Izidorius Mockus

Izidorius Mockus codenames Rikas, Rykas, Jovaras was a Lithuanian forest brother who led Rolandas' squad.

Life

He was born in the village of Rudžiai in a family of peasants. He was the oldest of three children. The family possessed 13 hectares of land, spanning from Milaičiai Manor from the one side to the river Šaltuona in the other. Mockus' father died when Mockus was about 18 years old.
At the time of the Second occupation of Lithuania by the Soviet Union, Mockus joined the forest brothers and eventually became a leader of Rolandas' squad. His younger sister Ona, codename Genovaitė, also joined the resistance as an active supporter, but was captured and deported to Siberia in the late 1940s.
Mockus was killed in 1950 after the betrayal while convoying his fellow brother-in-arms Jonas Stoškus-Eimutis in Šakalinė forest, near the Lake Bivainiai. In total, 10 partisans were killed in this operation, conducted by the Soviet forces.
A memorial in Tauragė, dedicated to local partisans previously buried in the former prison yard of Tauragė NKVD, also includes the name of Izidorius Mockus.