Gesser, Oded

Oded, son of Nechama and Asher Gesser, was born on May 29, 1929 in Tel Aviv, the fourth generation in Israel. When he was in second grade, he was skipped into third grade because of his academic leve. Oded loved books very much, both science and literature. He entered the Gymnasium in Haifa and was one of the best students. He was a counselor in the Gordonia youth movement and an activist in the Haganah. When Oded completed high school, he set out for a year of service in Kibbutz Efal, tall, sturdy, black-haired, curly-haired, with a smile on his lips.
At the outbreak of the War of Independence Oded joined the Alexandroni Brigade. He participated in any dangerous action, and often replaced his friends so that he could participate in the operations. After the battle he would take a book and read it at rest, even during the bombing. In difficult situations he knew how to elevate the spirit of his friends. Oded participated in battles for Yazur, Salameh, Tel Litvinsky, Hiriya and the surrounding areas. In the Battle of Tel Litvinsky he left his defensive post and under a shower of bullets crawled to one of the wounded and brought him to safety, although he did not even know the wounded man. Oded claimed that he had to adapt to any difficulty and returned from the vicinity of Kfar Sava, which lasted all night and carried his machine gun about 20 kilometers and despite his fatigue he refused to let his friends replace him. He went on a raid on Jaljulia and then to the breakthrough to Jerusalem, which was blocked by the legion of Latrun. On the 16th of Iyar, 25.5.1948, he left with his regiment to conquer Latrun and shortly after they left, they encountered the Legion. The battle lasted from 3:00 AM until 3:00 PM the next day. His squad covered the retreat and under heavy enemy fire managed to hold the enemy in the distance, but Oded was wounded. and until the last moment he did not put down the machine gun in his hand. He asked his friends to “leave me and go” … nevertheless they took him out and led him to a hospital. The road continued for over two hours and they crawled in an open field. All the efforts to save him did not help, and at the hospital in Bilu he died. Oded was brought to rest in the Nahalat Yitzhak Military Cemetery. On the first anniversary of his death, a memorial booklet entitled “Oded” was published in his memory. For complete memorial, see Hebrew biography.