Defense Minister Moshe Dayan paid tribute yesterday to the pilots of and the ground troops of Israel’s Army declaring “They are the apple of our eyes, each one of them an exceptional youth. Day by day and night by night they circle our skies and when one falls, he leaves a gaping abyss in our lives.” Gen. Dayan spoke in eulogy of Lt. Avner Hadar, 21, of Nahalal, the town where the Defense Minister lived in his youth, killed in action on the Suez Canal front. Gen. Dayan is related to the Hadar family. He said, “Our nation, poor in means and numbers, is passing now through a difficult period. We must defend our independence and our lives. We are surrounded on various fronts and the gravest among all is the Egyptian front where the Soviets are taking part in operation missions and providing their know-how.” Gen, Dayan said the main part of Israel’s armed forces is maintained in the Suez Canal zone, armor, infantry, artillery and paratroopers “but above all, the pilots.”
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