Baruchstein, Yaakov
Son of Yitzhak and Leah. He was born on January 8, 1932 in Tel Aviv. He completed his studies at the Tachkemoni School in Bat-Yam and later attended the Commercial School. Was gifted with a healthy humor and an actor’s talent – especially as an experimenter. He was fourteen years old when he joined the Hagana; from the seventh grade in elementary school he was a member of the Gadna; Ben-Tu was transferred to the Palmach in Daughter of-Yam. He participated in the Bat Yam defense and in February 1948 volunteered for a popular military operation there, but after two months he was released under pressure from his parents because of his youth. In June 1949, he joined Gadna-Yam’s first course and was one of the first Gadanim to sail overseas and bring the pride of Israeli youth to the United States. On his return, he joined the Israeli commercial fleet and worked as a mechanic in it, but was forced to leave the sea work on the occasion of his father’s death, because he became the family’s breadwinner. He began his active service in the IDF in 1951 in the Navy and was a counselor in the Gadna-Yam. On Thursday, 23.11.1952, seven soldiers in a boat – Yaakov among them – went out to play a special role, but none of them returned, and as a result the IDF declared them missing. A monument in his memory was erected in the missing-persons section of the military cemetery on Mount Herzl in Jerusalem. This fallen hero is a “maklan” – a hero whose burial place is unknown.
