Alex Miller, a 23-year-old former IDF combat soldier originally from the United States, died in an apparent suicide after struggling with post-traumatic stress linked to his military service, according to Israeli reports and the Katzrin municipality, where his father Danny lives. Miller served in the Kfir Brigade and, as his father’s only child, required special parental approval to enter combat service. He insisted on it anyway.

In 2022, while serving in Judea & Samaria, Miller was moderately wounded in a car-ramming terror attack near the Nabi Musa training area, south of Jericho. Police and the IDF said the Palestinian attacker first rammed soldiers near Nabi Musa, then continued toward Almog Junction, where he struck a bus stop before being shot by a police officer and an armed civilian. Five IDF soldiers were wounded, two moderately and three lightly.

Miller went through rehabilitation, but according to the Katzrin municipality, he pushed himself back into uniform and returned to his unit to serve alongside the soldiers he loved. The municipality described him as “brave” and “values-driven,” a young man with a huge heart who chose combat service out of real love for the country.

But the attack was not the only blow. Miller was also deeply shaken by the death of his close friend, Sgt. First Class (res.) Noam Shemesh, 21, from Jerusalem, a squad commander in the Kfir Brigade’s Shimshon Battalion. Shemesh was killed by RPG fire during fighting in Khan Younis in southern Gaza.

According to Walla, Miller had been in the United States, reportedly in Miami, where he worked as a security guard and had begun preparing for studies as he tried to build a new life after his discharge. Family friends said the trauma of the attack and the loss of Shemesh weighed heavily on him. His father Danny was quoted saying he had spoken with Alex many times about the attack, but believed “the attack and Noam’s fall broke him.”

The Katzrin municipality said it mourns the “terrible loss” and will stand with Danny Miller and the family. The council is also assisting with efforts to bring Alex home to Israel for burial.

Miller’s death is another reminder that Israel’s wounded do not always leave the battlefield when the shooting stops. Some carry the war quietly, after the headlines move on and after the uniform comes off. For many combat soldiers, the cost of fighting terror is measured not only in the attack itself, but in the years that follow.

For anyone in crisis: in Israel, ERAN can be reached at 1201; in the United States, call or text 988 for the Suicide & Crisis Lifeline.