At 22, Ron Weinreich looks too young and strong to be in a wheelchair.
 
 But the veteran Israeli soldier has seen the battlefield up close, and he lives with the price of war every day. Severely wounded during the Second Lebanon War, Weinreich is paralyzed from the chest down.

Weinreich was in the Bay Area last week, speaking at gatherings organized by the Friends of the Israel Defense Forces. He doesn’t like to talk about his injury, but he’s willing to face the public — wheelchair and all — in order to convey his message.
 
 It’s a message of pride — in his country, his army and his people.
 
 "We [soldiers] are here for the Jewish people," he said in an interview. "We live in civilized countries, but the rest of the world is wasp-infested. The scales could tip very easily. We’re fighting for democracy, freedom and humanity."
 
 Born in Israel and raised in Melville, N.Y., for most of his youth, Weinreich returned with his family to Israel when he was a young teen. At 18 he, like all Israelis, joined the military. Within a year or so, he was a tank commander.
 
 When the Lebanon War broke out, he and his unit swung into action. On Aug. 10, 2006, while heading south for the Israeli border, Weinreich ordered his tank driver off the road to make way for a northbound Israeli convoy.
 
 Off road, his tank cruised in reverse toward a multistory building while Weinreich surveyed the scene from outside the hatch. He realized the tank was on a collision course and ordered his driver to stop, but the driver could not hear the order. The tank crashed into the building.
 
 Chunks of concrete fell on top of Weinreich, who never lost consciousness. Immediately, he knew something terrible had happened.
 
 "I felt a thud in my back," he recalled. "I figured I broke a couple of ribs, punctured my lungs. There was pain in my shoulder."
 
 Fellow soldiers quickly set up a security perimeter (they were in a Hezbollah-occupied Arab village), pulled him out of the tank and raced him home to Israel.
 
 Weinreich spent six months in the hospital, friends and family never leaving his side. As word of his injury spread, he began receiving spontaneous visits from strangers who had heard of his experience and wanted to show support.
 
 Friends who knew Weinreich was a die-hard KISS fan got word to the band’s frontman, Gene Simmons, who responded by sending a message of encouragement in Hebrew. (Simmons, whose real name is Chaim Witz, was born in Israel).
 
 But the reality of his paralysis soon took a toll. "Once the [pain] drugs wore off, I sunk into depression," he said. "I remember one night remembering friends who were killed or wounded. I had an intense half-hour of crying. I thought ‘This is the lowest point of my life. This is where I take things into my own hands.’"
 
 From that point on his mood improved, and he put more effort into rehabilitation. He even made a list of things he could be thankful for: He was alive, he had full use of his upper body, his crew had escaped from the accident uninjured. And most importantly, he had served his country.
 
 "I felt I could succeed in anything I chose to do in life," Weinreich added. "I could be a model for all Jews and Israelis, and raise awareness of our small but fiery country."
 
 These days, Weinreich lives on his own in Ramat HaSharon, near Tel Aviv. He travels across Israel and around the world sharing his story. And though that story often evokes tears, he remains stoic.
 
 "There’s a ritual of thank-yous," he said, "but there’s no need. I didn’t pay the ultimate price. I was called to do my job as well as I can. Soldiers are there to be hit by rockets and bullets so civilians are not. It’s our job to sacrifice ourselves."