He became a worldwide fighting symbol of Israel as Defense Minister during the Six-Day War victory in 1967.

Israeli military leader and politician who served as Chief of Staff of the IDF from 1953 to 1958 and Defense Minister during the Six-Day War in 1967. He lost his left eye to a sniper in 1941 during a raid in Lebanon, and his distinctive black eye patch became his trademark. He later served as Foreign Minister and played a key role in negotiating the 1979 peace treaty between Egypt and Israel.

Born in Kibbutz Degania Alef in 1915, the first child actually born in the kibbutz. His family moved to Nahalal when he was six, where he attended agricultural school. He joined the Haganah at age 14 in 1929 and served in the Special Night Squads under British officer Orde Wingate during the Arab revolt.

First child born to Shmuel and Dvora Dayan, Ukrainian Jewish immigrants from Zhashkiv. He had two younger siblings, a sister Aviva and a brother Zohar. He was a Jewish atheist who spoke Hebrew, Arabic, and English fluently.