Marshal, Michael-Peter

Michael-Peter, son of Zina and Jan, was born on May 15, 1954 in Manchester, England, and immigrated to Israel in 1969. Michael attended elementary school in his hometown and continued his studies in Israel. When he was sent by his mother to Israel to absorb Jewish values, he joined the youth program at Kibbutz Afikim. The absorption lines were difficult, but Michael amazed everyone around him by adapting to the place and the kibbutz. He established close family ties with his adoptive family on the kibbutz, the Aliyah family and Tsadok Levy, and decided to stay in Israel and live in the kibbutz. Michael went on a family visit to England and shortened his stay there so that he could return to the harvest in the vineyard and informed the family that he was in Israel and his home in Afikim. Michael was drafted into the IDF in January 1973 and volunteered for the Paratroopers Brigade, but despite his health problems, Michael was able to convince the military authorities of his ability to serve in a combat unit and an elite unit. In the battles in Sinai and crossing the Suez Canal, his classmate, Shmuel, relates: “During the war all his kindness, humor and joy of life were revealed. We were like a family and Michael brought us cheerfulness and evacuated a bit of the emotional depressing atmosphere that prevailed in the unit. “On 17 November 1973, Michael fell in battle in the Sinai, hit by an Egyptian sniper across the Suez Canal and brought to rest in the cemetery of Kibbutz Afikim. He left behind parents in England and adoptive parents in Kibbutz Afikim, and was promoted to the rank of corporal.