Yehudai, Gad

Gad, son of Kata and Zalman, was born on 13 October 1943 in Kfar Saba. When he was ten months old, he moved with his parents to Kibbutz Kfar Szold, where he went through all the stages of growing as child on the kibbutz – from kindergarten to high school. Gad was drafted into the IDF in mid-November 1962 and volunteered for the Paratroopers Brigade, during which he underwent a platoon commander’s course, a parachuting course, a course for Infantry Division commanders, a course for infantry officers and a course for company commanders. The courses were all finished with excellent grades. His comrades-in-arms, commanders and subordinates alike recognized the uniqueness of his personality, natural authority, wisdom, intelligence, and integrity. About a month before the Yom Kippur War broke out, the paratroopers unit from the Jerusalem conquerors was called up for reserve duty on Mount Hermon (Jebel Ross). A television photographer who came to the scene immortalized the unit in its operation. When the war ended, he returned to them and finished his sad film. The film was screened on the television screen, with pictures of Gadi in the middle. When the war broke out, the unit entered the fighting in full force. On Saturday, October 13, 1973, the paratroopers found a moment of leisure to toast Gadi’s thirtieth birthday. Two days later, the paratroopers were ordered to cross the canal first and catch a bridgehead on the western side. After many hardships the men of the battalion managed to cross the canal and continued on their way to the village of Seraphim. The village, which seemed silent from far away, was a dangerous ambush. On the 17th of Tishrei 5734 (October 17, 1973), when Gadi tried to rescue his men from the attacked half-track, he was seriously wounded and after a while died of his wounds. He was brought to eternal rest in the cemetery at Ein Harod. He left behind a wife, a son and a daughter, a father, a mother and two sisters. After his fall, he was promoted to the rank of Major.