emissary) in 2019. Wearing the boots he and his
brigade received as a donation from Detroit’s
Federation, he gave an emotional reflection of
what it was like to be in combat after Oct. 7.
During his earlier army service in the 101st
battalion in 2021, he served at the Nachal Oz
base, one of the areas that would be brutally hit
on Oct. 7. He also spent 15 months serving on the
Lebanon border and, as a staff sergeant, trained
new soldiers toward the end of his service.
Lachman said the end of his initial service
in peaceful August 2023 was the happiest time
of his life. As the youngest of three brothers
to serve in the IDF, he remarked that, at last,
his mother would be able to sleep at night.
Lachman’s ambitions to start a photogra-
phy business and travel were abruptly put
on hold as he and his brothers returned to
reserve duty following the Oct.
7 massacre.
Immediately after the attacks,
Lachman said his brigade headed
south to the front lines. On the
way, he received many texts and
emails of support from his “fam-
ily of friends” back in Detroit.
On arrival at the reserve base,
he and other reservists found “a
mess” of aging, decaying uniforms
that had sat in sweltering ware-
houses since the war with Lebanon
almost 20 years before. Eventually,
they received replenished outfits
provided by the generosity of federa-
tions from Detroit and across North
America.
A sample of the cards
given to each attendee
with a victim of the
attack or the war.
continued on page 10
The crowd of 4,000 stands as members
of the Michigan Board of Cantors sing
“Acheinu,” a prayer calling for the release of
Jewish and other captives taken on Oct. 7.
DAVID SACHS
IDF soldier Alon Lachman conveyed
his emotional experiences after the
Oct. 7 massacre.
After IDF soldier
Alon Lachman
spoke, Shinshinit
Shira Rafalovitz
played “Shir
Lama’alot” on
the violin.