Tzarfaty, Ronnie

Roni (Rami), ben Rachel and Yitzhak, was born on the 8th of Sivan, May 24th, 1950 in Tunis, Tunisia, and immigrated to Israel with his family in 1955. Roni was drafted into the Israel Defense Forces in early May 1968. His parents tried to convince him to ask for discharge from the army because of the arthritis he suffered as a child, but he refused to think about it. After completing basic training, he graduated with honors, was assigned to a combat engineering battalion as a heavy machinery operator and worked on the construction of fortifications on the canal line, where he spent many months fighting battles. Roni was again assigned to a battalion that served on the Suez Canal and elsewhere. His commanding officer saw him as a noncommissioned officer who did his job with honors, and his discharge certificate indicated that he had done his job best. After completing his regular service, he was assigned to reserve duty as a non-commissioned officer in a combat engineering unit. In 1973 he married. When the Yom Kippur War broke out, Rami took his unit and was sent to Sinai, where he participated in the battles for the construction of the bridges on the Suez Canal. On the 22nd of Tishrei 5734, October 18th, 1973, when the forces crossed the Channel to its western side, Rami was injured in an artillery bombardment and transferred to the IAA, where he was again injured and died of his wounds, and was brought to rest at the military cemetery on Mount Herzl in Jerusalem. Rami left behind a wife, parents, three brothers and a sister (his daughter, who was born after he fell, was named after him,Ramit), and was raised to the rank of sergeant:” Roni served with dedication and sacrifice. He was one of the best in his company, and a friend of all his comrades in the unit. “