Sergeant Yoav Klein, who fell alongside Lieutenant Colonel Dor Ben Simchon, Sergeant Noa Habshush, and Sergeant Liav Kababia, is described by Sergeant ‘ as a person with personal charm, someone who knew how to connect with everyone he met. And when a friend who fought alongside him in Gaza at the battalion commander’s forward command post recalls a story from their time together, a small smile appears on his face through his sadness.
“When the new deputy battalion commander arrived at the battalion, in our first days together, we tried to appear as professional and serious as possible. Naturally, there was a command distance between us, and he didn’t really know us yet,” recalls ‘, “And suddenly, on one of our first trips together, I noticed that they were both suddenly talking, joking around. And even then, I wasn’t surprised how quickly Klein made even the deputy battalion commander feel comfortable with him.”
Klein, continues ‘, was a very diligent person, someone who always offered help – even when he really didn’t have to. “I remember that on one of the lines we held, we had to send a soldier every night for kitchen duty – but our duty soldier from the forward command post hadn’t arrived from home yet. Suddenly Klein came to me and told me he would go himself, without me asking him. That’s how he was.”
With them at the forward command post was also Sergeant Liav Kababia: a calm, modest person, the tank driver. “He would speak quietly, and suddenly inside the roaring tank everyone would fall silent and listen to him,” remembers ‘. “Once we received new signage for the tanks, and we wanted to write something of our own on it – so they would identify us. So Kababia came up with an idea, to write the name of our loader in large letters on it. It was an excellent joke, because we knew the loader wouldn’t really like it. To this day, that sign is attached to our tank.
Sergeant Noa Habshush, the tank commander, was first met by Sergeant ‘ at the beginning of the training course in Shizafon. Even then, as ‘ testifies, Noa was exceptionally responsible and serious. “I remember looking at him, and seeing him becoming a battalion commander in 20 years,” he testifies.
“During the course, I had a lot of difficulty passing the Bar-Orim (obstacle course). I took all the opportunities, until I reached the final test with one other soldier, which determined if we would go to operational duty or not,” demonstrates Sergeant ‘. “When I got up at 4 AM for a run, I saw Noa getting ready next to me. He really came to run with me. I stood there and thought – wow, this person is giving up his sleep time, and during training, sleep time is precious, and he’s coming with me for a 4 AM Bar-Orim run.
“We ran this entire test together, and he kept pushing us forward the whole time, and in the end, we passed it – thanks to him. And he remained such a good person even when I met him here, a few days before he fell.”
Lieutenant ‘, a platoon commander in the 52nd Battalion, joined ‘operational duty’ last March, when the fighting in Lebanon began. “It was such a turbulent period, of constant changes,” he describes, “We started with fighting in Al-Khiyam, and when we moved to Aita al-Sha’b, Dor Gadalia Ben Simchon arrived.”
Already at the beginning of his tenure, it was clear that the battalion commander brought a new spirit. “I’m a person who doesn’t smile much, I maintain a serious expression, and even when Dor pinned the rank on me, I didn’t smile,” he recalls, “And then, he noticed me, while adjusting it on my shoulder board, and whispered in my ear, ‘Why aren’t you smiling? Smile.'”
Another incident represents the commander Dor was: “On my birthday, we were still fighting in the north. I entered the tent, and the soldier guarding the entrance told me, ‘The commander is in your room.’ I entered, and the space was full of people: suddenly I recognized Dor starting to sing ‘Happy Birthday’ to me, and everyone followed him. It was a moment when I strongly felt how much he cared about his soldiers – not only that he remembered they had a birthday, but he also cared about celebrating it for them.”
Soon, carrying with them the pain and memory of the friends they lost, the fighters will return to combat. “I don’t know how I will feel now, but I am sure they will accompany me and I will think about them all the time,” concludes Sergeant ‘ sadly. And whether they are in Lebanon, Gaza, or Judea and Samaria, Dor, Noa, Yoav, and Liav will also be with them – in their minds, in their hearts, in a small smile, in a night run, on kitchen duty, or when they see prominent signage on a tank.
