We know them from movies, TV shows, and some of Egypt’s most memorable performances. But on October 6, 1973, many of these familiar faces had very different roles.
Some were on the front lines. Others were helping build the bridges that made the crossing possible, while some were in hospitals caring for wounded soldiers. Their stories are a reminder that the October War was bigger than the battlefield — and that everyone had a part to play.
Ahmed Badir
Ahmed Badir was serving in the army when the October War began, and one memory from that time has stayed with him.
A fellow soldier who was later martyred asked Badir to deliver a message to his family: they were not to accept condolences until Egypt was liberated.
Badir kept his promise. Decades later, he still shares the story, keeping his fellow soldier’s memory alive.
Lotfy Labib
Long before audiences knew him as an actor, Lotfy Labib spent six years in the army. While many of his friends had already started building careers in theatre and film, Labib remained a conscript until the October victory.
He served with the Third Field Army, and his battalion was among the first to cross the Suez Canal on October 6. But some of his most lasting memories came from the friendships he formed in the trenches.
One of them was with Sheikh Abdel Fattah Saqr, a fellow soldier and imam. The two shared the same trench and, during one particularly difficult Eid, the sheikh gave Labib half a jerrycan of water as his Eid gift so he could take a shower. It was a small gesture in the middle of war, but one Labib remembered for years — a friendship built simply on being Egyptians standing side by side.
Labib later turned those memories into Battalion 26, documenting the experience that shaped six years of his life.
Ahmed Fouad Selim
Before becoming an actor, Ahmed Fouad Selim was a sergeant in Egypt’s Air Defense Forces.
He served with the Eighth Division on the front and witnessed firsthand the role of Egyptian air defense in confronting Israeli aircraft during the war.
Mahmoud El-Gendy
Mahmoud El-Gendy is remembered for the countless characters he played on screen, but one of his earliest roles wasn’t fictional at all.
While completing his military service, he participated in the October War. Years before audiences knew him as an actor, he was simply another Egyptian soldier doing his duty.
He later recalled how soldiers would eat together before returning to their posts — sometimes coming back to find that one of their friends was no longer there.
Those years taught him something he carried for the rest of his life: how to hold onto your emotions when you have a larger purpose in front of you. There was grief, of course, but they had a mission to finish.
Hamdi El-Wazir
Hamdi El-Wazir didn’t hide how badly he wanted to take part in the fighting. When the crossing finally came, he was serving with the Engineering Corps.
His unit helped prepare the bridges used to cross the Suez Canal, putting him close to one of the war’s defining moments.
Nadia Lutfi
The fighting didn’t stop at the front. For Nadia Lutfi, the war meant spending her days alongside the wounded.
She volunteered at hospitals including Qasr El-Aini and Maadi Military Hospital, helping care for injured soldiers and even cleaning hospital rooms. She would also sit with wounded soldiers and write down messages they wanted to send to their families.
Sometimes, she came carrying something as simple as lemon juice and baked goods. Other times, she was helping a soldier send home the words his family was waiting to hear.
Faten Hamama
Faten Hamama also stepped into a role far removed from the cinema screen.
She worked with the Red Crescent, trained to help care for the wounded, and visited hospitals during the war. She was also remembered for reading newspapers to injured soldiers and helping them write letters to their families.
For a generation of Egyptians, she was one of the country’s biggest stars. Inside those hospital rooms, she was simply there to help.
Tahia Carioca
Tahia Carioca had a long history of supporting national causes, and the October War was no different.
She volunteered with the Red Crescent and spent months helping wounded soldiers at Qasr El-Aini Hospital. She also donated jewelry and helped raise money for the war effort.
Her contribution wasn’t made from a stage. It was made beside hospital beds.
They Were More Than the Characters We Remember
Today, we remember these artists for the characters they brought to life. But on October 6, they were living a very different story themselves.
Some fought. Some built. Some cared for the wounded. And some carried the stories of those who never made it home.
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