“A great clock is ticking over our heads. A nuclear Iraq is a grave danger to any man and woman in the State of Israel. Saddam Hussein will not hesitate to deploy a weapon of mass destruction against us,” said former Prime Minister Menachem Begin at the cabinet meeting, where the decision to neutralize Iraq’s nuclear capabilities was approved.

Forty years ago to this day (June 7, 1981), the Israel Air Force successfully carried out a mission to destroy Saddam Hussein’s nuclear reactor during Operation Opera, one of the most daring operations in Israel’s history.

Here are the brave soldiers who shaped the Middle East and made our world a safer place. We salute you!