Cpt. Rom Shlomi, 23: Shaldag officer known for being ‘a good friend’
Killed on October 7 battling the Hamas invasion of the Re’im IDF Base
Cpt. Rom Shlomi, 23, an officer in the Israeli Air Force’s elite Shaldag unit from Ganot, was killed on October 7 battling the Hamas invasion of southern Israel.
Rom and a number of other Shaldag fighters, led by Maj. Ido Yehoshua, were sent to the Re’im IDF base, which houses the Gaza Division, to try and seize control back from the terrorist invaders, and to rescue the soldiers, commanders and a number of civilians who were holed up inside.
Rom and Ido were both killed in the fierce firefight. Israel ultimately regained control of the base later that evening.
Rom was buried on October 11 in Ahiezer. He is survived by his parents, Michal and Shai, and his siblings Tal and Gur.
Born and raised in the small Moshav Ganot in central Israel, Rom loved to go off-road biking, as well as complete manual labor around the moshav, according to a Shaldag eulogy.
Rom didn’t fit well into a traditional school structure and moved from school to school, never quite finding his place, his loved ones said. He preferred to be off on his bike in the wilderness, but when he finally made it to the army, things turned around.
He enlisted in the Israeli Air Force in 2018, later completing an officer’s course and serving as an officer at the Israeli Air Force’s special forces school, and “stood out for his concern for his soldiers, his well-developed cooking skills and for being a good friend,” according to the Shaldag eulogy.
His childhood friend, Yam Fadlon, wrote on Facebook, “To me, Rom was a kid without fear. To me, Rom was the boy who did everything first. To me, Rom was a true prankster — to me, Rom was childhood.” They were born 10 days apart, he said, going through together “a wonderful childhood full of experiences.”
Rom’s brother, Gur, wrote on Instagram to, “My brother, my beloved, my blood brother.”
“It’s hard to believe that you, the best soldier in the whole unit, the soldier who just signed on for his third year in regular service, was no longer,” he wrote. “You went through a huge change in the army, from an annoying kid to the manliest of men — there’s nothing like it.”
“Rom, my brother, I love you and I still can’t comprehend what happened,” Gur added. “I want to say thank you for all the messages you taught me, for the experience you gave me for all of life. I want to believe that you’re always with me, no matter what. I love you, my brother.”