Until about two years ago, Lt. Col. (Res.) Itzik Grossman, 71, was still volunteering for reserve duty. However, following the events of October 7, Lt. Col. Grossman, a combat navigator who fought in the 1973 Yom Kippur War with the 119th Squadron and also participated in the First Lebanon War, donned his uniform again and re-enlisted.
"I received a call that volunteers were needed, and immediately joined the effort," he recounts. "In October, I completed an Air Force auxiliary officer course, and since then, I've been in the reserves. We, as auxiliary officers, mediate between the Air Force and ground forces that require assistance, coordinating support for them with combat aircraft or conducting rescues with helicopters. In this war, the Israeli Air Force provides support unlike anything before."
Grossman never imagined he'd volunteer for the army again at his ripe age and face field conditions. "Living in a tent with another hundred people and communal showers, I've already forgotten what that looks like. But that's what needs to be done now, and I'm glad for the opportunity to contribute," he says.
"I mostly serve with reservists, younger than me, from all walks of life," he adds. "In the first months of the war, when we were stationed in the south, an officer approached me and said, 'You don't know what it does to us to see you here. When we see a person your age volunteering, we understand what we're doing here, and it gives us motivation.'"
"I've been thanked many times," says the 71-year-old reservist. "My family is very supportive and appreciative of my volunteering, and my grandchildren are very proud of me and support me."
In his current reserves duty, Grossman also managed to close a personal circle, as part of the team for the Carmeli Brigade, where his cousin, David Yeshayahu Grossman, fell in battle in Jenin during Israel's War of Independence, whom he never got to know.
"I grew up hearing stories about him; we were in touch with the brigade and attended memorial events, and now it's moving to serve in the same place he did," Grossman said. "The people of the Carmeli Brigade, alongside whom I fight today, most of them are from Golan Heights. Excellent individuals, each one of them. I salute them for their determination, dedication to the mission, and readiness to continue until it is completed."
'I've always had a longing for Israel'
Itzik Grossman is not the only septuagenarian enlisted for duty: Itzik Mishael, 71, arrived from Miami to Israel to join his reserve unit.
In 1966, when Mishael was 14, his family immigrated to the United States. In 1973, when the Yom Kippur War broke out, Mishael was a fourth-year business administration student. Without hesitation, he left everything behind and came to Israel to enlist.
"I arrived as a lone soldier straight to basic training in Rafah," Mishael recalled. "From there, I moved to the Julis base and later deployed to the Sinai with the 500th Brigade. I served on the front line there for eight months, and then continued to a tank commanders' course."
"I was assigned to the 188th Brigade's 71st Battalion. When I was interviewed for the battalion, it was by Yoni Netanyahu (the late brother of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who fell in the 1976 Entebbe raid and was the battalion commander at the time). I served there for nine months in the Golan Heights. It was then a great personal pride for me alongside immense satisfaction to serve my country," he adds.
Mishael is divorced, a father of two, and a grandfather of four. "My entire family lives in Miami," he said. "I've always had a longing for Israel. After October 7, with all the turmoil in Gaza border towns and the war breaking out, I felt a strong need to return to my homeland, enlist in my battalion and assist in any way possible.
"It was important for me to physically come to Israel and volunteer to assist my battalion on the Golan Heights, to be in the field with the soldiers. Fortunately, they accepted me, and there I do all sorts of logistical work. Assisting the soldiers of my battalion gives me great satisfaction and pride.
"Now, I plan to return for a short visit to Miami, but not to end my reserve duty. I'll be back to enlist soon, I promise. As long as the war continues in Israel, I'll keep coming back to contribute my small part. At the same time, I've committed that when I return to Miami, I'll continue to raise donations to purchase essential equipment for the soldiers of the battalion. Even when I return to my residence in Miami, my heart remains here."