Greg Sher
PRIVATE GREGORY MICHAEL SHER Z"L
1978-2009
On the 11th January 2009, over 2,000 mourners filled the Chevra Kadisha Cemetery at Lyndhurst to pay their last respects to Pte Greg Sher, who was fatally wounded seven days earlier in Afghanistan. Among the mourners to share their grief of the nation was the Prime Minister, the Rt Hon Kevin Rudd MP, the Deputy Prime Minister the Hon Julia Gillard MP, the Minister for Defence, State Government ministers, the CO of the 1st Commando Regt, members of the Commando Association, Generals and other Officers – and a representation of Jewish Community leaders . The funeral service was conducted by Rabbi Philip Heilbrunn of St Kilda Hebrew Congregation and the Minyan that night filled the St Kilda Synagogue. Tributes in the media lasted for a long time.
Greg Sher was the youngest member of VAJEX who joined us in January 2007. He was born on 3rd December 1978 in South Africa, the second son of Felix and Yvonne Sher. The family came to Australia in 1986 and Greg went to school here. At a young age, he joined the Australian Army. He was also involved with the Jewish Community Security Group. As a member of the Commandoes, Greg was aware of the training that everyone in the Special Forces is required to undertake and he pushed himself hard to achieve the standard required of him. He was on deployment in East Timor and then to Afghanistan where on that fateful day, the 4th January 2009, he was killed in Oruzgan Province. Greg, aged 30, was the eighth Australian soldier to die in Afghanistan – he was the first Australian Jewish soldier to lose his life in a war zone, since July 1945.
It was a privilege and an honour to have met Greg. He participated in our Remembrance Day Service on 11th November 2007 in honouring us by reciting Psalm 23.
We offer our sincere condolences to Felix and Yvonne, brothers Steven and Barry; and partner Karen.
MAY HIS DEAR SOUL REST IN PEACE.
A philosopher once said:
Poor is a nation that has no heroes.
Shamed is a nation that has heroes but does not honour them.
We are a nation which has heroes and we honour them!
Greg Sher was one of those heroes.
LEST WE FORGET