"It's good to die for our country," wrote Staff Sergeant (res.) Roi Sasson to his friend, days before entering Gaza. He couldn't have known these words would become his legacy.
In the quiet Jerusalem suburb of Mevaseret Zion, the Sasson family home still echoes with memories of their middle child's infectious laughter. Roi, the 800th soldier to fall in this war, was more than just another statistic in this conflict's mounting toll. At just 21, he embodied the spirit of Israel's young warriors: dedicated, principled, and unflinchingly brave.
"He buried his excellence certificate in his closet," recalls his partner Shoham, a former IDF shooting instructor - Their love story began in the dusty confines of a military base where Shoham served as his unit's shooting instructor.
The "Parliament," as his tight-knit group of friends called themselves, pleaded with him not to volunteer for Gaza. But those who knew Roi understood that staying behind was never an option. This was, after all, the same young man who, as a youth leader in the Israeli Scouts, would quietly ensure that no child felt left out, the same officer who would gift special unit patches to struggling soldiers to boost their morale.
At his funeral, a former Scout he had mentored years ago approached the family with a letter. In it, she described how Roi had been the only one to notice her during difficult times, consistently ensuring her inclusion in group activities. It was classic Roi - seeing those others overlooked, standing up for those others forgot.
His grandfather's photo remained his phone's background until the end - a testament to the deep family bonds that defined him. "I've never seen such love and admiration for a grandfather," Shoham says. Between his sisters, whom Shoham describes as "his whole life," and his parents, Roi's world was anchored in family.
When the war broke out, Roi's Nachshon Battalion was initially deployed to the northern front. There, he stepped up to fill a command vacancy, earning an excellence citation he typically downplayed. It was this same sense of duty that drove him to Gaza, despite his friends' protests.
His last message to his close friend reads differently now, heavy with prophetic weight: "I'm not afraid to die. It's good to die for our country." Simple words that captured a profound truth about duty, courage, and sacrifice.
In Jabaliya, where Roi fell defending the country he loved so deeply, his final action was, characteristically, in service of others. He leaves behind not just grieving family and friends, but a legacy of quiet leadership, unwavering dedication, and the kind of love - for family, friends, and country - that will live on in the hearts of those who knew and loved him.
His phone's background photo of him and his grandfather remains unchanged, a frozen moment of joy between two generations, a reminder of the bonds that shaped a hero who, like too many others, left us too soon.
Channel 14 contributed to this article.
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