In the chaos of the 1973 Yom Kippur War, religious personnel faced the profound challenge of maintaining sacred Jewish burial traditions while processing unprecedented battlefield casualties. Through a detailed 72-day diary account, Rabbi Michael Graetz chronicles his deployment with the Hevrah Kaddisha (religious burial society) unit in the Sinai Desert, documenting the psychological and spiritual demands of collecting, identifying, and preparing fallen Israeli soldiers for burial. His participant observation reveals how religious frameworks helped personnel navigate extreme circumstances, particularly through the concepts of kiddush haShem (sanctification of God's name) and traditional Jewish interpretations of martyrdom, resurrection, and divine providence. The diary records specific burial procedures, improvised religious observances under battlefield conditions, and moments of spiritual transcendence amid violence. Analysis reveals the critical role of religious ritual in providing meaning during trauma, while illuminating tensions between collective and individual grief processing. Beyond its immediate context, the narrative demonstrates powerful continuities between historical Jewish persecution and modern Israeli military sacrifice, offering broader insights into how faith communities respond to warfare and function within military contexts.