 March of the Lamed Hey 2008
A Letter from Prime Minister David Ben-Gurion to the Families of the Fallen Fighters 
This is a letter from the Prime Minister to the parents of the "Thirty-Five" translated from the Hebrew, by Dr. Amiel Ungar.
Taken from the Hebrew book "The Lamed Hey", in conjunction with the Ministry of Defense, IDF Archives, Bamachane magazine, Mr. Yosef Argaman and the Kfar Etzion Field school.
On the third memorial anniversary as commemorated by the Foundation of the Community Netiv Ha-Lamed Heh (The Path of the Thirty-Five)
To the Parents of the Thirty-Five,
I greatly regret my being unable to participate in the commemoration for the thirty-five, at the moving ceremony of Kibbutz Lapid to the settlement point that will be named after them.
The struggle for Jerusalem served as a focal point in contemporary Jewry's war of independence and the defense of Gush Etzion constituted one of this struggles apogees.
The thirty-five enlisted in the desperate defense and did not arrive at their desired destination but fell to the very last man as they confronted thousands of enemies who gathered from all the surrounding villages.
I don't know if there was any company in the Israel Defense Forces or in any army in the world that assembled together such splendid manpower, pure bravery and spiritual abundance as this company, who will always be emblazoned in the annals of our people's history by the name of the thirty-five.
I knew the commander of this company and some of its members. These lions of Israel were and internal blend of youthful high spiritedness, and grandeur, supreme wisdom, lust for sacrifice and a bravery fiercer than death. "There is no problem about dying , you merely have to know why and for what purpose" -- one of them noted in his diary a short while before they fell.
And amongst these spiritual and corporeal heroes there were young people who were slated to become beacons of wisdom and science for Israel and the nations and whose loss admits no reparation not only for their parents, comrades and admirers, but for the eternal Jewish spirit as well. How can we honor their blessed memory? Neither by shrines of stone nor by memorial volumes but only by the faithful and perpetual desire to resemble them to the extent possible can we honor them. Will our generation make a success of this?
Shalom, respectfully and lovingly
David Ben Gurion
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