Reserve Staff Sergei Shmerkin, 32, who fell in the ground operation in the Gaza Strip, was laid to rest today (Monday) in the Kiryat Shmona cemetery. Hundreds of people accompanied him on his final journey. May, his partner, eulogized him: "I can't digest and my heart refuses to believe that this is our new reality."
"Today is also the day that the angel in you soars into the sky." Sergei Shmerkin was laid to rest, photo: AP
Sergei Shmerkin was laid to rest, photo: AP
The Home Front Command and the police requested that only 30 people be able to attend the funeral, according to instructions in a threatened community like Kiryat Shmona. However, about 500 people attended the funeral. Reserve officers circulated among the crowd of mourners and urged people to leave.
"There were many dreams - now there is another angel in the sky"
The soldier's spouse said in her eulogy about the man he was and the life he led: "My beloved Sergei, I do not digest and my heart refuses to believe that this is our new reality. Barely two weeks have passed since the letter I wrote to you, while you were still fighting. And today I am writing you again - a letter that is an eternal memory."
Sergei Shmerkin was laid to rest, photo: AP
Sergei's family at his funeral, today,
"Today is also the day that the angel in you soars into the sky," she added. "I had the privilege of loving you. It was clear to both of us that as soon as you return, you immediately get married and establish a home in the Land of Israel, the land you fought for and to which you gave your life."
"We talked about the kids," May said. "We had a lot of dreams about the future – what about them now? So many have asked me who Sergei is and there are so many answers. My best friend, everyone's friend. The most beautiful and most loved. You were the beloved of my life. The only one who knew how to contain me and know me better than I did. We had the ability to speak without words. On the bloody Saturday it was immediately important for you to volunteer, you said that only way would you know that you were really protecting me."
"We had a lot of dreams about the future." Sergei Shmerkin was laid to rest, photo: AP
Sergei Shmerkin was laid to rest, photo: AP
"My life, I wish you could see how many people you touched. The amount of stories I've heard about you since Friday. I want you to know that I am with your family. They are not alone. You entered so perfectly and completely into the heart of every member of my family. If you saw my strong father being dismantled now."
Sergei immigrated from Uzbekistan to Israel when he was 11 years old, with his parents Vyacheslav and Tatiana and his older brother Daniel. Sergei fell alongside four other reservists while searching a building and searching for a tunnel shaft. During the operation, a large explosion occurred that caused parts of the structure to collapse on the fighters. IDF forces rescued the fighters from the scene under fire and treated the wounded.
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