Chaim Matzliach

Son of Shlomo and Rachel. He was born on March 5, 1935, in Ramat Gan, Israel, where he learned leadership skills and participated in various courses in “Scouts”, “Maccabi” and “Gadna”: sniper course, He was a student at the Ohel Shem school, where he studied until the eleventh grade, participated in the athletics school championship, won first places in the various competitions, and brought Gold medal and pride for the school, he was the youth champion in short runs for ages 14-16 and was the champion of the country in a 400m run in 1953. In the fourth Maccabiah he won a gold medal in a 300m In addition to his love for sport, he liked painting and dancing with people, and when he joined the IDF in May 1954, it was clear to him that he wanted to belong to the paratroopers. He was a prisoner of the heroic stories of the mythical unit 101 to which he aspired to be accepted, but it was disbanded when he enlisted. He devoted himself to being an excellent parachutist and when he went to officers’ course he invested a great deal in order to be a good officer and was indeed very fond of his subordinates. Haim took part in all the retaliation operations against the police in the days before the Sinai Campaign. During Operation Husan, he was wounded and was unable to participate in the Qalqiliya operation, from which the explosions reached Ramat Gan. Then he decided to return to base. His last words when he left the house were: “I can not indulge myself in the house when my comrades fight.” Although he still limped badly and barely managed to bend his wounded leg, he managed to convince his commanders that he was fit for action and went into the battle parachute and the last battle – the Battle of Mitla, from which he did not return. Lieutenant Haim Matzliah fell in battle at the Mitla Pass in the Sinai system on the 26th of March, 5756 (October 31, 1956), five days before his 21st birthday. He was buried in the Military Cemetery of Emergency Sitelach and transferred to eternal rest in the military cemetery on Mount Herzl in Jerusalem on October 23, 1957. After he fell, he was praised by the Chief of Staff, Lieutenant General Moshe Dayan, for his exemplary leadership and exemplary courage, and sixteen years after his fall, he was awarded the Medal of Valor by Chief of Staff David Elazar for his participation in the battle. At the “Ohel Shem” school, athletics competitions were held in his memory and a trophy was given to the commanders. In addition, a basketball tournament was held in memory of Maccabi Ramat Gan. His memory was mentioned in Uri Milstein’s book, “The Paratroop Wars.”