never far away, in 1953 after a wave of guerrilla attacks from jordan he led the infamous unit 101 on a raid into a border could blowing up 45 houses killing 69 arab villagers. sharon said he thought the houses were empty. by june 1967 he was back at war. now a general leading his tank battalion to a crushing victory over the egyptians in the sinai during the six-day war. what he considered his greatest military achievement came in 1973 when the young war, orders and surrounded egypt s third army. it was a turning point in the war. sharon, the war hero, turned politician. one of the founders of his conservative party, he was the father of the settlement. jewish communities built on occupied palestinian land, condemned internationally and seen as an obstacle to peace by many within israel.
john vass has the story. reporter: he was a soldier, years out of uniform, sharon the general. i saw my friend being killed. i was myself badly injured in battles. i had to take it seriously of life and death. believe me, i understand the importance it is better than many to speak about this. reporter: a paratrooper during the war of independence, ariel sharon is seen as a hero and war criminal. israel made him commander of unit 101 to carry out reprisals. on one of the missions, 69 arab villages in the town of kibia were killed when sharon ordered the homes destroyed. he said he did not know anyone was inside. from the beginning of his