Hundreds today accompanied the late Major Alexander (Sasha) Filin, a 29-year-old resident of Haifa, to his resting place, who was brought for burial in the city's military cemetery.
Filin, a fighter in the IDF and deputy commander of Division 36, was killed last Wednesday by a Hezbollah roadside bomb explosion during an operational activity in the Litani River area in southern Lebanon. Seven other fighters and officers were wounded in the incident, including the deputy commander of the division.
Filin immigrated alone from Ukraine 14 years ago as part of the Nahal program. During his regular service, he served as a sniper in the Nahal Brigade and in 2016 neutralized a terrorist who carried out a stabbing attack in the Nablus area. Due to his professionalism and dedication, he was awarded the President's Distinguished Service Medal in 2018. His unit mates spoke of a quiet and modest fighter, who was also the team's chef and dreamed of opening his own restaurant.
His wife Dasha mourned him with pain and said that she returned from abroad immediately upon receiving the bitter news:
"You were my anchor in a stormy sea, an amazing partner and a perfect father. I will tell our daughter Emily that her father was a hero." The family friend read the mother's eulogy, who tearfully recalled that just hours before the disaster, Alexander brought his little daughter Emily to her home in Carmel, kissed her and promised to return on Friday.
His commander said that Filin refused to be released from the tour even though his wife was abroad, and that on the day of his fall, he volunteered for the mission so that another member could go home.
Filin left behind his parents, sister, wife, and two-year-old daughter. May his memory be blessed.
Of blessed memory
Heartbreaking, may his memory be blessed.
It's Philin, not Fine, according to the IDF spokesman. Check the captions of the photos. You wrote Fine, that's not true.