Chapter 71, Airforce Academy
The first thing I remember and probably will remember forever is the horrible smell we woke up to. The Airforce Academy was located next to the industrial complex to the north of Haifa. It was one of the most, if not the most polluted area in the country. In the middle of the complex, you could see the two huge oil distiller stacks. Surrounded with so many chemical plants, that defiled the “ Kishon ” river. There were no fish in that river, nothing could live in this water. Even at the estuary and deeper to the sea the water had a dark green color, you couldn’t see the bottom. “Up, up, up! Cadettes! On your feet!” The corporal yelled at us. You have 30 minutes to be ready in triplets outside the building. There were 24 of us boys. We were all 16 years old and most of us were members of that prep program except for two whom had very high grades in Math and Physics to start with. As soon as we arrived by train the day before, the corporal was waiting for us at the gate. We were the only ...