Ben-Eliyahu, Aharon

Aaron (Arik), son of Batya and Moshe, was born on October 20, 1948 in Jerusalem. He completed his studies at the Sokolov Elementary School and later attended a high school in the social track. Eric was a kind and pleasant young man. He was accepted and loved by all those who knew him and bought himself many friends because of his willingness to always help others. He loved the country and tried, with his typical passion, to convince his friends that it was their duty to give the state all they could and to contribute their best energies and fortunes to their country and people. Eric devoted his free time to his two main hobbies – sports and music. He excelled at playing soccer and basketball and participated in land gymnastics competitions at the YMCA club, where he enjoyed listening to music, studying music, and playing guitar for the enjoyment of his family and friends. He completed all of his training and took part in the occupation of the Um-Katef area during the Six-Day War, and after the war he successfully completed a course for squad commanders and was appointed instructor in the training school for recruits. Under his command, to a high professional level Sergeant First Class In mid-November 1969, Arik was discharged from regular service and assigned to a reserve unit of the Armored Corps, serving as a noncommissioned sergeant in the Armored Corps and participated in the War of Attrition during the reserve service. Arik was an outstanding student and did a soldier in his studies mainly in the social sciences, which he loved. Until his fall he managed to complete two years of study at the Law Faculty of the Hebrew University of Jerusalem. During the Yom Kippur War he served as a company sergeant in a reconnaissance battalion that fought in the central sector of the Suez Canal. On the 20th of Tishrei 5734 (October 16, 1973), Arik was killed during the break-up of the bridgehead on the Suez Canal and was brought to eternal rest in the Mount Herzl cemetery in Jerusalem, leaving behind his parents, two brothers and four sisters.