Yom Kippur Eve5766 – 2005

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Photographed, written and preparation of presentation by Uzi Tauber.Music: “Let it be”, music and lyrics by Naomi Shemer, performed by Shuly Nathan.

Translation to English: Ronit Ariely Melamed

At Emek HabachaAt Emek Habacha “(Valley of Tears)”

October 9, 1973

Dear Viewer,As Yom Kippur approaches, I wish to share with you my personal experience.

I took part in the 1973 War as a fighter in a tank company, M Company, under the command of Amnon Lavi, in the framework of the 77th “Oz” Regiment commanded by Avigdor Kahalani, belonging to the 7th Brigade, commanded by Yanosh Ben-Gal.

The battle was held for 4 days opposite a valley that was the primary penetration axis for the Syrians.

The climax of the battle was on the fourth day, October 9, 1973.

Over time, we began to call the place “the Valley of Tears.”

Photograph: Internet

We were young and flushed with the zeal of a mission, when we, the troops of the 77th Regiment of the 7th Brigade, ascended into the Golan Heights under the cover of darkness (on September 1973).

The Sea of Galilee lay before us like a turquoise eye peering through the carpet of fields and settlements in the valley.In the background, the Galilee mountain range towered above us.The valley slept – the residents peaceful and safe. There was no tension in the air.

That was my first encounter of the Golan Heights. The prehistoric panorama of black basalt - volcanic rock, thorns, ruins, days of heat and cold, mosquitoes and fires. The Golan Heights, a country of transition, a country of nomads – the defensive wall for the State of Israel.

October 6, 1973. Yom Kippur, the Day of Atonement, 1:50 pm. At once the volcanic hills were completely covered with deadly fire and pillars of black smoke. Four Syrian “Sukhoi” airplanes suddenly appeared in the sky, and bombed the “Nafah” military HQ camp.We were deployed in the field, under camouflage nets.

Indescribable fear – the war had begun. I, belonging to a generation that grew up inspired by the heroic myth of the 6 Day War, who went to the army ready to fight,

found myself shaking and trembling.…

My gunner and I (in the center) two days after the war.

In the background, an anti-tank ditch intended to constitute an obstacle for enemy tanks.

Nothing of what happened at that time hinted at what was to follow .We quickly removed the camouflage nets from the tank and speeded to perform our mission – blocking the storming Syrian enemy.

The Memorial Monument to the 77th Regiment soldiers who fell, Valley of Tears

For three nights and three days, the desperate blocking battles raged. Hundreds of enemy tanks flooded the penetration axis from every direction. Our tanks were hit, scores of fighters and friends were killed. Israeli soldiers were found wandering about, shell-shocked.

The Syrians devoted a primary effort to take the axis leading from the Hermonit (Valley of Tears) approaching Bnot Yaakov bridge.

And that is where we found ourselves, the remnants of the 77th Regiment (“Oz”), commanded by Avigdor Kahalani.

My tank crew on a tank (of a Light Tank model) that survived the war.

And thus, on Wednesday morning, October 9, 1973, we identified a large and long column of about 70 enemy tanks, moving under the cover of artillery towards the penetration axis.Only four able tanks from M Company were there to face them .The rest of the Regiment tanks were on other missions.

A view of Kibbutz Marom Golan from Mt. Bental.

Syrians

Despite the deadly barrages of the Syrian artillery, we hastened to seize the positions of control. Suddenly we spotted several enemy tanks that had passed us, and were on their way to Kibbutz Elrom

and the main axis. Their way was clear……What happened over the next hour cannot be described in words.

The killing fields of Kibbutz Elrom, the place where the battle raged. In the background the “booster”

range.

Nowhere did we learn what hell was. In no military exercise were we taught to shoot enemy tanks at ranges of 5-10 meters. I never imagined that I would be forced to run over fleeing enemy soldiers under my tank tracks. I had never before experienced the loss of a friend in war.

*An eastern view of “Valley of Tears” from the Monument.

*In the horizon, the volcanic hills of the Syrian enclave and the Syrian village of Han Arnava.

The battle that developed on the fields of Kibbutz Elrom, at the foot of the Hermonit, on the threshold of the valley, was a life or death battle. It was the war of the individual tank. Not a war of armor, not one of controlled shooting, not an exercise nor

reconnaissance. Shooting in a “draw”, in movement, and shooting in 360 degrees .The destruction of an enemy tank, mixed with a terrible trauma. The ability to see the

frightened expression of the Syrian tank commander, the eye of the Syrian gunner .The ability to hear our shouts, stress and terror broadcast over the means of communication.The doctrine of the Tank Corps did not educate us to hold these kinds of battles .We thought that war could not look like this.

No…. and they never talked to us about emotions either.…

*At the “Oz” Monument, the remnants of a T-62 Syrian tank

*Scores of enemy tanks were destroyed at the Valley of Tears.

*My tank crew, Tank 1 of M Company.

*From right, Avi the gunner, Noah the commander, Uzi the driver and Nir, the communications loader.

And then, after half an hour, as the battle waned, when the remaining Regiment tanks joined us, we saw the enormity of the battle, the power of the fighting, the significance of the blocking and the heroism and the valley strewn with hundreds of smoldering enemy tanks.

We then began to count our losses.…In time, we erected the Memorial Monument for the 77th Regiment here, at the place where the Syrian enemy was blocked.

Please, visit the heroic monument of the 77th “Oz” Regiment, opposite the entrance to Kibbutz Elrom. Please remember the young people who lived and loved, laughed and teased, who fought and were destroyed in the hell of war.Remember their bravery.

May Yom Kippur be a day of eternal memory for the destruction of the safe, complacent and patronizing Israel. May Yom Kippur be a day of soul searching, on

what we were, and what became of us.…

Uzi Tauberkartis@netvision.net.il