Walter, Boaz

Son of Naomi and Zvi, was born on the 16th of June 1960 in Kiryat Yam. His parents were among the founders of Kibbutz Sde Boker in the Negev. At home his father absorbed the love of the land and the connection to security and settlement issues. He studied at the elementary school and at the Rodman High School in Kiryat Yam and completed his studies in the real-estate track, where he spent many of his holidays in Kibbutz Sde-Boker, where he spent his vacations. And devoted himself to helping needy children, as an excellent student, he organized summer camps for nurturing and taught weak students who needed help, and he was able to find the balance between his studies and his many other activities. “Even during his service in the IDF, he often jumped to see” what is happening in the movement. ” Boaz took every opportunity to travel around the country. Camera and map were permanent equipment in his backpack. He photographed everything – landscapes, nature and people. About a month before he enlisted in the IDF, he wrote to his girlfriend: “I go with pride and joy to the army. I know that if there is a war or just a fire incident, I will give everything I have even if it will cost me dearly … “In November 1979 he enlisted in the IDF and served in the Armored Corps. After general training, he underwent a course for tank commanders and rose to the rank of sergeant. In October 1980, he graduated with honors from the Armored Corps officers and was promoted to the rank of lieutenant colonel, and was appointed as a guide to armored corps officers in the school he studied in. “As he intended to continue serving in the permanent army. When the Peace for Galilee War broke out, Boaz, as the company’s deputy commander, was with the force that penetrated the terrorist strongholds. He advanced with his unit in continuous fighting until he reached the outskirts of Beirut. On the 22nd of Sivan 5762 (13.6.1982), after a week of fierce fighting, in the village of Sil near Beirut, he was shot and killed by a Syrian sniper. He was 22 when he died. Boaz was laid to rest at the military cemetery in Haifa. Survived by his parents, brother and sister. The commander of his unit wrote to his parents: “I met Boaz for the first time in one of the courses in which I moved to the armored corps … It was a little strange to command an officer who was just a bit stupid when it came to the tank’s secrets and uses … Boaz and his friends taught me an important chapter that I had not known before. After a week of fighting and difficult battles, in which he took part as deputy company commander. After 24 hours of continuous fighting against armored forces and commandos in a very difficult area, we found ourselves at the outskirts of Beirut and the airport. Behind us were dozens of burned enemy tanks, dozens of commandos killed and dozens of positions, vehicles and damaged weapons. It was strange. For a moment I toyed with the thought that the war was over. Joy and pride crept into my Lev, for all the soldiers of me and no one had been killed in this long and terrible battle. And then, like a bolt of lightning, the news fell – Boaz was badly wounded. And a few minutes later came the news that Boaz was no longer with us. Boaz fell as a son in the most wonderful family that was established in Israel in this generation – the family of fighters. I won a prize for the fighters and fighters of the battalion. “