Kesler, Aryeh-Meir

Aryeh-Meir (Ari), son of Regina and Shmaryahu, was born on the 11th of Iyar 5709 (11.5.1949) in Hadera. He studied at the Tzahala elementary school and at the Ramat Hasharon high school in Neve Magen. Arieh was a member of the Scouts movement and was an active member of the Tzahala branch. He loved painting very much and visited museums and various art exhibitions and was interested in pictures and sculptures. When he was a university student, he belonged to the Department of Cruise and Swimming. Aryeh was an optimistic man who had never lost his faith in the future and his hopes for people. He was able to overcome the hardships that lay in his way with his constant and persistent persistence in his attempts to accomplish the tasks and meet the challenges he had set for himself. He knew his shortcomings but knew how to take appropriate steps to overcome them. He had always loved nature and peace and hated violence with all his heart. He was a true friend to all his friends, his house was warm and open to the many guests who visited him. He had a good temper and a generous spirit, treated everyone with respect and willingly helped each person with advice and action. Aryeh was drafted into the IDF in early August 1967 and volunteered for the Armored Corps, and after completing his basic training, he was trained in the tank course “Centurion” and the tank commanders course. “Aryeh served as a tank commander, fulfilled his duties well and excelled in his loyalty, dedication, and integrity.” After he was discharged from the regular army service, his commanders wrote: “Aryeh served as a tank commander. He was assigned to a reserve unit and was called from time to time for reserve duty In 1972, he married his girlfriend Ayala and was a loving and devoted husband, as he was a loyal and good son to his parents. On Yom Kippur, Aryeh was drafted and sent with his unit to the front in Sinai, where he participated in the braking battles against the Egyptians, and his commander told him that he had fought bravely and fiercely for all the tasks he was assigned, and passed several times from tank to tank. When he fought in the tank commander in the battle that took place at the crossroads “Mars-Mars” in the northern sector, he was hit by a missile and was killed on the spot. At first he was considered missing. When he was identified, he and his crew were brought to a mass grave in the military cemetery on Mount Herzl in Jerusalem. Survived by a wife, parents and brother. After his fall, he was promoted to First Sergeant. In a letter of condolence to the bereaved family, his commander wrote: “Aryeh was a tank crew member, a brave soldier and an exemplary armor man, who performed his duties impeccably and heroically.” His brigade published a pamphlet called “The First Walkers” in memory of its people who fell in the war, and Aryeh among them.