The graves of thousands of soldiers who were martyred in the Battle of Sakarya are waiting to be found.

The graves of thousands of soldiers who were martyred in the Battle of Sakarya are waiting to be found.

In the Battle of Sakarya, which was a life-and-death struggle for the Turkish nation, the graves of thousands of soldiers who fell as martyrs are waiting to be discovered. Due to the historic order of Gazi Mustafa Kemal stating, “There is no line of defense, there is a field of defense. That field is the entire homeland. No part of the homeland can be abandoned until it is soaked with the blood of the citizen,” the troops that were forced to retreat had to continue their defense at the first place they could hold, which is why martyr graves can be found all over the battlefield.

Kadim Koç, a retired colonel and researcher of battlefields who is working to locate the martyr graves, stated, “According to official records, we have 5,713 martyrs in the Battle of Sakarya. However, when we consider the losses and prisoners, it is likely that the number of martyrs is even higher. However, even after 100 years, I do not think we have sufficiently cared for our martyrs in this area. We found the graves of two of our martyrs whose names are known in Kesikavak village in Haymana. Additionally, on the 100th anniversary of the war, we found the grave of Salih, our grandfather from Kalecik, and reunited him with his grandchildren. But there are thousands of unnamed martyr graves in this battlefield. I believe we need to find these unnamed martyr graves and pass them on to the future. We are not taking good enough care of our martyr graves,” he said.

Koç mentioned that monuments have been erected over the graves of martyrs found in the georadar scans conducted annually by the General Directorate of Nature Conservation and National Parks and stated that 8 martyrdoms have been established in the battlefield.

Koç mentioned that thousands of martyr graves remain unclaimed and emphasized that the martyr graves in the area where the Battle of Sakarya took place are scattered.

“Sometimes you can encounter martyr graves at the top of a hill, and sometimes in the courtyard of a village.”

Continuing his speech, Koç said, “Imagine an area with a front of 100 kilometers and a depth of 30 kilometers. Within this area, you can sometimes encounter our martyrs in a village cemetery. Sometimes you can find martyr graves at the top of a hill or in the courtyard of a village. We need to protect the martyr graves. This is the only way we can repay our debt to them. Currently, we are working in this area with the knowledge of the General Directorate of National Parks as a team. This team, composed of sensitive individuals, is specifically scanning the area. It identifies the martyr graves in the area,” he expressed.