ISRAEL HONORS AMERICAN IDF HEROES

U.S. Immigrant Awarded IDF Medal of Valor for Lebanon War - Michael Medved
In last summer's war against the Hizbullah terrorists, Lt. Eli Kahn, 23, led a unit of paratrooper commandos against heavily defended Hizbullah positions in the southern Lebanon town of Maroun al-Ras. The Israelis drew unexpectedly intense fire and sustained heavy casualties. While tending to one of his wounded soldiers, Kahn saw a terrorist run toward them and throw a grenade that landed at their feet. Kahn picked up the grenade and threw it back at the Hizbullah fighter - killing him. For his leadership and quick thinking, he received the Medal of Valor. His father, Howie Kahn, remembered that his boy played Little League before the family immigrated to Israel from the U.S. and suggested that his skills as a slick-fielding shortstop paid off on the field of battle. (Townhall)

A Fallen Soldier Who Had the Heart of a Lion - Rory Kress
Michael Levin of suburban Philadelphia was determined to join the IDF. When the Second Lebanon War broke out last year, Levin was on leave in the U.S. visiting his family and was not required to return. But he rushed back to Israel to find his paratrooper unit already fighting in Lebanon. On August 1, 2006, he was shot by a Hizbullah sniper in Aita al-Shaab, southern Lebanon.

His father recalls: "Michael was very small in size" - he had to wear weights when parachuting to prevent the wind from blowing him off course - "he was only 5 foot 6, but he had the heart of a lion....You don't have to be the biggest to make your mark on the world." Harriet Levin, his mother, points to a small pair of silver wings pinned to her shirt: When Michael died, one of his fellow paratroopers took his wings from his uniform and his unit, Michael's comrades, presented the wings to her at his funeral. "I wear them every day," she says. "I believe in everything that he did and I'm very proud of him."

Donations can be made to the Michael Levin Memorial Fund for the benefit of lone soldiers at www.michaellevinmemorialfund.org. (Jerusalem Post)