Sgt. Ro'i Tal

Apr 5, 2002 - Sgt. Ro'i Tal, 21, of Ma'alot was killed in an exchange of fire between IDF troops and Palestinian gunmen in Jenin (Operation Defensive Shield).

Sgt. Ro'i Tal, 21, served as liason officer in the Nahal Brigade fighting in Jenin. He was killed as he ran from cover to save a fellow soldier Oded Kornfein who was shot and died later of his injury.

Ro'i had phoned his parents to say he was on the way home for the weekend for the first time in three weeks, when his commander told him to return. "What can I do," Ro'i explained, "there's a war and I must be there."

Ro'i was raised in Nahariya, where he attended the Amal comprehensive high school. The family moved to Ma'alot a year ago. His father, formerly a police investigator, recently joined the Israel Nature and Nstionsl Parks Authority. His mother, Mazal, works at a hospital in Nahariya.

Sgt. Ro'i Tal was buried in the military cemetery in Nahariya. He is survived by his parents and two brothers, Yuval 32 and Hagai 28.