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Look carefully at the B-17 and note how shot up it is - one engine dead, tail, horizontal stabilizer and nose shot up.. It was ready to fall out of the sky.. (This is a painting done by an artist from the description of both pilots many years later.) Then realize that there is a German ME-109 fighter flying next to it. Now read the story below. I think you'll be surprised ...

 

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Charlie Brown was a B-17 Flying Fortress pilot with the 379th Bomber Group at Kimbolton, England . His B-17 was called 'Ye Old Pub' and was in a terrible state, having been hit by flak and fighters. The compass was damaged and they were flying deeper over enemy territory instead of heading home to Kimbolton.

 

 

After flying the B-17 over an enemy airfield, a German pilot named Franz Stigler was ordered to take off and shoot down the B-17. When he got near the B-17, he could not believe his eyes. In his words, he 'had never seen a plane in such a bad state'. The tail and rear section was severely damaged, and the tail gunner wounded.. The top gunner was all over the top of the fuselage. The nose was smashed and there were holes everywhere.

 

Despite having ammunition, Franz flew to the side of the B-17 and looked at Charlie Brown, the pilot. Brown was scared and struggling to control his damaged and blood-stained plane.

 

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BF-109 pilot Franz Stigler

 

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B-17 pilot Charlie Brown

 

 

Aware that they had no idea where they were going, Franz waved at Charlie to turn 180 degrees. Franz escorted and guided the stricken plane to, and slightly over, the North Sea towards England . He then saluted Charlie Brown and turned away, back to Europe . When Franz landed he told the CO that the plane had been shot down over the sea, and never told the truth to anybody. Charlie Brown and the remains of his crew told all at their briefing, but were ordered never to talk about it.

 

More than 40 years later, Charlie Brown wanted to find the Luftwaffe pilot who saved the crew. After years of research, Franz was found. He had never talked about the incident, not even at post-war reunions.

 

They met in the USA at a 379th Bomber Group reunion, together with 25 people who are alive now - all because Franz never fired his guns that day.

 

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(L-R) German Ace Franz Stigler, artist Ernie Boyett, and B-17 pilot Charlie Brown.

 

 

 

When asked why he didn't shoot them down, Stigler later said,

I didn't have the heart to finish those brave men. I flew beside them for a long time. They were trying desperately to get home and I was going to let them do that. I could not have shot at them. It would have been the same as shooting at a man in a parachute.

Both men died in 2008.

 

This is a true story! http://www.snopes.com/military/charliebrown.asp

 

THIS WAS BACK IN THE DAYS WHEN THERE WAS HONOR IN BEING A WARRIOR ... THEY PROUDLY WORE UNIFORMS, AND THEY DIDN'T HIDE IN AMBUSH INSIDE A MOSQUE, OR BEHIND WOMEN AND CHILDREN, NOR DID THEY USE MENTALLY RETARDED WOMEN AS SUICIDE BOMBERS TO TARGET AND KILL INNOCENT CIVILIANS ... HOW TIMES HAVE CHANGED ....

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I have heard of this story,

and thought of other times when there was an "espier décor" among gentlemen who were professional soldiers, sailors and pilots.

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Great story, thanks for sharing it. It's so good to come across stories like these showing small acts of humanity amid the carnage of WWII.

 

Thanks

 

Dennis

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I read this story back when these two pilots originally met. Still brings a lump though when you read about one mans compassion in a time when brutality was encouraged.

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Thats a great story!....reminds me of WWI stories like that when a enemies guns jammed sometimes the other guy let them go.... :thumbsup: ....mike

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Its enjoyable to read stories such as this one. I can only imagine the research that went into finding the pilot! Thanks for sharing.

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Fred Borgmann
There was a beautiful painting recently done of this exact flight

 

http://www.valorstudios.com/Franz-Stigler-Charlie-Brown.htm

This is a very interesting story. Both pilots were knights of the air. This took place in 1943 so the German pilot must have been on the horns of a moral dilema; he didnot or would not shoot down a helpless bomber but on the other hand since the war was far from over he must have known that the survivors of that bomber would be back bombing German cities again. I wonder if he thought about that possibility and if he did, did it bother him?

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that's a great story that also goes to show the humanity of our enemies in Germany...

 

In 'The Deadly Brotherhood' it shows how most Americans did not hate the Germans and vice versa, but rather related to them as average Joe, hardworking middle class boys.

 

In 'On Killing', they relate a story of how in an arty attack some Americans jumped into a ditch, where there was an equal number of Germans seeking cover. All were armed, but none fought each other. At a lull in the action, they passed around cigarettes and shared a moment of calm. This kind of behavior is often seen as a brotherhood between Grunts. Despite their country of origin, they can appreciate what each other goes through in war. There were similar incidents noted of WWI and Vietnam. I imagine the same is true among pilots, both understand what each goes through

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This is a very interesting story. Both pilots were knights of the air. This took place in 1943 so the German pilot must have been on the horns of a moral dilema; he didnot or would not shoot down a helpless bomber but on the other hand since the war was far from over he must have known that the survivors of that bomber would be back bombing German cities again. I wonder if he thought about that possibility and if he did, did it bother him?

 

98% of men, it seems, hesitate or have a dilemma to actually kill their fellow man at medium-sexual ranges, it's often the far range and impersonal targets that allow a pilot to be so effective. In WWII, I believe 1% of pilots actually accounted for 40% of close-range dogfight killings.

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Fred Borgmann
98% of men, it seems, hesitate or have a dilemma to actually kill their fellow man at medium-sexual ranges, it's often the far range and impersonal targets that allow a pilot to be so effective. In WWII, I believe 1% of pilots actually accounted for 40% of close-range dogfight killings.

Did you mean "medium visual ranges"???

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no...medium to sexual...medium being small arms range, then it goes to bayonet range, hand to hand, and sexual...very close, very personal. Referred to as 'Sexual Range' in the book

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