Cohen, Sami

Son of Avraham and Na’ima. He was born on October 17, 1943 in Baghdad, the capital of Iraq. Until the family immigrated to Israel in 1951, he studied in elementary schools and was a diligent student. After immigrating to Israel with his parents, he integrated with the Israeli youth and absorbed the values ​​that characterize youth – love of the homeland and aspiration to progress. During the first year the family lived in Jerusalem and then moved to Tel Aviv. He studied at the Torat Moshe elementary school in Hatikva. His love of the land expressed his desire to continue his life as a pioneer in the kibbutz. From the age of 14 he was a member of Kibbutz Haogen for three years, where he showed himself to be a good man and was willing to help anyone, and in February 1962 he was drafted into the IDF and served in the Artillery Corps. Was devoted to his work and fulfilled every role willingly and devotedly. When he was released, he said to build a house and a family and overcome all the hardships of his journey, while he worked with the diligence that was characteristic of him. He worked hard because he hated idleness. With the outbreak of the Six-Day War, he was drafted into reserve duty and assigned the role of liaison, but Sami did not see this role as an operational role that would satisfy him, so he insisted that he be placed in an active artillery team. Remember his bravery in battle and his dedication to the success of the mission assigned to his unit. The mission was to break through the huge compounds of Umm Qatf, which became known as one of the most difficult battles of the Six-Day War. After this battle, the unit continued its breakthrough into the Canal, and Sami was able to rejoice in the glorious victory of the people. In September 1967, Sami was called up for reserve duty. About four days before the end of his reserve service, the large gun battle broke out in the area of ​​the Suez Canal, and Sami’s battery was then very heroic and fired despite being under heavy fire. Sami was seriously injured in the battle, was evacuated to the hospital in Be’er Sheva and died on 1 October 1967. He died of his wounds. He put a wife in her pregnancy. He was laid to rest in the military cemetery in Kiryat Shaul.