The large turnout to pay final respects to Lt. Col. Dor Galedia Ben Shimhon, who was killed in battle in southern Lebanon, reflected how deeply he was loved, according to his close friend Paz Baram. Speaking on the morning show "The World This Morning," Baram said he was not surprised by the number of people who came. He added that one source of comfort in his grief is knowing Ben Shimhon understood that affection while he was still alive: "I'm glad he got to receive, during his life, to know how loved he was."
Baram said their bond was exceptionally close, formed, as he put it, "from age zero" while they grew up together in the kibbutz. "I really spent time with him and was with him more than with my brothers, probably," he said. That long friendship, he said, gave him countless moments that showed Ben Shimhon's character.
He recalled one hiking trip in which the two encountered a difficult section of trail while climbing uphill. Ben Shimhon stopped and helped hikers coming down the path, one by one, for many minutes, ignoring Baram's requests to keep moving. Baram said the scene captured his friend's personality, someone who always put others before himself, not as a slogan but as a way of life.
Baram also said that same spirit of giving was reflected in Ben Shimhon's demanding military service, which came at a heavy personal cost. He said the officer rarely came home, in that role and the one before it, and when he did return, he first caught up on several hours of sleep. Despite the pain of losing him, Baram said there was comfort in the fact that nothing important was left unsaid between them. "He knew exactly what I thought about him and what I felt for him, and that was never a secret," he said.
