Fichtenbaum, Eitan
Eitan ben Hela and Avraham was born on October 10, 1952, in Haifa. Eitan was drafted into the IDF in mid-February 1971 and asked to volunteer for the paratroopers, but since the recruitment quotas were full, he was assigned to the Golani infantry brigade, where he was told that the paratroopers had been evacuated. Of the Paratroopers’ Brigade, where he joined the new recruits of the IAF, and after completing basic training he was trained to wear a paratrooper’s wings and completed a course for infantry officers in the IDF Officers School and was awarded the rank of lieutenant- Year. Eitan was appointed platoon commander in the Paratroopers Brigade. He always dreamed of joining the Paratroopers’ patrol unit, but when he called his soldiers he could not leave them and remained in the battalion. He was an excellent commander, who was meticulous in carrying out precise and perfect execution of orders and orders. Because he was of great physical shape, he had made a point of improving the physical fitness of all the soldiers in his platoon. So his department practiced long hours and did not stop practicing even when the other departments went to rest. Eitan and his soldiers went back and carried out every exercise and mission until they reached the perfection demanded by their commander. He was gifted with physical ability, the ability to “read the battle”, tactical perception and leadership ability, yet excelled in human warmth and kindness, which made him an admired commander and a member of his subordinates. Everyone will always remember him because of his personality and because of ahIn January 1973 he participated in a raid on Kfar Kafra and was wounded in the leg in September 1973. In September 1973 he participated in a raid in the Tripoli area and was wounded by shrapnel from a grenade, and during his Yom Kippur War his battalion participated in the battles against the Egyptians in the Sinai. His division and the bloody battle that took place in the “Chinese Farm.” His soldiers and commanders testify that he excelled in leadership, bravery and boldness, and he rescued his soldiers from the fire trap and was the last to leave the compound after making sure that all the soldiers were out of hell. After a short stay at the house, he went on a short 24-hour vacation Went to visit his wounded soldiers and the bereaved families, passed from soldier to soldier and stayed with every family, and in each house he recounted the story of the heroism of the battalion and of the fallen soldier, his visiting day began at 10 AM and lasted until midnight on 9 Cheshvan 5734 4.11.1973), at 2 am, on his way home after a visit to a bereaved family, he died in a road accident. The man who was rescued from the brutal battle at the Chinese Farm fell in the vicinity of the house, fulfilling a human obligation he took upon himself. After his fall, the family discovered his war diary, describing the wonderful fighting of the paratroopers’ battalion. Eitan was brought to rest in the military cemetery in Haifa. Survived by his parents, brother and sister. Prior to his death, he was promoted to lieutenant.
