Sabaton ~ No Bullets Fly (Happy Franz Stigler Memorial Day!)

On December 20, 1943, Franz Stigler had just completed a mission. He was a very successful pilot, and only needed one more kill to win the coveted Knight's Cross. Seeing a badly damaged bomber limping away from Germany, he quickly reloaded, refueled, and took to the sky despite damage to his own aircraft.

In that bomber were an American aircrew with 7 of the 10 occupants injured, and one dead. Three of their four engines were damaged, the tail was partially missing, and huge gaping holes had been opened up in the sides of the bomber. The freezing air had disabled most of the guns and solidified the morphine.

Instead of taking out the bomber and receiving personal accolades, Franz Stigler escorted the bomber to safety at the English Channel. In doing so, he risked being killed by Americans as well as being executed by his German comrades. His courage and compassion allowed all 9 remaining crew members to survive.

Franz and Charlie met long after the war, but became best friends. They passed away within months of each other. Such an amazing story, and a true testament of the need to end Brother Wars.

https://infogalactic.com/info/Charlie_Brown_and_Franz_Stigler_incident