Uzi Yairi

Israeli soldier

Uzi Yairi
אל"מ עוזי יאירי ז"ל
Born	July 31, 1936 Ramat Gan, Israel
Died	March 5, 1975 (aged 38) Savoy Hotel, Tel Aviv, Israel
Allegiance	Israel
Service/branch	Israel Defense Forces
Years of service	1955–1975
Rank	Aluf Mishne
Commands held	Commander, Sayeret Matkal Commander, Paratroopers Brigade
Battles/wars	Sinai War Six-Day War War of Attrition Yom Kippur War

Uzi Yairi (31 July 1936 – 5 March 1975, Tel Aviv, Israel) was a commander of the elite Israeli army commando unit Sayeret Matkal. He was killed in action during a counter-terrorism operation to free hostages held by Palestinian terrorists at the Savoy Hotel.

Yairi became head of Sayeret Matkal at age 31 and a full colonel at only 35. He also served as a brigade commander during the Yom Kippur War, but left the army as a result of trauma he had suffered during the war.^[1] Тo commemorate him, moshav Ro'i was named after him. The name is an acronym for Ramat Uzi Yairi.^[2]

References

^ Ben Hartman (25 April 2012). "'There's no one like him in Israel to this day'". Jerusalem Post.
^ Vilnai, Ze'ev (1980). "Ro'i". Ariel Encyclopedia (in Hebrew). Vol. 8. Israel: Am Oved. p. 7404.