Word: heilman
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...camaraderie between soldiers alleviates the emotional burden of serving. “People will do anything for you. They’ll be killed for you,” Heilman asserts. “If you’re dying in a march, they’ll literally pull you. They’ll grab your collar and pull you for 15 miles...
After training, Heilman served in Lebanon in the spring of 2000 during a conflict characterized by guerrilla warfare. He credits his thorough training with his survival. “A lot of things you learned become critical when you live in the bush for five days waiting for terrorists to pass by and kill you,” he says. Most of his time was spent at a base in a border zone between Lebanon and Israel, defending Israelis against the militant group Hezbollah. “We would shoot mortars at each other a lot. No biggie...
Amidst all this action, Heilman found time to apply to transfer to Harvard. He recalls talking on the phone to a Harvard official while on an artillery base, explaining—while gunfire was echoing in the background—that, no, he couldn’t retake...
...Heilman was called back to the reserves in January 2002. He spent his reading period guarding the Israeli-Palestinian border, a narrow dirt path. He patrolled the area in a Jeep, searching for bombs and for people crossing the border. Most were seeking jobs, he says, though some were armed and looking to kill Israelis. In his pack—alongside his gas mask, bullets, grenades, helmet and cigarettes—Heilman stashed his “Surrealism” and Math 21a textbook...
...grim. While retaining a Palestinian at the border and checking his ID, Heilman exchanged friendly conversation with the man, discussing politics and joking in Arabic. He even gave him his fleece to keep warm. These kinds of interactions don’t make it on television, Heilman says. “You don’t really see human beings that much [on the news],” he says...