Gerald 'Gerry' Bregman was born in Washington, DC on December 16, 1947 and came to Israel with his family in 1961. When they returned to the US after two years, Gerry remained in Israel on Kibbutz Ginigar, despite the difficulties involved in learning a new language and in integrating socially among the kibbutz members.
Gerry was inducted into the IDF in October 1967 and he served in the tank corps. In March 1970 he married Miriam, his girlfriend from the kibbutz. Upon his release from active service, he returned to Ginigar. A serious sportsman who studied at the Wingate Institute, Gerry coached the local junior basketball team and in 1972-73 they won the league championship.
At the outbreak of the Yom Kippur War in October 1973, Gerry was sent with his unit to the Sinai front. On October 16 he was fatally wounded during the battle for the Chinese Farm while securing the bridgehead to the west bank of the Suez Canal. The tank commander had been killed the night before and Gerry was replacing him.
Gerry was survived by his wife and daughter as well as his parents, brother and sister. He is buried at Kibbutz Ginigar.
