Lieutenant Alan M Chersky
Alan, son of Lucille and Joseph, was born on February 16, 1951 in Los Angeles into a traditional Jewish family. He grew up in Beverly Hills and then went to a regular high school in Los Angeles. A summer trip to Israel through his high school led to him wanting to seek his Jewish identity. He felt that his education in America was just “carrying my books back and forth from school” and desired to be a part of something larger.
Immigration
When he was eighteen, he wished to move to Israel in the wake of the Six-Day War. After some time, he finally succeeded in convincing his parents and immigrated to Eretz, Israel in May 1969 and was sent to Ulpan in Kibbutz Hazorea. As a newcomer, Alan was quiet, introverted and somewhat shy, yet in the kibbutz they all knew him because of his great love for the children and his love for animals. He taught them to play baseball, and his passion attracted them to the game. On the lawn Alan liked to join any prank, trip, or swim without hesitation and without notice. He was described as a handsome, fair-haired, blue-eyed American who brought something different and fresh to the kibbutz. He loved music and playing the clarinet, although he never played for his friends, but only for pleasure.
Alan was drafted into the IDF in the middle of August 1970 at age nineteen. It was difficult for him to integrate into a military framework among people who spoke a different language. He learned Hebrew well enough to complete his first period of service, after which he went to visit his parents in Los Angeles to show his progress. Alan decided to pursue an officers’ course, which he completed along with an artillery officer’s course, and was the first immigrant from the United States to finish an officer’s course so soon after he immigrated. Before completing his mandatory service he extended his service in the IDF for another year.
Yom Kippur War
When the Yom Kippur War broke out, Allen served as an artillery forward observer on the southern front with Battery A, 209th “Kadion” Artillery Regiment, yet was attached to an armored company for support. In his letter dated October 15, 1973, he wrote to his parents: “This is the ninth day of the war … I do not know how long this letter will last until it reaches you, but I hope it will be fast, because I do not want you to worry me too much. To visit you in May when I finish my army service, which is strange, but now I feel as if I have achieved some kind of self-realization, and that’s why I came here a few years ago … ”
On October 18, his tank company pulled back beyond Egyptian artillery range to refuel before entering the line again. Lieutenant Chersky and their men had been in constant combat since the beginning of the war, yet the company refused to be rotated off the line. While the unit was recuperating, an American NBC reporter stumbled upon the group and Lieutenant Chersky, his left arm covered from wrist to elbow with a bandage, was summoned for an interview.
"I feel that I am part of the battle for something of value. I don't think that there are many things of value in the world. If there is some goal which inspires a young person, especially a Jew, this is the place … (although) I don't like to fight, there is something here that needs to be done and I am more than ready to do it.”
On the 19th of Tishrei 5740 (19.10.1973), Alan advanced with his armored unit towards the bridges that were established on the Suez Canal. The Egyptians were relentlessly shelling the crossing point where the pontoon bridges were located in a desperate attempt to drive them off. 2nd Lieutenant Chersky’s tank was eventually hit and abandoned. Without hesitation, he jumped on another tank to return fire on the Egyptians from its machine gun. While firing, an artillery shell landed on the vehicle, killing him instantly. In a letter to his family, his commanding officer wrote: “Your son served in my unit for about nine months and fell during the Yom Kippur War, when he tried to cross with the first forces the Suez Canal. All the days of his service in the unit, he was an officer in Battery A, accepted and loved by all the soldiers of the like, and his fall was a very difficult loss for all of us… Alan was always a personal example and was among the best commanders of the teams and officers devoted to the unit. As one who never gave up, the smile did not leave his face even during difficult times, never bad for anyone – as a good and dedicated officer, Alan will be remembered forever among the soldiers of the unit.”
He was brought to rest at the military cemetery on Mount Herzl in Jerusalem and left behind his parents, two sisters and a brother, and was posthumously promoted to the rank of lieutenant. Kibbutz Hazorea published a booklet in his memory.
Immigration
When he was eighteen, he wished to move to Israel in the wake of the Six-Day War. After some time, he finally succeeded in convincing his parents and immigrated to Eretz, Israel in May 1969 and was sent to Ulpan in Kibbutz Hazorea. As a newcomer, Alan was quiet, introverted and somewhat shy, yet in the kibbutz they all knew him because of his great love for the children and his love for animals. He taught them to play baseball, and his passion attracted them to the game. On the lawn Alan liked to join any prank, trip, or swim without hesitation and without notice. He was described as a handsome, fair-haired, blue-eyed American who brought something different and fresh to the kibbutz. He loved music and playing the clarinet, although he never played for his friends, but only for pleasure.
Alan was drafted into the IDF in the middle of August 1970 at age nineteen. It was difficult for him to integrate into a military framework among people who spoke a different language. He learned Hebrew well enough to complete his first period of service, after which he went to visit his parents in Los Angeles to show his progress. Alan decided to pursue an officers’ course, which he completed along with an artillery officer’s course, and was the first immigrant from the United States to finish an officer’s course so soon after he immigrated. Before completing his mandatory service he extended his service in the IDF for another year.
Yom Kippur War
When the Yom Kippur War broke out, Allen served as an artillery forward observer on the southern front with Battery A, 209th “Kadion” Artillery Regiment, yet was attached to an armored company for support. In his letter dated October 15, 1973, he wrote to his parents: “This is the ninth day of the war … I do not know how long this letter will last until it reaches you, but I hope it will be fast, because I do not want you to worry me too much. To visit you in May when I finish my army service, which is strange, but now I feel as if I have achieved some kind of self-realization, and that’s why I came here a few years ago … ”
On October 18, his tank company pulled back beyond Egyptian artillery range to refuel before entering the line again. Lieutenant Chersky and their men had been in constant combat since the beginning of the war, yet the company refused to be rotated off the line. While the unit was recuperating, an American NBC reporter stumbled upon the group and Lieutenant Chersky, his left arm covered from wrist to elbow with a bandage, was summoned for an interview.
"I feel that I am part of the battle for something of value. I don't think that there are many things of value in the world. If there is some goal which inspires a young person, especially a Jew, this is the place … (although) I don't like to fight, there is something here that needs to be done and I am more than ready to do it.”
On the 19th of Tishrei 5740 (19.10.1973), Alan advanced with his armored unit towards the bridges that were established on the Suez Canal. The Egyptians were relentlessly shelling the crossing point where the pontoon bridges were located in a desperate attempt to drive them off. 2nd Lieutenant Chersky’s tank was eventually hit and abandoned. Without hesitation, he jumped on another tank to return fire on the Egyptians from its machine gun. While firing, an artillery shell landed on the vehicle, killing him instantly. In a letter to his family, his commanding officer wrote: “Your son served in my unit for about nine months and fell during the Yom Kippur War, when he tried to cross with the first forces the Suez Canal. All the days of his service in the unit, he was an officer in Battery A, accepted and loved by all the soldiers of the like, and his fall was a very difficult loss for all of us… Alan was always a personal example and was among the best commanders of the teams and officers devoted to the unit. As one who never gave up, the smile did not leave his face even during difficult times, never bad for anyone – as a good and dedicated officer, Alan will be remembered forever among the soldiers of the unit.”
He was brought to rest at the military cemetery on Mount Herzl in Jerusalem and left behind his parents, two sisters and a brother, and was posthumously promoted to the rank of lieutenant. Kibbutz Hazorea published a booklet in his memory.