Mondshein, Shawn

Shawn, son of Nanette and Menachem Mondshein, was born in 1994 in Tel Aviv. On July 21, 2013, Shawn enlisted in the IDF, following in the footsteps of his older brother Shachaf and serving as a combat soldier in the Golani Brigade in Battalion 13. Shawn was very successful in the army and loved his service, and his commanders recounted how he eagerly absorbed all the information sheets that were distributed, the history of the country, etc. Shawn was marked as having high abilities and was sent to a course for squad commanders in February 2014, but since he wanted to be with his friends, he returned to the battalion waiting for the next course. In Operation Tzuk Eitan, 22 Tamuz, 20.7.2014, when his APC was hit by an enemy missile (less than a day after he was drafted into the IDF), Shawn died, along with six of his comrades in the APC team. Shawn was nineteen and a half years old when he died, and he was laid to rest in the Nahalat Yitzhak military cemetery in Tel Aviv, near his home. Survived by parents, brother and sister. After his demise Shawn was promoted to sergeant. A week before he entered Gaza, Shawn wrote on his cell phone six letters intended for people he loved, as if he felt he would not return.