Cohen, Eli

Eli, son of Leah and Menachem, was born in 1947 in the village of Suq al-Arba in Morocco, and his parents moved to Morocco during the Second World War. He immigrated to Israel with his family, Eli was drafted into the IDF in early August 1965 and assigned to the Armored Corps. After completing basic training, he was sent to a Basic Course in Armored Corps, where he was trained as a petrol car mechanic and as a tank mechanic. After successfully completing the course, he was assigned to a technical unit of one of the IAF field corps. In the army, too, he quickly became fond of his co-workers and commanders. He soon acquired a lot of experience in work and was endowed with good and trustworthy hands, and was distinguished by his ability and professional talents. After a relatively short period of time, he became the symbol of the technical unit, which under his command became one of the successful battalions of the battalion. In this capacity he participated in the Six-Day War, which broke out during the last trimester of his regular service. He also excelled in this war as a superb fighter, who did not lose his resourcefulness at critical moments and with rare courage. Miraculously saved several times from certain death. After his discharge from the regular army, he was placed in a reserve unit and for his livelihood, he began working as a heavy truck driver. After two years of hard and strenuous work, mostly traveling all over the country and in any weather, he managed to save money, which gave him the feeling that he was on the road. He married his girlfriend Miriam and together they built their home in Be’er Sheva. Eventually they had two children, a boy and a girl, and they saw great happiness in their family life. During the Yom Kippur War, Eli participated with his unit in the battles in Sinai and in battlesBreaking into the West Bank of the Suez Canal. On October 18, 1973, his unit was severely shelled, hit by shrapnel and killed. He was laid to rest in the military cemetery in Be’er Sheva. Survived by his wife, son and daughter, parents and six brothers.