Last update - 00:00 30/08/2007
IDF to award medals to soldiers, units who fought in Lebanon war
By Amos Harel, Haaretz Correspondent
The IDF will begin awarding medals and citations next week to individual soldiers and units that fought in the Second Lebanon War.
The army will award 38 General Staff medals and three citations to units. In addition, 105 medals will be awarded by various commands, including five unit citations.
The highest awards, the General Staff medals, will be awarded during a Sunday night ceremony in Tel Aviv. The decision on the General Staff medals and citations was made by a committee chaired by Major General Yishai Bar, commander of a reserve corps. Bar was president of the court of appeals at the Military Advocate General during the war.
Among the recipients of the General Staff medals are those who participated in the first battle of Bint Jbail on July 26, 2006, in which eight soldiers from Battalion 51 of the Golani Brigade died. Eight soldiers will receive General Staff medals, including two who died in the battle: deputy battalion commander Major Roi Klein, and deputy company commander Lieutenant Alex Schwartzman. Three other soldiers will be awarded medals by the GOC Northern Command for their conduct during the battle.
Other battles with many casualties also resulted in significant numbers of awards. Noteworthy was the battle of the Egoz and Maglan unit near the village of Marun al-Ras on July 19 and 20, as well as the second battle for Bint Jbail on August 7, and the battle for Wadi Salouki and the villages of Ghanduriye and nearby Farun, on August 11 and 12.
The Paratrooper Brigade, the Golani Brigade, the Nahal Brigade and the 401 armored brigade received the largest number of medals and citations.
Also, helicopter pilots were awarded medals for their role in complicated rescue operations and the evacuation of injured soldiers under fire.
Three units received citations from the Chief of Staff for their conduct in the war: two helicopter squadrons, and the mobility squadron of the Central Command, all for their role in evacuating injured soldiers.