Oved Ladiginski

Oved Ladiginski was born in 1931 in Rehovot

Ladiginski was born in Rehovot in 1931 to Ze'ev and Rachel. His family later moved to Kfar Bilu.

In the War of Independence he fought in the Palmach's Yiftach Brigade, including the battles of Khirbet Mahaz. After the war he went back to farming, then returned to the IDF and completed officers' course. He became a platoon commander in Battalion 890 of the paratroopers.

In October 1955 he led a force in Operation Se'ir, which attacked a post on the Golan Heights and captured 3 Syrian soldiers. In December 1955, during Operation Olive Leaves near the Sea of Galilee, he crawled under an intact fence and killed the men in a bunker, opening the way into the post. He received the Chief of Staff's citation, later converted to the Medal of Courage.

On 1 November 1956, in the battle of the Mitla during the Sinai Campaign, he led a night attack on Egyptian positions in the cliffs. A grenade he threw rolled back, and he shielded the soldier nearest him, Sergeant Yigal Gerber, with his body and was killed. He was awarded a second citation after his death, also later converted to the Medal of Courage.

He was first buried in a temporary military cemetery and moved to Mount Herzl in Jerusalem in 1957. A street in Rehovot is named after him, and the character Oded in S. Yizhar's novel Days of Ziklag is based on him.