Ben Naim, Sami
Son of Ellis and Jacques. Sami was born in Rishon LeZion on the 26th of Kislev 5727 (26.11.1966). On November 5, 1984, Sami enlisted in the Israel Air Force and continued to serve as an airborne mechanic, during which he advanced to the rank of Major, and married Edna, who established their home in Rehovot, where they raised three children. (July 12, 2006) Hizbullah terrorists from Lebanon attacked an IDF patrol moving along a parallel axis of the perimeter fence from west to east, between Zar’it and Shatula, within the sovereign territory of the State of Israel. Three soldiers were killed on the spot and two were kidnapped by the terrorists. Immediately after the incident, a preliminary attempt was made to locate the kidnapped soldiers. A team from the Armored Corps ’82 battalion entered the area of Lebanon with Nghamhoun in an attempt to stop the terrorists’ escape vehicle, but a short distance from the border, the tank mounted a ground bomb estimated at hundreds of kilograms of explosives. The tank was completely destroyed and four crew members were killed. A short while later, another soldier was killed when he arrived with the rescue force in the damaged tank. Following this chain of events, the Israeli government decided to embark on the Second Lebanon War, which lasted for a little more than a month. Sami was killed in a battle in southern Lebanon during the Second Lebanon War on August 12, 2006, when he was hit by a missile. With him were Major Nissan Shalev, Captain Daniel Gomez, advanced sergeant Ron Mashiah and First Sergeant Tendler Foundation. Sami was forty years old. He was laid to rest in the military cemetery in Rehovot. Survived by a wife, three children, parents and brothers. Sami wrote on his tombstone: “Sami is the officer and the gentleman of all of us, in the skies and in the land forever will be with us.” (The information on this page is written according to the data in the possession of the Unit for the Commemoration of the Soldier, the full story of life will be published later.) (This page is part of the Yizkor memorial project held by the Ministry of Defense)
