Zuta, Gershon-Tuvia
Son of Hava – Sarah and Abraham. He was born on January 25, 1921 in Lukov, Poland, to a Zionist family. His father was an avid distributor of the Hebrew language in Poland and of the idea of immigration. In Poland he attended elementary school. At the age of fifteen he immigrated with his family to Eretz Israel. The family settled in Haifa and Gershon began studying in the evenings to pass the matriculation exams. However, his father’s sudden demise forced him to stop his studies and start working to help support the family. Gershon was an active and beloved member of the Maccabee movement and devoted a great deal of time to organizing, organizing and guiding youth. At the same time, he found time to read, which he liked so much. Especially a lot of popular science books, biographies and Judaism. His sister testifies that he was “a handsome boy, kind, talented, intelligent and resourceful.” At the end of 1940, Gershon and several of his friends decided to volunteer for the British Army to fight the Nazis. Gershon joined the Royal Air Force, though he was not yet eighteen. Together with his unit, he was transferred to Greece. When the Nazis entered Greece and his unit was captured, Gershon succeeded in escaping and returning to Israel. A year later, in early 1943, he was drafted again, this time to the Transportation Corps. He belonged to Unit 462, which was transferred to Egypt and engaged in the construction of army camps. When the Nazi invasion of North Africa began, Gershon moved to Tripoli and to Ku-el-Alamein. In April 1943, Gershon wrote to his family: “I have to write this letter in a few lines – I am very busy now … Once again a ‘puncture’ happened and I do not know when I will come, but I still hope that the situation will change for the better, . This was his last letter. Four days later, Gershon and his unit sailed aboard the “Arinapura” ship to Malta to participate in the Allied invasion of Sicily. But the ship did not get there. On May 27, 1943, the ship was sunk by a group of German bombers. Gershon together with one hundred and thirty-nine of his friends drowned. Assumed mother, two sisters and brother. In the military cemetery on Mount Herzl in Jerusalem, a ship-shaped monument was erected in memory of those who were missing, and next to it is a water pool with the names of the fallen engraved on the bottom. This fallen hero is a “maklan” – a hero whose burial place is unknown.
