Gvirtzman, Tuval (Tully)

Son of Hayuta and Yaakov z”l, he was born on the 20th of Sivan 5719 (26.6.1959) in Hadera. Tuval was a descendant of the Gvirtzman and Hochberg families, two deeply rooted families in Hadera, whose history is intertwined with the history of the city. The Hochberg family was one of the pioneers in the canned goods industry in Israel. He was 6 years old when his father, a co-owner of the canned fruit factory, died. He remained with his mother and sister Orit, 10 years old. His mother remarried, and new and brave connections were made between the family. In particular, Tuval’s relationship with his mother deepened. Tully was a naughty boy, graceful and always in motion. His childhood was spent in a pastoral environment between trees and colors: an extensive playground for amusement and prank. Tully’s uniqueness and education were natural and simple in his behavior. He had a strong love for life, and everything he liked to do was done with rising enthusiasm. He studied at the Ahad Ha’am elementary school in Hadera and continued his studies at the academic high school in Hadera. Tully had the right skills to learn, but he did not like to invest effort in school. He graduated with a biological track, successfully without much effort. Tully was very sociable. He was a member of Maccabi Hatzair, enjoyed playing football and watching basketball games. He loved to read books, and they were impressed by their impressions. At this age Tully learned to ride horses. Although his family could easily afford his riding lessons, he worked at the horse farm in Caesarea and financed the lessons from his salary. Tully had curly hair and bright brown eyes and big green eyes.In the army he began his service as a tank commander, and then completed an officers’ course. He had a high level of professionalism in the tanks, and he had excellent human relations with soldiers. On the day of one battle in Lebanon, his unit destroyed 20 Syrian tanks and left unharmed. On 15 Av, 4.8.192, the unit was sent to particularly difficult places to fight. Tully was killed in a direct hit when he ran under a heavy fire, carrying a fire extinguisher at a burning armored personnel carrier in which wounded soldiers were trapped. After his death, Tully was promoted to the rank of major. “He was the symbol of life, he was life itself.” He was 23 years old. He was buried in the Hadera military cemetery and his family published a book in his memory. For full biography, see Hebrew description.