Uzi Yairi | |
Birth Date: | July 31, 1936 |
Death Date: | March 5, 1975 (aged 38) |
Birth Place: | Ramat Gan, Israel |
Death Place: | Savoy Hotel, Tel Aviv, Israel |
Allegiance: | Israel |
Serviceyears: | 1955–1975 |
Rank: | Aluf Mishne |
Branch: | Israel Defense Forces |
Commands: | Commander, Sayeret Matkal Commander, Paratroopers Brigade |
Battles: | Sinai War Six-Day War War of Attrition Yom Kippur War |
Uzi Yairi (31 July 1936 – 5 March 1975, Tel Aviv, Israel) was an Israeli military officer and commander of the elite Israeli army commando unit Sayeret Matkal. He was killed in action during a counter-terrorism operation to free hostages held by Palestinian militants at the Savoy Hotel.
Yairi became head of Sayeret Matkal at age 31 and a full colonel at only 35. He also served as a brigade commander during the Yom Kippur War, but left the army as a result of trauma he had suffered during the war.[1] Тo commemorate him, moshav Ro'i was named after him. The name is an acronym for Ramat Uzi Yairi.[2]