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A Moment of Compassion by Ivan Berryman. (P)
On December 20th 1943, Lt. Charlie Brown of the USAAF was flying his first mission as aircraft commander of B-17, "Ye Olde Pub" on a bombing raid over Bremen. The B-17's port wing was damaged by flak, necessitating an engine shutdown. The aircraft was aggressively attacked by Luftwaffe fighters that tore the B-17 to shreds, killing and wounding a number of her crew. As the aircraft limped toward the German coast, a single Messerschmitt Bf 109 piloted by Franz Stigler approached the crippled bomber and, seeing the incredible damage inflicted on it, made the decision not to attack, but to escort0 the B-17 across the English Channel. Part way, the Bf 109 banked away and Brown's aircraft was met by some P.47s that escorted Ye Olde Pub home. Stigler had risked everything in this act of compassion and his story remained a secret until the end of the war. In 1990, Charlie Brown finally tracked down Franz Stigler and the two pilots became the closest of friends, right up until they would sadly pass away within months of each other in 2008. |
