Cpl. Dennis Bleuman

Jun 5, 2002 - Cpl. Dennis Bleuman, 20, of Hadera, was one of 17 people killed when a car packed with a large quantity of explosives struck Egged bus No. 830 traveling from Tel-Aviv to Tiberias at the Megiddo junction near Afula.

The attack took place at about 7:15 in the morning. The force of the explosion lifted the bus into the air, and reduced the car carrying the bomb to charred metal. The car exploded near the gasoline tank of the bus, causing it to burst into flames. Most of the casualties were soldiers who were on their way to their bases. The Islamic Jihad claimed responsibility for the attack.

Cpl. Dennis Bleuman was careful to take the express bus rather than buses that picked up passengers in Wadi Ara, where he twice narrowly missed suicide attacks.

Dennis, who immigrated with his family from the Ukraine in 1991, was a quiet soldier who was interested in computers and loved to build software and music websites, which he began doing when he was 15.

Cpl. Dennis Bleuman was buried in the military cemetery in Hadera. He is survived by his parents, Ramon, an engineer, and Yelena, and his older brothers Sergei, also an engineer.