overseas left and went back home. They returned to their families, their studies and their jobs. Smoky, however, accepted the offer made to him by his commanders and served another two years in the air force. He was discharged at the end of 1950 with the rank of major. The Simons returned to South Africa where Smoky began working as an insurance agent. In 1962, they decided to return to Israel for good as new immigrants. Smoky opened up the Simon & Wiesel Insurance Agency, which was a big success and specialized in life insurance. In 2000, he sold the portfolios to the Migdal insurance company.Many years earlier, in 1968, he and a few of his friends got together to form World Mahal to celebrate the 20th anniversaryMany of the volunteers had combat experience from serving in the military of their home countries. This was particularly evident in the air force, especially among pilots. According to Smoky, 420 volunteers served in the budding air force.However, there’s a bit of a distortion in the way the history has been recorded. For years, Israel’s collective memory identifies Mahal volunteers with the air force and all of the accompanying glamour. The truth, of course, is quite different: 4,800 volunteers from overseas served in various units.Before my interview with Smoky ended and he would move on to a photo shoot for this article, I asked him if he is happy with what he sees around him in the modern State of Israel, and if this is what he imagined