Cohen, Menachem (“Mando”)

Son of Siniora and Yaakov Hacohen. He was born on the 29th of March 1946 in Istanbul, Turkey. In 1949 he immigrated to Israel with his family. In 1951 his younger brother Yossi was born in Tirat Hacarmel near Haifa. He completed his elementary studies at the “Morasha” school in the settlement and his high school studies at the cornerstone school in Haifa, where the family moved in 1960. Menahem was a witty, lively young man who loved the sea In 1963, at the age of 17 and a half, he enlisted in the IDF and volunteered to serve in the submarine fleet, which was at the beginning of his career, and in June 1967 he served on the Crocodile Brigade and received a red background under the sign of the diver The operation in Alexandria. In July 1967, he moved to serve in the Eilat Company, and on October 18, 1967, the destroyer Eilat was drowned in a patrol off the coast of Port Said in a missile attack. Most of the crew members were injured. Menachem helped rescue the wounded until he too was injured. He was twenty-two years old when he fell. The murderous attack killed 47 crew members and 16 fighters were declared missing. On November 1, 1967, six bodies of Egyptian fighters were returned, some of them identified and three buried as anonymous in the Haifa military cemetery. Menahem left behind a wife at the beginning of her pregnancy, parents and brother. His daughter, who was born after his death, was called Nechama. Three months after the minting, the Egyptians returned Menahem’s wedding ring and identification disk. After years of struggle by his brothers and family to try to disperse the fog about Menachem’s burial place, which was also discussed in the High Court of Justice, the IDF decided to mark Menahem’s resting place on 24 August 2004 at the ” His name was removed from the wall of names of those who were buried on Mount Herzl in Jerusalem, and his brother Yossi writes: “His image will serve as a model for courage and devotion. You always live in our hearts, Yossi. “