Written by Ori Egoz
Translated by Juliana Brown
Alon was beyond excited leading up to Shabbat Simchat Torah; he was going to visit his dad on base! For the division soldiers, his father Assaf Hamami was "The Commander", and when he walked past, they quickly stood up straight and saluted. Alon knew that for his father, all the soldiers and the residents of the nearby towns he was responsible for were like his children.
He always asked about each and every soldier he came across on the paths around the base, made sure to bring food to those on guard duty, and secretly, even his money under the mattress of one soldier who he knew needed some help.
Once, when they were meant to be heading out on a military mission, a hard rain began falling. An absolute flood! The soldiers were at a loss for what to do. "Commander Hamami, how are we supposed to go out in this weather?" asked one of the privates. Colonel Hamami grabbed a bucket, filled it with water…and poured it over himself. "Nu, so we'll get a bit wet, so what?" he smiled at them. The soldiers laughed and realized they'd manage.
On Shabbat, when the rocket attack began, Col. Hamami, who was in charge of the entire southern Gaza brigade, realized before everyone else that something very unusual was happening outside. He woke up Alon and made sure someone took him to the command center, which was a safe room on the base, and then jumped into his jeep, along with Tomer, his radio operator and Kiril, the driver, and they went out to defend the towns which were under attack. "Commander here, declaring war!" he told everyone, and commanded all the units: "Get all the residents into their safe rooms! Get the security teams! Call up the special units! Tanks and Namer vehicles to the front, mortars towards Gaza!" The commander, at the head of all the troops, called upon everyone to fight and defend.
When he and his squad reached Kibbutz Nirim, the three of them got caught in a battle against dozens of terrorists. They charged ahead fearlessly and killed many of them, but Commander Hamami was wounded. Tomer and Kiril carried him to a rocket shelter nearby, where they cared for him and protected him, but all three fell in this terrible battle.
Alon, who was waiting on the base, spent his time drawing his father Assaf a flower, which would bloom again and continue his legacy, caring for and protecting children of all kinds, with his whole heart.
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