Yechelev, Mordechai (Motke)

Son of Bilha and Pinchas. He was born on February 19, 1922 in Ponevezys, Lithuania. May 1948 he volunteered for the IDF and served in the Israel Air Force, where he participated in the war until the signing of the armistice agreements. In October 1958 he returned to serve in the regular army, the Engineering Corps. He went through a series of courses and training courses, including a course for noncoms, a course for warehouse managers, a course for managers of construction work, and more. Mordechai was promoted to the rank of lieutenant colonel and served as a captain, and his commanders noted: “Mordecai is an excellent professional, performs his duties in a good manner … he is loyal and trained in his profession.” He participated in all of Israel’s wars in his day and was decorated with the War of Independence, the Kadesh War, the Six-Day War and the Yom Kippur War. In February 1980 he fell ill and was hospitalized. On the 3rd of Adar 5740 (February 20, 1980), he died at the age of 57. The commander of his unit wrote to his family: “Major General Mordechai Yoklev died after many years of dedicated service in the IDF. As his colleagues we recognized his special qualities, for which his friends and commanders regarded him as an asset to the IDF and the nation. ” He was laid to rest at the military cemetery in Kiryat Shaul in Tel Aviv. He left behind a wife, a son, a daughter and a mother.