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How One IDF Soldier Refused to Let His Lost Arm Keep Him Out of Combat

(Times of Israel) Renee Ghert-Zand - A few weeks after the Gaza war broke out in December 2008, Izzy Ezagui, an immigrant from Miami, was guarding the border between Israel and Gaza when a direct mortar hit took off his left - and dominant - arm. For most young men, that would have been the end of their combat careers, if not their military service altogether. But for Ezagui, it was just the beginning. Defying doctors' orders, Ezagui has become, as far as he is aware, the only IDF soldier with this specific disability to return to full combat duty. "I decided from day one I wanted to go back to the army, and back to combat," he said. "Not only did the army not want me back, but they told me I couldn't come back...and didn't want any part in my crazy dream." One day Maj. Gen. Yoav Galant, then the head of Israel's Southern Command, came to visit wounded soldiers in rehab. "The first thing I told him was that I wanted to go back to the army and to combat," Ezagui recalled. "It was the same thing I told all the generals and politicians who came to visit, but he was the only one who said OK." By mid-2010, a year and a half after his injury, Ezagui was back in the IDF. After retraining, he went on to serve in Hebron, and later progressed to command school. But first, he had to pass all the tests required of combat soldiers, including shooting, reloading guns, unjamming rifles, throwing grenades, charging hills, climbing ropes and even doing pushups. By himself, Ezagui figured out how to do all of these things. Ezagui says he feels lucky to be alive, and is proud to have succeeded in his quest. "Why me?" he said, is not a question he asks.
2012-10-12 00:00:00
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