Yehuda Pikman

Yehuda Pikman was born in 1948 in Tel Aviv

Yehuda Pikman was born in Tel Aviv. He was named after his uncle, Yehuda Bitansky, who was killed as one of the fighters of the Lamed-He platoon.

He finished his studies at the Tichon Hadash high school. He was active in the Scouts movement and played tennis and chess.

Pikman joined the army in August 1966 and took part in the capture of Samaria in the Six-Day War. He then became an officer and served in Artillery Battalion 404.

On 8 September 1968, Egyptian artillery fired heavily on IDF positions near the Suez Canal. Pikman was an artillery observation officer in a mosque minaret in Qantara and kept directing Israeli fire after his post was hit, until he was killed. Nine other Israeli soldiers died in the incident that day.

He was buried at the Kiryat Shaul military cemetery and promoted after his death. A commendation he received for his last action was changed to the Medal of Distinguished Service in 1973. His name appears on several memorials, including the Artillery Corps memorial in Zikhron Ya'akov.