Everyday life changed radically for all Israelis on Oct. 7, and especially for Rohn Harir. The 21-year-old IDF medic was seriously injured in an attack on his unit. With only one week remaining on his military service, Harir was called in help evacuate a kibbutz. He was in a military jeep when a missile hit the vehicle.

The missile grazed Harir and tore his right arm off. He was thrown from the jeep and was lying helpless in a field for 30 minutes until he was extracted. After waking from a coma at Sheba Medical Center in Tel Aviv, he immediately asked to rejoin his unit. That’s when he learned the extent of his injuries.

Harir will be visiting St. Louis on March 3 for a special evening, “Courage Under Fire,” where he’ll talk about his firsthand account of the aftermath of the Hamas attack and his ongoing recovery. Harir told the Jewish Light he’s continuing to adjust to managing everyday tasks without the use of his right hand.

“I have problems with my right eye, too,” he said. “I can barely can see with it. So, in that way it’s difficult. And also I lost too many friends on that day. I lost 18 friends from my company. But I know the best thing that I can do is to keep going on and have a smile on my face and remember them every day and be optimistic.”

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Harir is the nephew of St. Louisans Elie Harir and Galit Lev-Harir. He said during the UH event, he planned to offer insight about serving in the IDF and “To show people what actually happened to me on the 7th of October. And also to show them that living with one hand is not that difficult and you can do anything if you want to. . . that nothing in the world can stop you from keeping your life the same.”

Rohn Harir will speak at United Hebrew Congregation at 5 p.m. on Sunday, March 3. Register here to attend.