"It was around 02:00 in the morning of the first day. We are the first reserve force to fight against the Syrians, historians describe us as the Dutch boy with his finger on the dam. This was the first encounter with the Syrians, which stopped them on the way to the Galilee and Tiberias. We intercept a Syrian shell. Fire Bursting out of the turret, I can still hear the screams of the crew. The Syrians started firing bursts at the jumping tankmen. I pull Toby out of the burning tank, we come out of the turret and grab bursts. My helmet flew off, Toby was killed on my left shoulder."
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"My helmet flew off, Tobi was killed on my left shoulder", Shlomo Tobi (photo: courtesy of the family)
Shlomo Tobi was born in 23 Adar 1 578 (4.3.1948) in Tel Aviv, to Malka and Chaim.
As a child he excelled in studies, but he was not satisfied with that - he always made sure to help students who were less successful than him.
His character traits made him popular among his friends and loved by his teachers.
Among other things, he really liked to take pictures and tried to deepen his knowledge in the field.
In May 1966 Shlomo enlisted in the Armored Corps and served there as a gunner.
His comrades in the unit testify that he served as a role model for them and that he was loved by his commanders.
In 1967 he participated in the Six Day War, and a year later in the IDF raid on the Fatah headquarters headed by Yasser Arafat in Karama.
After his release, he worked in the aerospace industry in Lod.
He persevered and improved, and began to advance in positions, while showing great diligence, initiative, perseverance and professionalism.
His co-workers tell of a man who did not like to stand out, and made sure to do everything modestly.
He did everything that was assigned to him quietly and calmly.
Although,
The first company at the front
A year before the Yom Kippur War, Solomon married Virginia.
With the outbreak of the war, he was sent with his reserve unit, the 266th Battalion of the 179th Brigade, to the Golan Heights.
His reserve commander, Amnon Sharon, tells Walla about the moments he will never forget.
"Within a few hours from the moment of recruitment, we arrived at the Emergency Warehouse Unit, Y.R.
Remains of malfunctioning tanks remained there because the night before they took our tanks from there.
We worked like crazy," recalls Sharon. "Suddenly I met Shlomo and Dvir Hateng-Kesher sitting and eating battle rations.
I said to them: 'What do you eat when we are all working hard?'
Tobi looked at me with his blue eyes, an image that keeps passing before my eyes, and said: 'We've been fasting all day, let us eat a little,' and I gave it to him."
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A Nati-powered tank in Hoshania (photo: official website, David Givati, Wikipedia)
With ten tanks, Solomon's force went up from Camp Philon to the Golan Heights.
When they have little ammunition and fuel.
Despite this, Sharon testifies that there was an atmosphere of euphoria.
"After the six days, we thought we were taking the Syrians by storm," he explained.
"I also said that this would be the revenge of Kippur that they destroyed for us."
After a few kilometers we encountered Syrian tanks for the first time.
In retrospect, it turned out that the force in front of them included 94 tanks with advanced night vision equipment, but the Syrians thought it was a trap, and refrained from attacking them.
However, soon the situation changed, and Shlomo found himself participating in one of the first battles of the war, perhaps even the first.
Suddenly, around 2:00 in the morning, the tank in which Solomon was living was hit by a Syrian shell and a fire broke out in the turret.
"The Syrian tanks were equipped and started blowing up our tanks, one after the other, and firing machine gun bursts at the tankmen who jump out," recalled Sharon, Shlomo's tank commander.
"We were only injured from the tank explosion. I shouted to him not to worry and tried to pull him out, but Shlomo was hit by the machine gun fire and killed while he was on my shoulder, while I was trying to rescue him from the burning tank."
"His good face stayed in my mind"
Shlomo Tobi died on the spot, at the age of 25, leaving behind a pregnant wife, parents and two sisters.
He did not get to know his daughter, who was named Shlomit after him.
After his death he was promoted to the rank of sergeant.
He fell in the battle for the oil axis, which led to Camp Nofah - a strategic junction in the Golan Heights.
Later, the battle was defined as one of the decisive battles of containment, and in Syrian history it is considered the main battle.
Shlomo's commanding officer, who was captured in the war in Syria and has since conducted captive workshops in the IDF, takes comfort to this day in the knowledge that he did not prevent him from eating after breaking the fast, in what turned out to be the last meal of his life. Even today, 50 years later, when he is already retired and engaged mainly in lectures and rehabilitation therapy, he Not forgetting for a moment his command, which you put in his hands.
"The State of Israel was saved thanks to Solomon's sacrifice", Amnon Sharon with Tobi's photo (photo: courtesy of the photographers)
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"There was a world of commotion there, chaos and chaos. Dev was sent to another tank, and I haven't seen him since."
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"He was a humble man, friendly with a good smile, helped everyone. I remember him like that from the regular, a proper guy. What remains in my mind is the young, smiling figure, with the good inside," Sharon misses.
"When I think about what would have happened if he had not fallen, I am always sure that he would have become a grandfather to his grandchildren. The State of Israel was saved thanks to his sacrifice."
Sharon testifies that he has no need for Memorial Day.
The memory is burned in him well every day.
From the height of his age, witnessing the social rift in the nation, he sends a moving message: "This country must be sane, we must be together so that we don't feel like we just sacrificed friends. We had no doubt then, it was clear that we needed to protect our precious country and we did so without hesitation. We paid a heavy price so that the country would continue to live in a sane way, in fellowship. The teams were made up of religious and secular, Mizrahi and Ashkenazim, we are all Israelis. We have no shortage of those who do not want to see us here. We have to do everything so that we are united."
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