Sergeant Major Keren Tendler
Keren was the first female flight mechanic in the Israeli Defense Force (IDF) and the first woman to lose her life on active duty since 1973. A natural athlete, she was a swimmer and devotee of physical fitness. Keren had said “My goal is to show all other women that this position, an on-flight mechanic, can be performed by a female.” Her determination to succeed in this field was based on the attitude that “…not only can women be as good a mechanic as men, but even better.” Her mother, in remembering her said, “There was no a screw on that aircraft she did not know. The “Yas’ur” was the love of her life.” Her commanders referred to her as a “trailblazer” and said “you would see her, sitting on the helicopter, helmet on...ponytail hanging out, and you would say ‘that’s what a combat soldier looks like!’”
Keren was killed on August 12, 2006 when her helicopter was shot down over southern Lebanon by Hezbollah terrorists. She was 27 years old.
She Touched The Sky - movie about Keren Tendler
Keren was killed on August 12, 2006 when her helicopter was shot down over southern Lebanon by Hezbollah terrorists. She was 27 years old.
She Touched The Sky - movie about Keren Tendler