Melnik, Vadim

An only son of Esther and Gary. He was born on February 17, 1962 in the Ukraine, where he grew up and was educated. Vadim graduated from nursing school and siblings. In November 1980 he was drafted into the Soviet army. During his military service, Vadim served as a military medical nurse for two years. After completing his army service, Vadim was admitted to the Faculty of General Medicine, and in July 1989 he successfully completed his master’s degree. Vadim worked as an anesthesiologist at the Institute of Oncology and Science, and in December 1990, when he was twenty-eight years old, he immigrated to Israel with his family, who established her place of residence in Safed. Upon their arrival in Israel, they underwent certification exams and received their Israeli medical license. At the end of May 1994, Vadim joined the IDF and served as a doctor in the medical corps, and was granted the license of an army medical officer. In 1995 he was married to his son Emilia, and at the end of that year their eldest son Natan was born, and in late January 1997 he was called up to reserve duty, where he served as a doctor in an elite combat unit on the evening of the 28th of Shvat 577 (February 4, 1997) , The helicopter disaster occurred, two Yasur helicopters collided over Moshav Shear Yashuv, and the seventy-three fighters, who made their way to operational activity in Lebanon, were killed, among them Vadim. He was laid to rest in the military cemetery in Safed and left behind a wife, a son and a mother, who was promoted to the rank of captain.In his letter of condolence to the family, Chief of Staff Amnon Lipkin-Shahak wrote: “Vadim served as a doctor in the Etgar Battalion And was described by his commanders as a professional officer with a high personal level, who fulfilled his duties with skill and devotion, and demonstrated a spirit of volunteerism and willingness to help and assist those around him at all times. The commander of the unit added: “In his last mission, Vadim demonstrated the qualities that were so conspicuous in his personality – initiative, motivation to serve and contribute, a desire to learn, to influence, to educate and to be exemplary to his paramedics as a person and a doctor. And he fell, while protecting his body in his home in the Galilee. “