The Platoon Leader Who Lost His Tank Crew in Lebanon — And Returned to the Same Spot as a Brigade Commander
"They were my hands and legs; I knew if I lost them, I would lose a part of myself."
August 3, 2006, late morning in the Rajamin area of Southern Lebanon. The tank of Colonel Y., then a young Platoon Leader (PL) in the 188th Brigade, climbs heavily toward an exposed firing position. After about 15 seconds of fire, the crew receives an order to withdraw, as agreed over the radio.
"Itamar the driver had already managed to shift gears, but we hadn't started moving yet. Then. the missile hit the tank. There was a very large explosion inside, and I realized very quickly what had happened," Y. describes the moments everything changed, as the tank filled with thick smoke. "It was almost impossible to breathe. I understood I had to rescue my soldiers."
A Bond Forged in Fire
Y. had finished Officer School (Bahad 1) less than a month before the incident. "I came straight from the course to my tank: Sergeant Andrei Broder (Z"L) the gunner, Sergeant Alon Pintuch (Z"L) the loader, and Sergeant Itamar Tzur (Z"L) the driver. We quickly entered Gaza and went through several significant encounters that bonded us as a crew, despite being very different people," Colonel Y. recalls. "Alon had returned from an injury, and Andrei and Itamar came from the training track. The four of us found a home in that tank."
"We walked around feeling like heroes; there was great pride. I remember Andrei once brought home a 'Karkov' (remnant of a fired shell) to show his family. With Alon, I had a special 'click' - he was cynical and funny. With Itamar, we had deep talks about his place in the crew and how connected we were."
From Gaza, the crew was rushed to reinforce the northern front in Lebanon. "It was a complex mental transition. We had all heard the stories from the old Security Zone, and we knew this would be different from anything we knew."
On the eve of Tisha B'Av, August 2, they moved across the border. Y. recall the heavy silence during the crossing. "Itamar was very sharp and professional, giving me the backing to command the platoon. We continued until morning when we reached our positions on the Rajamin ridge."
The Ambush
The company's mission was to isolate the village of Majdal Zoun to prevent terrorists from threatening infantry forces. "We felt confident. The enemy wasn't returning fire and was relatively far. We couldn't have anticipated what was coming," he says slowly.
At 11:00 AM, Y.'s tank moved to another attack. There, in the exposed position, it was hit by an anti-tank missile. "We inhaled a lot of smoke. I saw that the three of them were in critical condition. I knew I had to save them. With my last strength, I opened the commander's hatch, called the deputy company commander, and together we dragged the tank out of the exposed area under fire."
Fuelled by adrenaline, Y. didn't feel the pain of his own severe injuries. "I was afraid the soldiers coming to help would be hit during the rescue. I struggled to keep my eyes open. When the medical team arrived, I sat by the radio and heard the reports coming in, only then did I begin to process what was happening."
The Long Road Back
Y. was evacuated to Rambam Hospital and placed in a medically induced coma for 48 hours. When he woke up, his first question to his mother was: "What happened to the rest of the crew?"
His mother confirmed his worst fears: Andrei, Alon, and Itamar had all been killed. "I lost a part of myself. Alongside that, I dealt with an immense sense of failure, that I didn't bring my soldiers home safely. They fell just 24 hours after we entered."
Y. spent months in rehabilitation for severe burns and lung damage. "My mental world was falling to pieces. It took time to find my 'Why' again so I could understand the 'How'." Surrounded by family, he eventually decided to return to service. He left the hospital specifically to attend the 30-day memorial service for his men.
Closure in "Northern Arrows"
Over the next 20 years, Y. climbed the ranks, though he says he never planned to become a Brigade Commander.
"During Operation Northern Arrows, I was the Commander of the 205th Brigade. We reached the exact area of that battle from the Second Lebanon War. It hit me, the place I was evacuated from on a stretcher, I had returned to with an entire brigade behind me. That is my personal victory, and my way of remembering Alon, Itamar, and Andrei every single day."