Shalom, son of Esther and Abraham, was born on February 27, 1944, in Ramat Hakovesh, where he studied at the elementary school in Shfayim and at the agricultural high school in Ramat Hakovesh, he was a diligent student. He was active in society and youth in his kibbutz, Ramat Hakovesh, and was drafted into the IDF in mid-November 1962 and served in the Armored Corps. After completing a series of basic courses, he successfully completed an officers’ course, a course for armor officers and a platoon commanders course, and specialized in operating and commanding various types of tanks: Sherman, Centurion, and Patton. During his service in the Israel Defense Forces, he served in many positions, from tank commanders to company commanders, to armored personnel carriers in various armored units, and to IDF training abroad. He was then the commander of the Patton tank company, which at the time was a new tank in the IDF. He was the commander of the leading company in the brigade, which broke through the Egyptians on the first day of the war. Shalom’s company stormed through the Egyptians, defeated a heavy company of Stalin tanks and destroyed them, thus paving the way for the other armored units of the brigade. In managing these battles, Shalom took initiative, the speed of action, courage and resourcefulness, for which he was praised. On this first day in the “war of peace,” Major General Israel Tal said: “His move, with a single company, contributed enormously to the decision of this entire campaign of the first day. After completing the Six-Day War, he volunteered for military service and, on the recommendation of his commanders, returned to the career army as a commander in the Armored Corps and attained the rank of major. He was a dedicated officer who took care of his subordinates and was loyal to his commanders Shalom was a career officer in the Israel Defense Forces who excelled in his duties during the war and in peace, and many predicted the future of a senior commander in armored corps. Shortly before the outbreak of the Yom Kippur War, he was released to study pre-academic studies at the Technion. His classmates praised his modesty-he never told them, and they did not know, that he was a high-ranking officer with medals and honors. He worked hard and was loved by his friends and teachers. During the Yom Kippur War, Shalom was a deputy battalion commander in a tank battalion, and when the war broke out he was drafted and on his way to join his unit in the south he was killed in a car accident on October 6, 1973. He was brought to rest in the cemetery at Ramat Hakovesh. Left behind a wife and parents. In a letter of condolence to the bereaved family, the Minister of Defense, Moshe Dayan, wrote that Shalom was a dedicated, experienced officer, with an excellent professional, courageous, balanced, tactical, and commanding. In his memory, the book was published in a booklet published by the Technion in Haifa in memory of his students who fell in battle.
