Just last week we started our “Faces of the IDF” series on a positive note, highlighting the first female Arab-Israeli paratrooper. Our goal is to show that Israel truly is a “citizen’s army,” represented by men and women of great diversity.
Yesterday, July 26th, 2010, Israel lost six of its finest in a helicopter crash in Romania. The flight was part of an 11 day Israeli-Romanian joint training exercise held in a mountainous region of central Romania, designed to simulate a search and rescue operation in hostile regions. Working with Eastern European countries for training exercises is nothing new for Israel. In 2006, Israel and Romania signed a military exercise and cooperation deal which they had extended last year. The CH-53 helicopter, carrying 4 IAF personnel, 2 aerial engineers, and a Romanian Air Force Servicemen, crashed leaving no survivors.
For a country with such a small population, in which most spend years of their lives in the army, this tragedy hits especially close to home.
We would like to take this opportunity to offer our most heartfelt condolences to the Israeli and Romanian families of the victims. As part of our “Faces of the IDF” series, we honor the memories of those fallen.
Lieutenant Colonel (res.) Avner Goldman just turned 48 last week and got to celebrate it with his wife, Orit. His wife said, “He was a smart man, a good person, the best husband I could have asked for. I told the kids, ‘At least he didn’t suffer. Until the very last moment, he had a smile on his face.’ We were privileged to have a wonderful husband and father, an amazing person.” Avner also leaves behind him four children, ages 22, 18, 16, and 13.
Lieutenant Colonel Daniel Shipenbauer was born in Uruguay and made aliyah to Israel with his family when he was 6 yeas old. As he kid he was an enthusiastic soccer player and stayed a devoted fan, taking his children to matches every week. During the second Lebanon war he was promoted to head of his squadron. His friends describes him as a very honest, modest, and hard working individual that despite his tough exterior was a very sensitive soul. Having been in the squadron for the last 20 years, he had the chance to mentor almost every new pilot that was trained. Daniel is survived by his wife, Yael, and three children – Amit, 16, Roee, 12, and Yonatan, 8.
Major Lior Shai was born and raised in Ramat Hasharon near Tel Aviv. According to his mother, he never seriously thought he would be a pilot, being just as interested as studying electrical engineering at Tel Aviv University as remaining with the Yasurim squadron. Still, he was ecstatic for the opportunity to fly. He leaves behind his wife, Tamar, and their four-month-old baby.
Major Yahel Keshet was born and raised in the moshav Sharona in the lower Galilee, and was currently residing in the Hatzerim air base before the crash. He was the pride of the whole moshav. While he originally wanted to serve in the commandos as his father did, after passing the cadets course he quickly rose the ranks of the Israeli Air Force. He was only two weeks away from being promoted to deputy squadron commander. Yahel is survived by his wife, Hofit, and two children – Harel, 2, and Ofri, two-months old.He was a quiet man, devoted to his family, his wife Hofit and their children, Harel, 2, and Ofri, two-months old. He loved volunteering and helping the community, working to help underprivileged youth and new immigrants from Ethiopia. His hobbies were traveling and tracking, diving, snowboarding and playing guitar.
Staff Sergeant Oren Cohen served in the very same squadron as his father before him. His friends describe him as a brilliant man, he knows his job very well and he picked on new things faster than anyone else” said his friend Oren Dunai. He said Cohen was a supporting and fun loving friend – “there was not a single thing in the world you couldn’t have talked to him about – rock music or quantum mechanics – Oren knew it all, and he was always fun to be around”
Lieutenant Nir Lakrif “was an example of excellence for many. He completed his studies at Air Force technical school with honors, enlisted, and completed his training as a mechanic, a position he chose together with a select group of people who are the pride of the Air Force and the State of Israel. This was also the position he filled during this exercise,” said his uncle. He would have been celebrating his 25th birthday on August 3rd. August was also suppose to mark his first year anniversary of his marriage to Maggie, who is four months pregnant. He will never get to meet his child.
Captain Stefan-Claudiu Dragnea was a member of Romania’s Air Force. He was 31 years old. His wife is five months pregnant.
Both Israel and Romania have suffered a terrible tragedy. Once again, our hearts and prayers go out to the families of the victims.
To read more about the victims, click here.
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- Faces of the IDF: Israel’s First Female Arab-Israeli Paratrooper As a "citizen army," Israel's defense forces are a reflection...
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