He Died for His Country

In another country, it might have been just another military training accident. A young Israel Air Force pilot’s fighter jet crashed and the pilot died instantly. A tragedy for the family, an investigation for the Air Force. Hardly a matter of public attention.

But this is Israel, where every man and woman in uniform holds a special place in the national psyche. And the young pilot was Captain Asaf Ramon, the beloved son of fallen national hero Ilan Ramon. And the entire country joined his grieving mother as she buried him and mourned for the future that he will never have.

Asaf’s father became a national hero when he was tapped to be Israel’s first astronaut. With much fanfare, he trained with NASA’s best and brightest in Houston, and he brought a Torah scroll and an Israeli flag into space. He died when the spaceship, the Columbia, crashed on re-entry to earth’s atmosphere in 2003, leaving his wife, Rona, and four children to share his memory with the entire country.

Three months ago, Ilan and Rona Ramon’s oldest son, Asaf, was recognized as the outstanding young pilot in his training course, and when Israel’s president, Shimon Peres, gave him his wings, he said a silent prayer: “Do not raise your hand against the boy.”

At the young pilot’s funeral, the president told Rona Ramon that the entire country was part of the Ramon family. Indeed, Rona’s personal tragedies have been painfully – and heartwarmingly – public, and even though the funeral was not open to the public, it seemed as if seven million Israelis mourned along with Rona and her three surviving children. When Rona cried her message - “Asaf, take care of Dad. I know Dad will take care of you, and hug you now” – all of Israel paused to take a deep breath. Like his father, Asaf Ramon will be remembered for giving his life in service to the country he loved, and the entire country will honor his memory for that.

In any other country, the death of a young pilot would not dominate the national agenda for days on end. But this is Israel, where the community comes together around shared ideals and national goals. In his life and in his death, Asaf Ramon embodied those ideals and goals.