Madorsky, Samson

Son of Sarah and Levi-Yitzhak. Born on 19 November 1917 in Hadera, grandson of one of the founders of the moshavah, he studied at the elementary school and at the same time worked in his father’s farm, then went on to study at the agricultural school in Pardes Hannah. He was active in the Maccabee and Haganah organizations during the 1936 riots. After completing his studies in the agricultural school, Shimshon was appointed to HaKohenhood. In addition to teaching and practical work, he also worked extensively in research and published articles on his research. He also devoted himself to collecting vegetation, butterflies and geological exhibits. In 1941 he volunteered for the British Army. He served as a driver on the front of North Africa and arrived with his unit, Transport Company 462, to Tunis. While serving in the army, he completed the Arabic language he hoped to use in his future work. Thanks to his loyalty and devotion to his fellow members of the unit, he was very fond of them and his gift of observation was to describe in many letters the military experience and the desert life in war. At the end of April 1943 he and his unit boarded the ship “Aryanpura” to sail in another convoy of ships to Malta, where an invasion force was supposed to emerge for Sicily. On the 27th of Nisan 5703 (1.5.1943), the convoy of ships that “Arnipura” was attacked by a group of German bombers. Within minutes the ship sank, and one hundred and forty members of the 462th transport company perished. Among them was Shimshon, who was not yet 26 years old. Lay down parents and two sisters. His collections of herbs and butterflies were delivered to the agricultural high school in Pardes Hannah; In Hadera, the veterans’ housing project is named after him – “Shimshon” neighborhood. Mount Herzl in Jerusalem is a ship-like monument next to a water pool whose bottom is engraved with the names of Shimshon and his comrades who descended to the sea. This fallen hero is a “maklan” – a hero whose burial place is unknown.