Moshe Dayan (1915-1981) was a legendary Israeli military leader, politician, and archaeologist, renowned for his iconic eye patch and pivotal roles in Israel's formative wars and diplomacy. Born on May 20, 1915, in Kibbutz Degania Alef near the Sea of Galilee in Ottoman Palestine, he was one of three children of Ukrainian Jewish immigrants Shmuel and Dvora Dayan from Zhashkiv. His family soon moved to Nahalal, where he grew up. Dayan joined the Haganah underground Jewish defense force in 1929 at age 14 and began formal military training in 1937 under British officer Orde Wingate in the Special Night Squads, learning guerrilla tactics. He lost his left eye during a 1941 Vichy French attack on a British base in Lebanon but continued his service undeterred. Dayan's military career peaked as commander of the Jerusalem front in the 1948 Arab-Israeli War, Chief of the General Staff of the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) from 1953 to 1958 during the 1956 Sinai War, and Defense Minister during the triumphant Six-Day War in 1967, becoming a global symbol of Israel's resilience. Transitioning to politics, he served as Foreign Minister from 1977 to 1979 in Menachem Begin's Likud government after being expelled from the Labor Party for joining it. He played a key role in negotiating the Camp David Accords and the Egypt-Israel peace treaty. An avid archaeologist, Dayan collected artifacts, some controversially acquired. Dayan resigned in 1979 amid political tensions and published memoirs revealing IDF operational insights. He died on October 16, 1981, from a heart attack, leaving a complex legacy as a warrior-statesman criticized by some for aggressive policies but celebrated for securing Israel's security and peace advances.