Aharon Tene

Aharon Tene was born in 1940 in Poland

Aharon Tene was born Aharon Tenenbaum in Poland on 18 September 1940, to Haim and Dvora Tenenbaum. He immigrated to Israel in 1950. He went to the Brenner elementary school and the Katznelson high school in Kfar Saba, where he won the high school long jump championship.

He joined the IDF in August 1958 and served in the Combat Engineering Corps until his death. He completed parachuting, engineering officer, company commander and small warfare courses. From 1961 to 1964 he served in Ethiopia on a Defense Ministry mission.

In the Six-Day War he led the engineering company of the 45th Brigade. On 6 June 1967 his unit rescued a trapped armored force in the Dotan Valley under heavy Jordanian fire, and he received the Medal of Distinguished Service. He later helped clear mines on the Golan Heights.

After the war he commanded a battalion in Sinai and earned a bachelor's degree in sociology and political science at Tel Aviv University. As a lieutenant colonel he became chief engineer of Southern Command and trained forces to cross the Suez Canal.

In the Yom Kippur War he joined Ariel Sharon's division and led the building of the first bridge over the Suez Canal. He was killed on 18 October 1973 in a clash with an Egyptian anti-tank team. The roller bridge over the canal was named Johnny Bridge after him, and he was buried in Beersheba.