Brooklynites Yehuda and Tikva Freeman made aliyah in 1939 and were among the founders of Kibbutz Kfar Menachem. Their sons, Amram and Yochanan Ben-Chorin, both fell on the same day, on June 6, 1967, in the Six Day War.
Yochanan graduated from elementary and high school on Kibbutz Kfar Menachem. He was a music lover and played the trumpet as a member of the Israel Philharmonic Orchestra. He also devoted himself to farming and was a naturalist and worked as a regional supervisor in the Nature Reserves Authority. He was a loyal friend and in his private life and work and later in the army he was as popular and loved as he was at home. When he was drafted into the IDF, he volunteered for a paratroop brigade and served with the rank of sergeant and was part of the Paratroopers Reserve Brigade. Their mission was to carry out a night attack on the enemy compounds at Umm Katef in Sinai. Yochanan was part of the group that had to land in helicopters on the rear of the Egyptian alignment at Umm Katef to attack in order to enable safe passage to the Armored Corps. After landing, the force made a quick expedition through the sands, reached the targets area and attacked the artillery batteries. In this battle, Yochanan fell and was buried in the military cemetery in Bari and was later taken to rest in the Kfar Menachem cemetery.
When the IDF officer came to the Ben-Chorin home to inform the family of the tragedy, the parents asked, 'Which son?' The reply: 'Both.'
*** The information on this page is part of the 'Yizkor' commemoration project by the Ministry of Defense / the 'La'ad' website by the National Insurance Institute, in memory of the fallen. We strive for accuracy and apologize for any errors. For corrections or comments, please contact us here: https://aaciremembers.org/contact-us/ ***
