Franz & Charlie

frood with flak in the skies over wartime Europe limping home on a wing in a prayer and then a change of heart a mystery that would remain unsolved for decades w5 Suzan Ormiston has a remembrance days story you won't soon forget Charlie Brown is one lucky man flying American bombers in World War two he could have been another casualty for the 370 ninth Bomb Group a very beautiful memorial quite proud of Charlie's life was spared by an enemy he was friends Stigler once an ace flyer now at 82 mostly grounded do you miss it during the war stigler was on the other side but in 1953 he left Germany and settled in British Columbia yeah he was no average flyer Stigler was an ace fighter for the German Luftwaffe at 12 he was flying gliders by the time war broke out he was instructing fighter pilots his combat record at least 28 enemy aircraft shot down over North Africa and Europe now what are these here fronts here Wow missions he flew nearly 500 missions actually but his most honorable the time he let the Yankee get away this one here I got because I didn't true charlie though a post-war peace medal awarded by England because he didn't shoot Charlie down that's the only one I'm allowed to to wear the remarkable story began five days before Christmas in 1943 Franz Stigler was a veteran fighter pilot and Charlie Brown on his first mission as commander of a b-17 bomber you're a rookie Oh rookie beyond belief he even lied about his age he was 21 but said he was 25 just to impress his crew their b-17 was named ye olde pub part of a 500 bomber formation headed for an airplane factory in Bremen Germany they anticipated a dogfight 250 of Germany's best flak Gunners and maybe 500 German fighters once you start on that bomb run you never divert you never do anything just straight to give the lead aircraft time to set up and that's when the flak is at its most severe ye olde puck got hit her nose blown away she lost two engines eight guns and most of the communications still Charlie and his crew got the bombs off and I could not stay in formation here without the bombs and so the formation just pulled off and left us left by yourself orphaned that's when the Germans showed up this time it was the Luftwaffe Stern to take a bite out of the old pop I do remember being inverted and looking up at the ground and the next thing I know I'm pulling up over trees that day in the same battle Franz Stigler was doing damage in his Messerschmitt 109s shot two down in the same day and then I landed to refuel and rearm from the ground he spotted Charlie Brown's crippled bomber so I went after him looked at the flying record searched him up and figured out how to finish it off had you ever seen a bomber so badly damaged not flying not flying so I'm sitting in the cockpit alone and I look out and there's the world's worst nightmare sitting on my right wing I closed my eyes and I opened them again and he was still there did you try to shoot at him no I wasn't stupid enough to try to shoot at him why not at this point we're totally helpless shot full of holes guns frozen up and a badly wounded crew I had one that couldn't walk one that couldn't use his hands and one with the leg bone off and what dead friends had an easy mark he zeroed in from the rear expecting to face the tail gunner and I saw him lying in there but he didn't prove useless so it couldn't shoot you couldn't know if I wouldn't have seen them I was different base wouldn't have seen a person at all ever type shot they're the enemy when you shoot at the airplane you don't think of people in there you see airplanes nothing else plane that pumps your city so while you're fetches or whatever but in this case as I saw this Tilton I just couldn't do it instead he tried to get the b-17 to surrender over Germany but no response so he escorted the bomber out over the North Sea and pointed towards Sweden a half-hour away but Charlie Brown had other ideas I said I'm gonna try to make England well just about that time he gave a wave salute and left did you tell anybody about what happened no why not all right I didn't want to look in the firing squad you would have been court-martialed yes for what end up doing my job ye olde pub made it back to England a miracle itself and Charlie Brown had an amazing story to tell but the higher-ups didn't want to listen all aspects of our mission was classified secret why otherwise we have to mention a German pilot so someone decided that it wasn't good PR to show that a German had a heart that's right did you ever think of him again now all of us on the board is useful tape the story stays buried for over 40 years until Brown begins a search who was that looked off a pilot who let him go I tried the American records of course absolutely nothing I had served three and a half years of the Royal Air Force they tried to help me they had absolutely nothing nobody had ever heard of a chivalrous German pilot after three years a break a German pilots newsletter published his article all of a sudden I get this letter from Canada Surrey British Columbia he had markings on my airplane stuff that I had not put in the article they talked by phone then finally met two former enemies now friends did he thank you I don't see us his thank me just said he almost broke my ribs he gave me a big bear hug and what not now barely a year goes by without a reunion this year it's in Savannah Georgia at the newly opened 8th Air Force Museum it stirs the memories what was your favorite tail Gunners what did you get in trouble with some tail Gunners Franz oh this one is for my tail got this for ya head one in the lake over France where's where's your plane that one up there this was my airplane I lost 17 of them now did you guys fear the Messerschmitt we respected so the fact that Franz shot down colleagues friends that was his jam Lee that doesn't bother you no that was his job that day I killed a man who had 70 victories in the Soviet Union he had a pregnant wife that arrived on the base while he's airborne that day these things you you put in the back and you locked did he ask you why you didn't shoot him down no reasons nothing there's no plane like the 17 put any vets together in the stories fly but this fall at the reunion of Charlie's 370 ninth Bomb Group one war tale stood out [Music] [Applause] [Music] this certificate has been presented to ll Franz Stigler an appreciation of his compassion and chivalrous action from it sort of leaves me wordless almost it could not happen to a nicer gentleman [Applause]

Channel: IIJG27 Rich

Views: 67,974

Keywords: IL-2 Cliffs of Dover, Il-2 BOS, WWII, Franz Stigler, Luftwaffe, IL-2, Simulators, DCS, B-17, Bf109, Air War, A Higher Call, WWII Pilots

Id: P-3osMd_2x0

Length: 9min 22sec (562 seconds)

Published: Tue Jul 09 2019