September,
2022
Chapter 38 Retired General "Shy-Rock" (3)
Shy-Rock's
father, who was nothing more than a barber, became a brave soldier in the battle
for independence. He was also active in the subsequent Middle East Wars. He repeated
the tale of his own heroism to his son so many times that Shy-Rock could explain
promptly when and where it had taken place when he heard his father's first
words. But he still liked to hear that story.
However,
his father never told him anything about the terrorist-like activities he
carried out during colonial period by U.K. Terrorist activities sometimes involved
innocent civilians. In any era, unrelated people would be sacrificed for the so-called
justice of others. That is the truth of history. His father disliked to
remember those days. Shy-Rock understood the heart of his father. He dared not to
ask his father that subject.
He
was influenced by his father deeply. Shy-Rock joined to the just founded Air
Force and aimed to become a pilot. He played an active role as a fighter pilot
in the Six Day War in 1967. Six Day War began when Egyptian President Gamal Nasser
blockaded the Tiran Strait and U.S.S.R. severed diplomatic ties with Israel.
But the war resulted in a devastating blow to Egypt and Syria due to a
preemptive strike by the Israeli Air Force. The battle ended in just six days. The
Six Day War impressed the world with the myth of Israel's invincibility. The real
winner of war was the Israeli Air Force.
After
the war, Shy-Rock was offered to be transferred to Israeli embassy in Washington
in U.S. as a military attaché. It was a merit award for his achievements during
the Six Day War. On the battlefield, he was cool-headed and courageous. In
general, he was not talkative. He was hesitant to become a military attaché of
the embassy. But there was no reason to reject the offer to be stationed in the
United States. It would be a good chance to pursue a higher rank in the
military. His wife and two daughters pushed him. In particular, elder daughter
Golda was overjoyed when her father was assigned to the job in the United
States.
His
assignment in Washington gave him a glimpse of a world he had never known
before. In Israel, all of his life had been at war. It was a series of tensions.
The consecutive victories against the surrounding Arab nations raised the motivation
of Israeli soldiers like Shy-Rock. Citizens also begun to have excessive
confidence. But in the Middle East, nobody knew what would happen tomorrow. No
one could take a breath.
In
comparison, people in the United States enjoyed a carefree and generous life.
This was not the first time he had been in the United States. When he was young,
he was sent to the U.S. as a trainee pilot at U.S. Air Force base in Nevada. At
that time, he was transported from Israel to Nevada by U.S. Air Force planes
directly. He never saw the big cities on the East Coast, such as New York and
Washington. He only got a glimpse of Los Angeles on his training days off. He
himself was so passionate about training. He was driven by the desire to
improve his skills as a pilot. Whenever he thought of the crises in his country,
he was eager to return to the front lines at home immediately.
(cont’d)
Areha
Kazuya
(From
an ordinary citizen in the cloud)
To
previous chapters: http://ocininitiative.maeda1.jp/OcinNovelEnglish.html
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