This
is
a
great
true
story
of
a
World
War
II
event.
by
Gary
Damen
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.
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.....
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 over
an enemy airfield,
a German pilot
named Franz
Steigler 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.
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.
Research shows
that Charlie Brown
lived in
Seattle and Franz
Steigler had moved
to Vancouver ,
BC after
the war. When they
finally met, they
discovered they
had lived less
than 200 miles
apart for the past
50 years!
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....
|
----- Original Message -----
Sent: Wednesday, April 15, 2009 9:55 PM
Subject: Doorst.: Fw: FW: FW: A Great Story/Helen
Hey
guys,
Here is
a great story sent to me by my old buddy Cecil Belton, former b17 pilot.
Ron, can
you please pass this on to Ernest Herr.
I will
be offline for a few days. From tomorrow on I will be back to the
forties for the reenactment meeting at the US base in Baumholder
Germany.
So hold
the lines and take care of six,
Henk
|
|
|
|
|
|
