Location: Entebbe, Uganda
In 1976, an AirFrance flight from Israel was hijacked by terrorists and flown to Entebbe Airport in Uganda. The plot was assisted by Uganda’s brutal ruler Idi Amin, who was sympathetic to the terrorists. As over 100 Israeli and Jewish hostages waited in the “old terminal” at the airport, the Israeli Air Force worked around the clock to orchestrate one of the most successful counter-terrorist missions in history, 200 Israeli commandos rescued all but four of the hostages, and eliminated all of the terrorists, all within a short 40 minutes on the ground. The Israeli forces suffered only one casualty, Commander Yonitan Netanyahu (brother of Israel’s current prime minister) who was shot by a sniper on the roof of the control tower.
Brian first heard this heroic story many years ago at summer camp, and has wanted to visit ever since. We weren’t sure how close we could get to the old terminal, which is now a UN airport, but we were determined to try. When we showed up at the airport, we were pleasantly surprised to find that we were granted security clearance to the old terminal. We were then accompanied by the head of airport security, in his orange and black checked security vehicle, across the tarmac. After radioing for clearance from the tower, we crossed a runway to the old terminal. As we pulled up to the old tower, it was impossible to miss the bullet holes peppering the structure. We stood in the shade of a tree planted in memory of Cmdr. Netanyahu, and read the plaque placed on the tower by the Israeli government. It was incredibly moving to be standing in the very place where many so bravely risked their own lives to save others.
As the head of security drove us back, he told us his recollection of the raid, as he had grown up near the airport. He heard the gunshots and saw the explosions, leading him to think that the terrorists had killed the hostages. The next day, he learned that fortunately, thanks to the heroism of the Israeli Air Force, the opposite had happened. It was unbelievable to hear a first person account of this bit of history, especially from the man that now runs airport security at Entebbe.
2 years ago