Joseph Malek, the son of Gabriel and Diramotta, was born in Constantine, Algeria, on 23rd April 1925. As a youngster, he moved to France and settled in Paris. He learned carpentry and made his livelihood in that trade. He sent funds from his profits to Algeria to help support his younger brothers and sisters and their families.
In World War II he was mobilized into the Free French Army and took part in its victorious march into Germany. He was awarded the Croix de Guerre, the French military decoration for gallant action in war.
One year after his discharge from the French army, he volunteered to join the IDF and arrived on 2nd July 1948, when the war was at its height. He was sent to Jerusalem to join the Etzioni Brigade.
He fell in the Masrek positions on 24th August, 1948, when he stepped on a mine. He was buried the next day at the cemetery at Kibbutz Kiryat-Anavim.
He had no formal education, but was educated through life-experiences, in his trade and in the army. He believed deeply in God and loved the country where he grew up, and his Jewish homeland.
He was buried just seven weeks after his arrival in Israel, the country for which he gave his life and his soul.
Source: Translated from the Yizkor website by Joe Woolf