Michel Bacos, Air France pilot and hero of the Entebbe hijacking (1976):
Michel Bacos (c. 1924 – 26 March 2019)[1][2] was the captain of Air France Flight 139 when the aircraft was hijacked on June 27, 1976, by Palestinian and German terrorists.[3][4][5] The hijacking, by the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP), was part of an international campaign of Palestinian terrorism.[5]
Bacos was a recipient of the National Order of the Legion of Honour, the highest decoration in France.[6][7] He was also awarded a medal by the Israeli government for refusing to leave his Jewish passengers behind when the terrorists released their non-Jewish hostages and offered to release Bacos and his crew.[8]
His Airbus A300 flight originated in Tel Aviv and was on its way from Athens to Paris with Bacos at the controls. Minutes into the flight, Bacos heard screams and quickly realized that the plane was hijacked.[3][5][9] Bacos was forced to re-route the plane, at gunpoint.[10] He recalled later: "The terrorist had his gun pointed continuously at my head and occasionally he would poke my neck not to look at him. We could only obey the orders of the terrorists."[3] Bacos was forced to turn the plane south to Benghazi, Libya, for refueling,[11] and then he was forced to fly it in a south-eastern direction. He ultimately landed the jet at Entebbe in Uganda, with only 20 more minutes of fuel left.[5][9]
The terrorists freed the 148 non-Jewish passengers, and offered to release Bacos and his crew. They felt duty-bound to remain on the plane, and refused to leave. They stayed behind with the Jewish hostages.[11][3] The captives were freed in an Israeli commando raid known as Operation Entebbe, and Bacos was dazed in the attack.[12][13]
In 1976, Bacos was awarded the National Order of the Legion of Honour, the highest decoration in France, by the President of France.[6] The Israeli government awarded Bacos and his crew medals for heroism, for refusing to leave the Jewish passengers behind.[8] In June 2008, Bacos was awarded the B'nai B'rith International "Ménoras d'Or" (Golden Menorah) in Cannes, France.[14] Bacos retired from Air France in 1982, and resided in Nice, France with his wife as of 2006. At that time, he had seven grandchildren.[2] In 2016, the American Jewish Congress awarded Bacos the organization's Moral Courage Award. Bacos lived in Nice at at the time of his passing. Nice Mayor Christian Estrosi recognized Bacos, saying: "Michel, bravely refusing to give in to anti-Semitism and barbarism, did honor to France. The love of France and the defense of liberties have marked his destiny."[15]
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Michel_Bacos
Michel Bacos (c. 1924 – 26 March 2019)[1][2] was the captain of Air France Flight 139 when the aircraft was hijacked on June 27, 1976, by Palestinian and German terrorists.[3][4][5] The hijacking, by the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP), was part of an international campaign of Palestinian terrorism.[5]
Bacos was a recipient of the National Order of the Legion of Honour, the highest decoration in France.[6][7] He was also awarded a medal by the Israeli government for refusing to leave his Jewish passengers behind when the terrorists released their non-Jewish hostages and offered to release Bacos and his crew.[8]
His Airbus A300 flight originated in Tel Aviv and was on its way from Athens to Paris with Bacos at the controls. Minutes into the flight, Bacos heard screams and quickly realized that the plane was hijacked.[3][5][9] Bacos was forced to re-route the plane, at gunpoint.[10] He recalled later: "The terrorist had his gun pointed continuously at my head and occasionally he would poke my neck not to look at him. We could only obey the orders of the terrorists."[3] Bacos was forced to turn the plane south to Benghazi, Libya, for refueling,[11] and then he was forced to fly it in a south-eastern direction. He ultimately landed the jet at Entebbe in Uganda, with only 20 more minutes of fuel left.[5][9]
The terrorists freed the 148 non-Jewish passengers, and offered to release Bacos and his crew. They felt duty-bound to remain on the plane, and refused to leave. They stayed behind with the Jewish hostages.[11][3] The captives were freed in an Israeli commando raid known as Operation Entebbe, and Bacos was dazed in the attack.[12][13]
In 1976, Bacos was awarded the National Order of the Legion of Honour, the highest decoration in France, by the President of France.[6] The Israeli government awarded Bacos and his crew medals for heroism, for refusing to leave the Jewish passengers behind.[8] In June 2008, Bacos was awarded the B'nai B'rith International "Ménoras d'Or" (Golden Menorah) in Cannes, France.[14] Bacos retired from Air France in 1982, and resided in Nice, France with his wife as of 2006. At that time, he had seven grandchildren.[2] In 2016, the American Jewish Congress awarded Bacos the organization's Moral Courage Award. Bacos lived in Nice at at the time of his passing. Nice Mayor Christian Estrosi recognized Bacos, saying: "Michel, bravely refusing to give in to anti-Semitism and barbarism, did honor to France. The love of France and the defense of liberties have marked his destiny."[15]
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Michel_Bacos
The ideal subject of totalitarian rule is not the convinced Nazi or the dedicated Communist but instead the people for whom the distinction between fact and fiction, true and false, no longer exists -- Hannah Arendt.