Avinoam (Chaimovitz) Amichai was born on March 28, 1945 in Kfar Etzion, of which his parents had been among the founding members. After the fall of the 'Gush' during the War of Independence, he moved with his parents to Ramat Gan and at age 16 he accompanied them (apparently somewhat reluctantly) on a period of 'shlichut' to the US. He returned to Israel on his own in order to serve in the IDF, initially as part of a Nahal unit and later in the paratroops. Called up with the reserves during the Six Day War, he participated in the liberation of Jerusalem and of Kfar Etzion, which was the fulfillment of a life-long dream.
On October 18, 1973, Avinoam was wounded in a battle with an Egyptian commando unit on the west side of the Suez Canal and later died of his wounds. He was survived by his parents, his wife Sandy who came to Israel from Los Angeles, and three children. At the conclusion of 'shloshim' his friends from Kfar Etzion dedicated a booklet called 'BaMachanenu' to his memory.
