Hundreds of people, including family members, friends and brothers in arms, arrived Thursday to the military plot on Mount Herzl to pay their last respects to Lt. Avshalom Armoni, 22, who was killed in a training accident in the Golan Heights early Wednesday when a self-propelled cannon overturned into a ditch.
Armoni, a resident of the communal West Bank settlement Beit Horon, lost his cousin Na'ama Henkin in the October 2015 shooting attack in the settlement of Itamar.
"Friday, 9:30 in the morning, the door of the house opens and behind a large bouquet hides a tired soldier who heroically finished his task—bringing flowers to his mom every week when he returned home for Shabbat," his mother said mournfully. "Today we are returning the flowers to you on Mount Herzl."
"All I want to shout is 'Enough. We understand the joke, now come home.' How do you say last words about such a lively person?" said Armoni's father in a heartrending eulogy.
Armoni's younger brother, Noam, was choking back the tears over his brother's coffin: "We came to say goodbye to you forever, Avshalom. It's hard to believe you're not coming back. For you, I have written a final letter, so you will know you have taught us about benevolence, charity and truth. Yours truly, Noam from the bed above you."
Staff Sergeant Avinoam Cohen, who was also killed in the accident, was laid to rest on Wednesday.