Giora Even-Epstein was born in 1938 on an Israeli kibbutz and spent his early years in agricultural schools. He became fascinated with military aircraft and the aces who flew them. He desperately wanted to fly the French Mirage III but was turned down for flight training because of a heart defect. He tried again, was turned down again, but was incredibly accepted as a paratrooper. After 500 jumps, he tried again to enrol in the IAF pilot training programme and was accepted, eventually gaining his wings to fly and fight during the critical periods of the Israel Air Force's combat history. In 2019, after years of retirement, he was promoted to brigadier general and today lives peacefully in Tel Aviv.