Shimon (Chang), son of Pnina and David, was born on 5.8.1951 in Tel Aviv and attended the Brenner elementary school and the Kalai high school in Givatayim. When he grew up and became a handsome young man, he became “one of the guys,” an activist in the Hanoar Haoved youth movement and an enthusiastic soccer player. “His classmates and the movement tell him:” Chang was an innocent and sensitive guy. We called him the “Wizard of Songs”. Even the “soccer wizard” we called him, because he was really an outstanding player. He also played for Hapoel Ramat Gan, but he was not a fighter by nature, as a soccer player should be. We remember how deeply offended he was when someone in the crowd called him “donkey!” When he missed a “goal” in one of the games. When did we start calling him Chang? Do not remember. It was as if we had always called him that. Maybe the name was born after a movie we saw together, perhaps following a book we read, but what is important? Chang – that was his name and his only. “Shimon was drafted into the IDF in late 1969, and since he was a member of the nucleus of the Hanoar Haoved movement, he began his service at the Shalash group in the Kinneret group, and then went with his friends to the core To occupy the Nahal Kalia. His comrades have many stories about the period that “was the most Yaffa we knew,” as they say. “Before the orders,” Habib said, “when everything was well organized, Chang would sleep under the bed.” Rafi: “Chang was not hard to find, and if we saw legs sticking out of the tent, we knew Chang was asleep.” Proust: “Chang, really, was a sensitive guy, but as far as physical fitness was concerned, he had no competitors. Rani: “Chang was not a commander, he was too gentle a soul. He had a sense of humor that made him captivate his soldiers. Once, I remember, he told the ward to make a lineup and he forgot about it and went to lunch. When they complained to him, he said to them: “If I were a recruits commander, you! What I would do to you. “Proust:” Another example of Chang’s humor. One day I got Griller from my mother. We roasted chicken and the next day the griller disappeared. I searched and searched, and after a week I found him wrapped under Chang’s bed. I was already preparing for a long speech when Chang said, “Look, I found a porcupine and I thought he would have a suitable grill.” As part of his military service, Shimon underwent a course for rifle platoon commanders, a course for infantry commanders and a paratroopers course. With a high personal ability. “In late October 1972, after graduating and leaving for civilian life, Shimon studied computer programming and then worked in the computer department of the university and at the computer unit of Bank Hapoalim. In 1973 he married Yehudit and the couple set out for the honeymoon, and before he could enjoy these Yaffa days, the Yom Kippur War broke out and Shimon was summoned to report as a reservist, and on the second day of the war his unit set out in a huge tank convoy to the southern front. In the vicinity of the canal, one of the half-tracks was hit, and Chang rescued his wounded comrades from under Heavy fire. He later went on to fight the Zeldot that were more effective. The unit had gone through hard battles, and in all of them Chang was a brave fighter. On October 24, 1973, when the war was almost over, the unit entered the city of Suez, which was quiet as a ghost town. The harsh bombardment of Egyptian anti-tank guns was unexpected, and the first fire struck Chang and he fell.The military cemetery in Kiryat Shaul. He left behind a wife, parents and brother. After his fall, he was promoted to sergeant. In a letter of condolence to the family, his commander wrote: “Chang has proved himself to be an excellent professional, courageous and dedicated to his work. Wrote his relative, Motti, age six: “How I love Shimon.” He taught me how to build airplanes and tanks. At the wedding he was wearing a light blue suit. He was Yaffa and tall. He has a snub nose. And I saw that he broke the glass. All the time I say to Dedi: ‘Dedi, do you love Shimon?’ So he said to me: ‘Sure, a lot.’ Also Dedi asked me: ‘Do you remember at the wedding what suit he had?’ So I said to him: “Sure, a light blue suit.” I miss him so much, so he’ll never come back? In memory of Shimon, the family published a pamphlet containing the words of friends about his character. In the Brenner school where he studied, a hall was set up in his memory
