The IDF spokesman today (Tuesday) allowed the publication that Senior Sergeant Major (res.) Sebastian Ion (51), commander of the 401st Battalion, was killed in combat at Shifa Hospital in Gaza. Sergeant Major Ion was born in Buenos Aires, the capital Argentina and lived in Rosh Ha’Ain. His family has been notified.
Sergeant Major (Res.) Sebastian Ion, who fell in Gaza, shared a post on Facebook about two months before he was killed: “That’s the problem, we don’t have another home, and we can’t afford to lose, we have to win.”
Yehuda Reuveni, a close friend of Sebastian’s, said: “He is divorced and the father of children, the children and his ex-wife live in Kiryat. He was an amazing father and an even more amazing friend. A man with a heart and a smile and a desire to help. It is true that they say that about everyone, but he was an exception in this respect He was part of a group of bikers. We would travel on Saturdays and we would also take trips abroad together. He had a heavy motorcycle like me, that’s how we met. We are all shocked friends. He immigrated from Argentina to Israel. His name on his ID card is Sebastian but everyone called him ‘Sabi’. I still can’t digest that he’s gone.”
Yehuda said about his volunteering for the reserves: “The army is in his blood. He volunteered for years. He was well over the reserve age and he always volunteered for the reserves. He would always go to the reserve for a month. This is someone who loved the country in levels that cannot be explained. He beat cancer. He was sick and managed to overcome it. We all supported him. It was during the two years of the coffins. Although he recovered from cancer and despite his age he volunteered for the reserves in the war. This is the man. A completely different kind of person.”
His former commander, Elhi Payne wrote: “How sad. Sebastian Ion (my grandfather) is one of the best fighters I ever had. A man of action and always at the center of the group. I was privileged to be with him in the second Lebanon, cast lead and a solid rock. He fell today fighting in Gaza. Condolences to his family and the rest of the veteran team. Of blessed memory”.
His friend in the reserves David Brown wrote: “During the reserves we encountered quite a few phenomena. There is no doubt that Eisner’s team was one of them. A group of outsiders in the Special Forces of the Special Forces, Shalom Eisner. Guys who don’t really belong to any battalion, but are everywhere in it The brigade is there. A tight group that even organized a sign for itself and hung it in the doorway of the apartments where we were staying. “Eisner’s team”. The Emer Quartet that appears and disappears, everywhere all the time. And they are commanded by the one and only – Sebi.”
He also added: “My first meeting with him was at all related. And that’s a part, because my grandfather had such a hoarse voice. So hoarse that when you hear him at first you don’t understand, but then very quickly it becomes a kind of quality signature that can’t be confused with it. And every time When I heard him in touch since then, I would have immediately been filled with a little more certainty, and another little stretch of the smile.”
“Because my grandfather was a professional. And the Eisner team under his command always arrived where needed when needed. Ready for orders. And it doesn’t matter if it’s to evacuate the wounded, or to collect an army. Whether it’s leading in logistics convoys or Kingfisher fighters. Always orders for. Always – whatever is needed, no problem. And always always with a smile and a good spirit. Because my grandfather was this man, who could be trusted. Sergeant Major Sebastian Ion was killed fighting in Gaza. 51 years old in Nefolo. The IDF lost a rare fighter today. And from the little I knew, the nation of Israel lost an even rarer man. Of blessed memory”.
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