Shapira, Yigal (Yaakov)
Yigal, son of Bella and Emanuel-Mordechai, was born on October 13, 1949 in Tel Aviv. He attended the “Magen” Elementary School in Maoz Aviv and later continued his studies at the “New High School” in Tel Aviv, in the biological track. He studied for a while at Tel Aviv University, where he studied economics. Yigal was a good student, diligent and disciplined and loved by his teachers and friends. He loved traveling around the country and was a member of the Society for the Protection of Nature. He read many fine books, had poetic language and wrote lyrics. He was fond of art, painted collages, and took a lot of photographs. He dedicated his free time to drama and direction. Yigal was a sociable and pleasant person. His many acquaintances loved him for his good temper, his kindness, and his friendship. His hospitality, kindness, and generosity were all for nothing. He had never responded to an empty friend, and he was always willing to help anyone with advice and action. He had a jovial sense of humor, did not raise his voice in anger and avoided quarrels and quarrels. Yigal was drafted into the IDF in early November 1967 and assigned to the Artillery Corps, but at the beginning of the 1967 war he changed his mind and decided to serve in a combat unit. Thanks to his qualifications and achievements, he was sent to an officers’ course and afterwards he took part in an artillery officer course and an air inspectors course. He was an officer in artillery positions and later served as an airborne observation officer. What he went through in the War of Attrition went through only a few. His soldiers, who loved him because of his concern for everything, testified that he was a great “fighter”. As commander of the “Tempo” stronghold, he survived the fire, but as a result of the shelling his ears were damaged and his medical profile was lowered. His commanders told him that he was “an officer who was responsible, dedicated, proactive, efficient and sympathetic to his subordinates and fellow officers … He was quiet and disciplined and knowledgeable, but above all he did what he could as a personal example.” In 1970, Yigal was released from regular service. He studied at the Department of Economics at Tel Aviv University for a while. He was preparing to study directing movies and television films at the University of San Francisco, California. In 1972 he married his girlfriend Ruth. When the Yom Kippur War broke out, Yigal was not called up for reserve duty and was not drafted because of his medical profile. On October 25, 1973, Yigal fell in combat, north of the city of Suez, during the agricultural clearing, after passing the war as a combat soldier. On the first line, he was brought to rest in the cemetery in Kiryat Shaul, leaving behind a wife, parents, two brothers and a sister, who was promoted to the rank of captain. A list of him called “The Story of Heroism in the Suez Fronts”; his division published a book called “The First Walkers” in memory of its fallen, and Yigal among them.
