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Memorial Day, 5771
May 2011
My Dear IDF Widows and Orphans,
Another year has passed, and once again the flags have been lowered to half mast, the siren will pierce the sacred, painful silence, and we will return to the monuments and the cemeteries. We will be there to give you strength. You, who do not have a memorial day, an hour of contemplation, or a moment of silence, but hold in your hearts only one moment, the moment that divided your lives into two – the moment you learned that you lost your loved ones.
From that moment, every day is a time of remembrance and longing for a father or a husband, for everything that once was and will no longer be again; a time of wondering about what could have been had it not prematurely ended. There is no limit to the pain that continues as time goes on without them, or to the huge debt that the Israeli society owes to those that lost their lives for our security, and to
you – you, who lost the most important and precious of all.
The poet, Rachel, wrote:
“And how can a person live? And how can he overcome the present nightmares and future anger, without a wing of protection, without the motherly comfort of memories?”
Her questions take on additional meaning in the context of the complexities of your struggle with bereavement. This publication puts into writing the words that you so much wanted to say to someone who is no longer with us, and in the very best way possible expresses your feelings and thoughts about the experience of bereavement. No letter or poem can dull the pain, but the personal and collective memories gathered here may help you, and others who experience a similar loss, to cope with the grief.
My Dear Ones,
At the beginning of the 64th year of the independence of our people, the Israel Defense Forces stand strong, powerful, and ready for the challenges before us. Faced with the complicated and changing security situation in our area, and with a wide range of threats, we draw great strength from the heroism of those that fell. On Memorial Day, and on each day of the year, the IDF soldiers and commanders stand at your side, as a large and united family. We will forever be your comforting shoulder and supporting hand, out of a true partnership of fate, our sincere desire to support you, and our eternal commitment to the dear friends that are no longer with us.
Together we will go forward on our path to strengthen the security of Israel, and we pray that it won’t be long before the day will come when we cease engraving additional names on memorial monuments – a day of true peace.
May you know no more sorrow!
Be strong and courageous,
Benjamin (Benny) Gantz,
Lieutenant-General Chief of Staff
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