December, 1943, in the midst of the air war over Germany and Europe, the lives of two men, both pilots, but on opposite sides, came together for a few moments and history was changed. All of this because of the decision of one pilot, a decision of life and not of death.
Charlie Brown, a 20 year old B-17 bomber pilot of the US 8th Army Air Force, was nursing his shot up plane back toward England. His left rear stabilizer was shot off, his tail gunner was dead in the rear turret, he had two engines out and multiple wounded on board. It would be a miracle if he could make it out of German air space and over the North Sea to his home base.
Franz Stiger was a German fighter pilot, a multiple ace, and had come across this crippled bomber as it straggled alone. If he finished off this plane, it and its crew would be out of the war and not able to bomb his homeland again. It was his job to make that happen.
As Franz approached the stricken bomber from the rear, he wondered why the tail gunner did not begin to shoot at him as he got within range. This was the only gun on the plane that could have seen him as he closed in. Realizing there was something wrong, he edged in until he could see the tail gunner slumped over his guns, not moving. He could also see the shot up condition of the plane and the fact that two propellor props were not spinning and the plane was continuing to lose altitude.
Chances were that the US bomber would not make it home in its condition. There were several strikes against it. It was still in German territory and would have to fly over multiple gun emplacements that could bring the plane down, there was the lengthly water crossing and these were combined with the loss of the two motors and the dropping altitude.
Franz could back off and shoot the plane down. After all he had plant of ammo to finish the job. He could also just leave it alone and let the guns deal with it. As low and slow as it was flying, it was a dead duck anyway. Or he could do the unheard-of act and stick with it for a while. No one would know.
As the German ace pulled up alongside the bomber, he motioned to the surprised American, trying to get his attention and point him in the direction of Sweden, a course which would allow him to miss the guns on the ground, and give a him a place to land where he would not be captured. But Charlie Brown did not understand what he was trying to tell him and continued to fly west toward England.
At this point a higher call kicked in. Franz decided to stay with the American till he could get out over the ocean. He would probably not make it to England anyway, but if the German fighter stayed with him the gunners on the ground would not shoot one of their own.
Long story short, the guns did not fire. Franz left him over the North Sea, not knowing whether he made it home or not, and as he returned to base, decided to tell no one of what he had done. After all, what he did was against orders, and he could have been shot for his disobedience.
The crew of the bomber threw out all the extra weight to get more altitude, the plane made it to land, the wounded men received medical attention and lived and both pilots survived the war.
The striking thing to me was not that the men had survived the war, or not that they eventually found each other many years later in an emotional reunion, but the many lives that were affected by that one act. Those two pilots certainly, but also the crew members of the bomber and all the children and grandchildren of those men who lived. All of these families and the ones that they touched and continue to do so, flowed out of one decision of one man in one moment of a World War.
The decisions I make today, decisions to encourage or put down, decisions to help or pass by, and just decisions to care for others can matter, and their effects can last a long time.
One man's choice.
Help me God to remember and to think as I live in relationship to others in my world.
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