected love between a young Iranian Air Force officer and a charming young woman from England.  It is a story of faith in God, of a life cast among the rippling currents of hope and despair during a period of national and international upheaval.  This is the story of Houshang Filsouf, and the waves of destiny that taught him to believe in miracles.

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© 2004, 2013, 2022 Brigadier General Houshang Filsouf

(Imperial Iranian Air Force, Retired). All rights reserved.

Cover painting: Dr. Emillio Caballero

No part of this book may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted

by any means without the written permission of the author.

Published by AuthorHouse  04/26/2022

ISBN: 978-1-4184-3596-7 (sc)

ISBN: 978-1-4184-5857-7(e)

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ACKNOWLEDGEMENT

H oushang Filsouf, a brigadier general in the Imperial Iranian Air Force, was on a mission to the United States when the Iranian Revolution overthrew the Shah, but his English wife and his family were still in Iran.

He tells the story of those desperate days as only one in such a position could tell it. As an Iranian, he was born in Teheran in 1931 he understands the events that led to the Revolution; as one stationed for years in England, married to an English woman, he also understands the Western view.

But this is also a love story, the story of how a young Iranian Air Force officer fell in love with, courted, and married a charming young woman from the ancient city of Bath. This too is a story of danger and miraculous escapes.

After completing Iranian Air Force training in 1952, he was sent to England. In 1958 he was in a post-graduate course in the Royal Air Force. While he was training with the R.A.F. at Yatesbury, England, he met Monica Lewis in the fabled city of Bath. They were married on January 10, 1962, in Teheran, Iran.

Monica and Houshang returned to England in 1966, where he was taking a staff college course with the R.A.F. in Andover. In 1968 they were sent back to Iran. Two years later, in 1970, Houshang returned to England as the Chief Purchasing Officer of the Imperial Iranian Air Force in Europe. He was headquartered in London and attachéd to the diplomatic mission there until 1974. Two years later, he became Brigadier General and Director of Training for the I.I.A.F.

The personal story of Monica and Houshang is interwoven with one of the most important upheavals of this century, the Iranian Revolution, which shattered and completely altered the culture of a nation and upset the balance of power in the Middle East.

Both stories show Houshang’s unfailing faith in God as his destiny raised him to the heights but also cast him into the depths. It is this rise and fall which is to him—waves of destiny. In reading this story the reader too may come to believe in miracles.

Robert W. Wylie, Former Chairman

Department of English

Amarillo College

DEDICATION

I dedicate this book to the two most important women in my life: my mother and my wife. My courageous mother sacrificed her youth and her beauty to her children. She worked hard day and night to ensure our survival and to see that we got an education. My beautiful and devoted wife, whom I will love forever, has shared my joy and happiness, my sorrow and sadness. She bravely stood by me in the most difficult times of my life. And to my remarkable children, Mina and Philip, for always having a positive attitude and adapting themselves to whatever lifestyle we led.I also wish to dedicate this book to all of the members of the Iranian armed forces and civil servants in exile who were not corrupted and do not possess ill-gotten money. After long, devoted service to their country, they are facing very difficult times, often having to do the most menial jobs just to survive. I salute you and praise you for your honesty and integrity. May God bless you and save you and our beloved country.

I wish to express my heart-felt gratitude to my relatives who rushed to our assistance during the first few difficult years in the United States.

I also wish to express my appreciation to my collaborator in this book, Jack E. Lancaster. I express special gratitude to Former Amarillo College Professor Robert W. Wylie.

I also want to express my appreciation and admiration to Professor Emilio Caballero (deceased), who, after reading the book, created six masterpieces of art to reflect the content of the book. I am proud that one of the paintings is the cover of the book.

To all of you, my friends, who have stood by me through good times and bad, I thank you for your contributions and help.

I would like to thank the Amarillo Public Library for all of the help and assistance that I received.

In closing, although I tried my best to be as precise as possible, I would like to mention I wrote this book from my memories and explanations of my mother, my sisters, my wife, and my friends, so some dates may not be exactly accurate and they may be approximate. Also, the conversations between the people in this book may not be the exact words they used at the time.

Houshang Filsouf

Table of Contents

Acknowledgement

Dedication

Foreword

Chapter 1

Chapter 2

Chapter 3

Chapter 4

Chapter 5

Chapter 6

Chapter 7

Chapter 8

Chapter 9

Sub-Chapter 9

Chapter 10

FOREWORD

T he life of Houshang Filsouf is a fascinating story, starting in the geopolitically strategic country of Iran, continuing in a politically changing postwar England, and finally settling into a quieter phase in a United States confronted for the first time by the problems of superpower status and confrontations with terrorism. The story began in an Iran struggling toward modernization under the Shah’s leadership. When Houshang left Iran, it was in the throes of a revolution which left it receding toward many of the conditions of the Middle Ages, with personal liberty of its citizens sharply curtailed.

The reader will find all of the drama of a movie or a television series as he peruses the gripping account of his mother Goli’s escape from the primitive system whereby parents arrange marriages, to marriage to a fabulously wealthy man from the nobility, to escape from a polygamous union. Her struggle for survival infuses Houshang with the courage that he will need to contend with the waves of change that characterize the years of his life in a cataclysmically evolving country of strategic importance in the seething caldron of the Middle East.

The romantic courtship of a lovely middle class English girl by a handsome Iranian Air Force officer leads to a marriage replete with drama in its pitting of one culture against a totally different type of culture. Houshang and Monica found complete happiness only after overcoming many setbacks and hardships. Their enduring love is an integral part of this absorbing true story. Their struggles for happiness bring them from the bleak military outposts near the Soviet border to the peaceful town of Amarillo in the Texas Panhandle.

Houshang must overcome many obstacles to keep his personal integrity as he finds himself embroiled in the corruption of a decadent regime. Houshang’s deep faith in God carries him through many trials and tribulations, constantly shaping and changing his life. A similar faith leads Monica and her children to safety as they find themselves in the middle of a frightening, dangerous revolution.

The Filsoufs’ waves of destiny cast them from the depths to the heights and back again with alarming regularity and rapidity. Their true story of courage and persistence in the face of overwhelming odds is an engrossing tale to capture the interest of the most discerning reader.

Jack E. Lancaster, B.S., M.Ed.

Retired English Teacher and Principal

Amarillo Independent School District

CHAPTER 1

A li-Abad is a small village in the heart of the beautiful mountainous region of Damavand about a hundred miles east of Teheran. A large orchard of apple, apricot, pear, and other fruit trees surrounded the village, making it picturesque, especially in the spring when the trees are in bloom. These orchards along with two fountains and a small lake made this a beautiful village that was sometimes spoken of as a touch of heaven.

The year was 1907, and this village was completely isolated from the main cities of Iran. The only way to get to the nearest small town of Damavand was by mule, and it would take a few days just to travel the thirty miles between the village and Damavand, on the dangerously narrow and slippery passes.

The village was owned by Mr. Vali, a kind-hearted man, who had fifteen peasants working for him. The village was made up of peasants and their wives and children, and numbered no more than fifty inhabitants.

Malak was one of the peasants who lived in the village with his wife and family. Two sons and one daughter of Malak were married and did not live in the village. The youngest daughter, Goli, and their son were living with them. Goli was thirteen years old and the loveliest girl in the village. In those days, 1907, the parents decided about the marriage of their young daughters and even their sons, especially in an isolated village like Ali-Abad, where they had few prospective partners to choose from.

Malak’s financial condition was poor. He and most of the other peasants would earn hardly enough wages to feed even their own families. Most of the income went to the owner.

One night after Malak came home from work, his wife Banu made him a cup of tea. While he was enjoying his tea he turned to his wife and said, Banu, I have some good news to share with you.

Banu replied eagerly, Tell me now!

Well, today while we were working on the farm, Ahmad came over to me and told me that he loves Goli, and if I would consent, he would like to marry her.

Banu was shocked. She turned to her husband and exclaimed, But Ahmad is 36 years old!

So what? Remember, I am 20 years older than you. He is strong and healthy and best of all he is financially secure.

But Goli is only 13-years-old!

Well, how old were you when we got married? he asked.

I was at least 14-years-old, Banu replied.

She will be 14-years-old very soon. Banu, we cannot afford to lose such an opportunity as this. You must understand that Ahmad is the best person for her, he said.

What if she doesn’t want to marry him? she asked.

It is I who decide, not she. She is too young to know what is best for her future. She must accept my decision and you, Banu, must help me to arrange their marriage as soon as possible.

What can I do? Banu asked.

"Just discuss it with Goli and make her understand my point of view.

Poor Banu didn’t know what to say. She knew that her husband would never change his mind, and in her heart she did not like Ahmad. Ahmad was a very tall man with large, bright, sparkling eyes. He had been married once before; his young wife had died of a mysterious illness.

The next day after they had their breakfast, Malak and his son left for work on the farm as usual. Banu called Goli and said, Goli come here, darling, I want to talk with you.

All right, mother, she murmured as she came and sat next to her.

Banu turned to her and said, Goli, my dear, you should know by now that every girl one day will get married and start a life of her own and have children. You know that I married your father when I was nearly the same age as you are now. I am telling you this because your father told me last night that Ahmad is in love with you and he has asked your father if he could marry you. Your father thinks he is the best choice for you. I want to know what you think about this idea.

Goli was shocked; she was speechless.

Banu noticed this and said, Darling, I know it is hard for you to understand, but life is hard for us because of the drought. We are in deep financial trouble, and we may not even have enough food to eat. As you know, Ahmad is quite well off, and he can give you a good secure future life.

Goli suddenly broke down and began to cry.

Is that all you and father think of, wanting to get rid of me? Am I too much trouble? she asked, as tears flowed down her cheeks.

Please don’t cry, my love; we want what is best for you. We think Ahmad may be the one to make you happy, replied Banu.

"Can’t you see he looks like a giant. I am scared even to look at him. I would rather die than let him touch me.

Well, what do you want me to tell your father? Banu asked.

There is no way I could ever marry Ahmad. Oh, Mother, please help me; try to do something so Father will change his mind, Goli pleaded.

You know your father better than that, Goli. He will never change his mind. He will be very angry if I tell him you won’t marry Ahmad; he will beat you to death.

I don’t care what happens to me; anything is better than marrying Ahmad, she cried as she ran from her home. Her mother stared sadly at the place where Goli had been sitting and wondered what was going to happen to her beloved daughter.

Usually once in the morning and once at sunset the young girls and boys of the village would gather at the mouth of the spring fountain with their buckets to get drinking water.

That evening Goli met Ali, a young boy almost the same age as she was. They were next-door neighbors, and had grown up together. They spent the days of childhood together, full of happiness and bearing no responsibility. The trees and bushes around the bubbling spring witnessed their play at hide-and-seek, their endless hearty laughter