Home At Last

Born 16 July 1968 in Shahrestan village, near the northern Iranian city of Rasht, Mohammad Ali Hasanjani was only 18 years old when the Iranian Army deployed him on the frontlines of the Iran-Iraq war. Soon after he killed, and his body never recovered. For 27 years he lay missing, buried amidst the wreckage of war, his family had no remains with which to mourn. However, after being missing for 27 years, Mohammad's body was found, and he was recently returned home to his village for a hero's funeral.

During the Iran-Iraq war (1980-1989), hundreds of thousands of soldiers killed on both sides. In Iran, people who died in the conflict were declared martyrs or heroes for their country. Due to the chaotic and exceptionally deadly nature of the war, many soldiers went missing in battle. At the end of the war, the search began to find those missing in action and the mission continues to now, many of soldiers found never identified. However, in some cases, like that of Mohammad Ali Hasanjani, missing soldiers are identified and returned home for a long-overdue funeral.

These photos chronicle the funeral of Mohammad Ali Hasanjani, 27 years after his death.