Edouard Flato, the son of Avraham (Bernard) and Sarah, was born in Paris, France, on 12th October 1931. His parents survived the extermination during the Nazi occupation.
After liberation at the end of WW ll, Edouard continued his education, with the intention of becoming a lawyer. However, because of the hardships they had endured in France, which also caused his brother’s death, and because he wished to serve in Israel’s War of Independence, he interrupted his studies and enlisted, while still in France, in the Haganah. He went through all the necessary training, and when he arrived on the shores of Palestine at the beginning of August 1948, he immediately enlisted as an infantryman in the Givati Brigade and was sent to serve in the Negev.
He was killed in action in Operation “Yoav” on 17th October when his battalion stormed and captured Hills 113 and 110 near Kibbutz Negba in fierce hand-to-hand battle which included bayonet charges.
He was buried in the military cemetery of Kfar Warburg. He was 17 years-and one- week-old when he fell.
Source: Translated from the Yizkor website by Joe Woolf