Ray, Daniel (Danny)

Ben Sarah and Gerard. He was born on the 20th of Cheshvan 5735 (October 20, 1974) in the United States and immigrated to Israel with his family in 1976. Danny attended the Nili elementary school in Zichron Yaakov and graduated from the agricultural high school in Pardes Hannah. Two years after their immigration to Israel at the age of four, the family traveled to the Ivory Coast for four years. It was a beautiful time for Daniel, where he acquired friends and accumulated experiences. When they returned to Israel, the family settled in Zichron Yaakov, where they had grown since the age of eight. His athletic leanings were immediately evident, and he joined the Hapoel team in gymnastics and was very persistent and serious in his training. As a child he was a member of the Young Maccabee movement, but his athletic activity was more important to him. The sport was the love of his life and he always said that he wanted to continue with it “when he grew up,” and perhaps even after the army. When he grew up, he helped with the children’s training in the community center, and Daniel was very attached to the place, to the apprentices and especially to his good friends. His friends say: “Danny was solid, healthy, great, but he had a gentle soul.” At the beginning of August 1992 he was drafted into the IDF and volunteered for the paratroopers. He was posted to the “Raven” unit and here he was discovered as an excellent soldier and a devoted and loyal friend to everyone. He was a “magist” and during his service in Lebanon he managed to undergo a “baptism of fire” and take part in clashes with terrorists. His mother says: “He loved the army, he was proud of every symbol he received.” When his parents asked him whether, despite the many difficulties, he did not regret the route he had chosen, he replied: “If I had to reelect, I would choose the paratroopers again.” On July 9, 1993, Daniel fell in combat in Lebanon and was put to rest in the military section of the Zichron Yaakov cemetery. Sergeant Daniel Ray gave his life to his homeland. He fell at the Sujud outpost in the eastern sector of the security zone in southern Lebanon, when a mortar shell hit the armored personnel carrier, which reached the scene of the incident in order to assist and rescue the wounded. “The memory of the late Daniel Ray was sanctified and glorified in our hearts with pride.” In a letter of condolence to the family, his commander wrote: “Daniel’s pure nature, the smile of a child, and his sturdy body created a combination of a sensitive soldier who conquered The heart of his circle. Wonderful in the case of your son – all of which was said about him even while he was still alive. The unit’s soldiers and commanders are stunned and hurt by the loss. We find it difficult to believe that we will not see Daniel again holding his machine gun with his sturdy hands and walking confidently to our side. We lost a warrior and a friend who, throughout his career in the army, stood out for his comfortable character and the love of life that characterized him. “His parents set up a monument near his community center in Zichron Yaakov, where he loved so much. The Bnei Israel congregation in New Jersey donated a tree to its memory in the “Bnei Yisrael” forest in the Galilee.