NAME: Lundner Sarah nee Kravtsov

LEHI ALIAS: Heruta

DATE OF BIRTH: April 1, 1926

Sarah was born on April 1, 1926 in Tel Aviv to Leah and Moshe Kravtsov. Her mother was a second-generation resident of the Land of Israel, while her paternal grandfather’s family made aliyah from Odessa in the beginning of the 20th century. Her father was a builder, while her mother was a homemaker. Sarah was the firstborn, and she had a younger brother. At the time of World War I, her parents were banished by the Turks to Kfar Saba. The father crossed the front lines, volunteering for the Jewish Legion. One of her uncles was with Trumpeldor at Gallipoli, another in the London Regiment; another relative arrived in the Land of Israel with the American Legion.

Sarah studied in the Dugma Girls School in Tel Aviv. She joined the Scouts, then found her way to the Hagana. She took courses in light weapons, first aid and hiking. She volunteered for the combat division, where she studied warfare and demolitions.

As the Arab attacks began in 1947, she took an active role in protecting the neighborhoods of Tel Aviv. She took part in the attack on Hassan Bek in Jaffa, in the evacuation of civilians from flashpoints, and in guarding fuel convoys from the Haifa refineries.

In 1947, her goals led her to join Lehi, and she was active at its training base in Sheikh Munis. She commanded a girls’ company. Sarah joined the IDF with the Lehi women. She was sent to the first female officers’ training course in the IDF, at the end of which she assumed command of the Women’s Corps base in Jaffa. She was responsible for the armory and for the transportation.

In 1948, she married Shimon Lundner; at their wedding, they were both in uniform. They have a son, Yitzhak, a medical doctor who served in an Air Force airborne unit.

She created silver jewelry and three-dimensional pictures, even donating a picture of the Jewish Quarter of the Old City in Jerusalem to the Beit Yair Museum.

She was trained as an MDA medic and ambulance driver, and volunteered in this capacity in Tel Aviv.