Ben Shulamit and Eitan. He was born on August 28, 1975 in Kibbutz Degania Aleph. Brother to Uri, Yaron, Karin and Yael, David Rotem, granddaughter of Grandpa Shlomo and Grandma Betty, a veteran of Degania Aleph, and Grandfather Moshe and Grandma Esther of Jerusalem. Was a third generation in Degania on his mother’s side and a seventh generation in Jerusalem on his father’s side. He was a member of Degania Aleph. Eran was a handsome boy, fair in curls, all smiling and light. He was named after his uncle, his mother’s brother, Captain Eran Cohen, whose plane was shot down in the skies of Egypt during the Yom Kippur War. His parents added the name “Chai” as a gift for good health and longevity – but this is not the way fate wanted … and now they are buried side by side in the cemetery in Degania Aleph. Eran studied at the Degania Aleph elementary school and continued at the Beit Yerah high school. He completed a large-scale graduate project on bananas and graduated with honors. His friends called him “The Little Prince”. From his childhood he had been very serious about the responsibility he was inclined to undertake, his scholastic achievements, his diligence and sense of humor. He listened attentively to his friends, always knew to be in the place when they needed him and contributed to his surroundings without expecting any change. Eran excelled in various sports – swimming, running and darting, and he liked to play with computers. He was very attached to his family. Eran loved to document – from a young age he took a still camera and during his army service he took a video camera that he took with him on his last flight. At the beginning of April 1994, Eran joined the IDF and was trained as a combat soldier in the Armored Corps, advancing quickly, becoming an officer and performing the role of a platoon commander in the “Sufa” battalion as part of the company’s commanding staff. He was a soldier, an investor, and an officer who gave his soldiers a personal example and led them to follow his orders, out of the esteem they felt for him, his friends gave him the nickname “Energizer’s Bunny” and claimed that he had the special combination. They said that Eran was characterized by great concern for his soldiers and willingness to do much beyond them. Even during the army, Eran continued to record experiences and events on his video camera and even filmed and edited a film about an officers’ course. On the evening of 28 February 1997, the helicopter disaster occurred when two Yasur helicopters collided over Moshav Shear Yashuv. The seventy-three fighters, who made their way to operational activity in Lebanon, were killed, and Eran among them. He was laid to rest in the military section of the cemetery in Degania Aleph. He was twenty-one and a half when he fell. Survived by parents, two brothers – Uri and Yaron and two sisters – Karin and Yael. He was promoted to lieutenant after his death. In a letter of condolence to the bereaved family, Chief of Staff Amnon Lipkin-Shahak wrote: “Eran radiated an atmosphere of security and tranquility to his surroundings, with the best interests of his soldiers always in front of his eyes. Eran was even planned to be appointed the battalion operations officer, who plays a major and important role in the unit. “The battalion commander, Eran, wrote to his family:” In the training of the last battalion, Eran carried out the most difficult and difficult task of all. Eran was the commander of the battalion’s leading platoon, which projected directly on the route planned for him during his military career. I found Eran and I wanted to be with my side, because I thought that together we would be a winning team. “His diary found a diary and songs he wrote that illuminated another aspect of his personality. “Akeda,” Eran’s poem: “marching, marching wet shoes, / young children, dressed in green / rain pouring, everything is filled with water and the road winding, the end is far away.”How long will you send me with the knife in his hand?” You know, the ram will not always be found! Marching red and marching shoes / young children, wrapped in white / rain pouring, everything is filled with tears / and the sound of weeping rises – the world is darkening. – / I will also keep you in front of a knife, / they will only protect me, the land of my fathers, / Only through the arms – through the blood and tears / / And may you be the last victim, / paid and given for peace. In the introduction to the poem “Akedah,” Eran wrote: “The song was written on February 9, 1994 (before I enlisted) following an incident in Lebanon in which Tal Cohen was killed (a soldier killed by a tanker in his tank …).” Another song he wrote was called “Jonah”: “The dove is on a tree / Waiting, lingering / The sky is the hawk / Looking for it / Arrow is sending to the sky, / The target is missing / The hawk is still there, waiting for its prey. / The new dove will come, / The light will be distributed seven times. / The white dove, pure, pure, / You will survive in the sky / The hawk gets tired, it returns to its chicks. The sky is the sky, / If at all / Yes, there is another hope, / A new day will come, / The light will be distributed seven times / The white dove, the rewarded, the wounded, / You will be able to fly to heaven. Hope. / But a little feather fell from her tail. / This is the price feather – the feather of peace / feather that we have to pay Day. ” The press published extensive articles covering the disaster, including the story of Eran and his family. The uncle of Eran, his mother’s brother, the late Captain Eran Cohen, whose plane was shot down in the skies of Egypt during the Yom Kippur War, was absent for twenty-one and a half years, and the family and grandmother Betty did much to discover what happened to him and bring him to Israel’s grave. 1995. Eran Cohen was laid to rest in the cemetery in Degania A. The family of Eran Chai Peretz published a memorial booklet containing pictures from his various life stations as well as poems he wrote, diary passages and letters written by family and friends in his memory. The song “Akedat Eran” written by his father: “My father built an altar / and me said: ‘Go to gather wood, / Lamb to the immigrant / will be found in the bushes’ / and I I said, ‘Here I am, take me …’ / And Benny Eran / lying bent, / staring at the sky / And he is too naive to ask and understand … / And my father handed me the knife / and me said: ‘God will provide us comfort / (And I said, ‘Here I am, take me …’ / My father built an altar / And I closed his loopholes / and corrected his virtues / And the son of Eran lying on him in his blood, And he did not know if dust or tears in his fists. my son! “You’re my child – / You’re so lacking in me … / I know – my son – / You’re up in the sky / In the company (And after that I went to the cemetery.) And I asked my brother Eran (after whom I and your father called you) and Grandpa Shlomo (who loved you more than anyone else) Do it well … / Yours with love, longing and pain / mother. “
