Cleiot, Shimon

Was born on November 24, 1940, in the city of Riga, in the former Soviet Union, to a family of Soviet origin, where he graduated from elementary school and spent three years in high school. He worked in a fur factory in Riga and when the family returned to Poland on his way to Israel, he worked for a year as an electrician in the city of Wroclaw, and in 1960 he immigrated to Israel and settled in Bat Yam. To the “Hapoel” Tel Aviv, where he continued to play wrestling, and Shimon was drafted into the IDF in early 1960. After basic training, he was sent to a training course And completed his studies at the end of August 1961. Shimon returned to Bat Yam, married a wife and opened a delicatessen. The couple had three daughters, and Shimon, who had a devoted husband and a loving father, devoted all his attention to nurturing his family and his home. In the reserve service, he joined the Artillery Corps, underwent professional courses, was ordained with a 120mm mortar, and finally was the commander of a heavy mortars team, with his unit taking part in the battles of the Six Day War and the Yom Kippur War. In the wake of the Peace for Galilee war, Shimon did not wait for the order, but hastened on his own initiative and took up his position on the unit On June 18, 1982, Sgt. Shimon fell in battle in Lebanon and was brought to eternal rest. In the military cemetery in Holon, and left a wife, three daughters and two brothers in the United States. In a letter of condolence to the family, the defense minister wrote: “Shimon was a disciplined and responsible commander of the team, with a great deal of professional knowledge, who invested in the field of immigration and absorption. The commander of his unit, in which he served for 18 years, wrote: “Shimon was a commander of a team in the unit – a role that is difficult and responsible – a position that demands the whole of man during wartime and at the time of fire. As a commander of a team, he was above and beyond what was needed … A redhead, smiling, optimistic – I never saw him fall in spirit, even in difficult times. “