United with Israel

The Israeli Air Force said on its website that Harold “Smoky” Simon left behind an enormous legacy containing “endless heroic stories.”

BY JNS.org

Three days after he passed away at the age of 101, close to his 102nd birthday, tributes continue to pour in for Harold “Smoky” Simon on Thursday, one of the legendary founders of the Israeli Air Force.

The Israeli Air Force said on its official website that Simon left behind an enormous legacy containing “endless, heroic stories.”

On May 14, 1948, one week after arriving in Israel from South Africa, he took off in a Bonanza aircraft, making it “the first Hebrew flight that he took part in,” the IAF recalled.

“The plane flew towards Lebanon and left the borders of [Mandatory] Palestine, while at the same time, David Ben Gurion prepared to give a statement at Dizengoff House in Tel Aviv. When the aircrew returned from their mission, they already arrived in a land that turned into the State of Israel,” it stated. “His pioneering influence has been etched into the origins of the state.”

Born in 1920, he enlisted into the South African air force at the age of 21 after studying accountancy. He fought against the Nazis for the allies in the Second World War, gaining experience as a navigator on-board a bomber.

At the end of the war, after setting up an accountancy firm, storm clouds of war gathered in the Middle East, and Simon decided to move to Israel and fight for it.

After the War of Independence, Simon was asked to remain and set up air force infrastructure, the IAF said. “He served as head of the first operational squadron of the force, and worked to set up and promote many squadrons,” the IAF added.

In 1950, Simon went back to South Africa, but in 1962 he returned to Israel for good.“What characterized Smoky was empathy and love for the other, alongside courage that knew no bounds,” his son, Maj. (res.) Saul Simon, said, according to the IAF’s website. “But what most characterized him was his refusal to be cynical, he was sincere. That is one of the most beautiful traits that a person can have, and he was like that.”

以色列空军在其网站上表示，哈罗德·“大烟”西蒙留下了巨大的遗产，其中包含“无尽的英雄故事”。

由 JNS.org 提供

在他去世三天后，享年 101 岁，接近他的 102 岁生日，周四，以色列空军的传奇创始人之一哈罗德·“斯莫基”·西蒙继续向他致敬。

以色列空军在其官方网站上表示，西蒙留下了巨大的遗产，其中包含“无尽的英雄故事”。

1948 年 5 月 14 日，在从南非抵达以色列一周后，他乘坐 Bonanza 飞机起飞，这是“他参加的第一次希伯来语飞行”，IAF 回忆道。

“这架飞机飞向黎巴嫩，离开了[强制性]巴勒斯坦的边界，与此同时，大卫·本·古里安准备在特拉维夫的迪岑哥夫大厦发表声明。当机组人员完成任务返回时，他们已经抵达了一块变成以色列国的土地，”它说。 “他的开创性影响已被铭刻在国家的起源中。”

他出生于 1920 年，21 岁时在学习会计后应征入伍。他在第二次世界大战中为盟国与纳粹作战，获得了在轰炸机上担任导航员的经验。

战争结束后，成立会计师事务所后，中东地区战火纷飞，西蒙决定移居以色列，为之而战。

IAF 表示，独立战争结束后，西蒙被要求留下并建立空军基础设施。 “他曾担任该部队第一个作战中队的负责人，并努力建立和提升许多中队，”印度空军补充说。

1950 年，西蒙回到了南非，但在 1962 年他又回到了以色列。