¤ ¤
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On the 20th of December 1943
just four days before Christmas
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the badly damaged
American flying fortress bomber
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struggled to fly
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over war torn Germany. At its
controls was a 21-year-old pilot
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Half his crew lay wounded or
dead. It was their first mission
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A sleek dark shape pulled up
on the bomber's tail. A German
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Messerschmitt fighter and worse
still the German pilot was an
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ace, a man able to destroy the
American bomber with just the
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squeeze of a trigger.
What happened next would defy
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imagination and later be called
the most incredible encounter
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between enemies in World War II.
This is the true story of two
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enemy pilots whose lives
collided in the skies over
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Germany that fateful day. Their
incredible story will inspire
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you and amaze you.
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¤ ¤
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Think about war, men who under
other circumstances might have
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been great friends, instead kill
each other. Soldiers are placed
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in situations where they do
things that in other contexts
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would be considered horrible
crimes. But in war, these can be
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seen as acts of valor instead.
Soldiers get medals for heroism
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and bravery. Men also get medals
pinned on their chests for doing
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things that in other
circumstances would get them
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decades in prison instead.
Tho' wars are never gentle. The
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brutality of World War II far
surpassed anything you'd seen.
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Putting aside the mind-numbing
size and barbarity of the
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holocaust, sheer technical power
alone enabled all sides, Allies
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and Axis to unleash violence
against each other on a scale
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never before experienced in
battle. So enraged at what the
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Nazis had done, Pablo Picasso
painted one of his most famous
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works, Guernica. This painting
became an icon about the terror
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of war on civilians. Supposedly
a German officer had seen the
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painting and pointing to it said
to Picasso, Did you do this?
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No, Picasso replied, You did.
The most famous or infamous of
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Allied attacks was the fire
bombing of the German city of
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Dresden in February 1945.
English and American bombers in
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four raids over a three day
period dropped almost 4000 tons
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of explosives and incendiary
devices on the city. Dresden
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erupted into an incredible
fire storm. About 25,000 people,
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mostly civilians, were killed.
Many thousands more were injured
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No question; the hatred on both
sides was intense and terrible
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and one could imagine.
But because German cities,
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not American cities
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were being bombed daily,
the German hatred for the
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Americans was far greater
than the American hatred for the
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Germans, which is one reason why
one particular event in the war
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is so incredible. It was
December 1943. The Allied
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bombing campaign was in full
swing. The idea was to bomb the
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enemy until he lost his will and
ability to fight. Bomb him into
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submission. And at the center
of the American bombing were the
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monster B17 bombers, known
as the flying fortresses. The
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Americans built over 12,000
flying fortresses and they
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developed a reputation as a very
effective bomber dropping more
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bombs that any other U.S.
aircraft in World War II. Of the
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one and a half million tons
of bombs dropped on Nazi Germany
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and its occupied territories
by U.S. aircraft, 614,000 tons,
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nearly half, were dropped from
B17s. Everything possible was
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done to ensure these bombers
could carry the maximum payload
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and inflict as much damage as
possible. In December 1943, the
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Americans even decided to stop
painting these bombers which
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made them faster and lighter and
enabled them to carry even more
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bombs. And on that December
day and American pilot, Charles
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Brown, a 21-year-old farm boy
from West Virginia had been on
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his first bombing run. Leaving
from Kimbolton Air Field in
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England and flying
at an altitude of 27-1/2
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thousand feet or about 8
kilometers they were to reach
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the city of Bremam in North
Germany, drop their bombs and
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return. Besides Charles Brown
and his Copilot Spencer "Pinky"
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Luke, eight others were on board
including radio operator Dick
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Pashot and the ball turret
gunner Sam "Blacky" Blackfoot.
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along with waist gunners Lloyd
James and Alexio Ashanka. The
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plane was named Ye Olde Pub,
known affectionately by the name
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of simply The Pub. Yet things
had not gone well for Ye Olde
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Pub and the 10 men who manned
it. About 50 kilometers from
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their target the plan faced a
thick wall of antiaircraft fire.
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Instantly Charlie knew the plane
had been hit. A hole was blown
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in the nose of the aircraft. The
impact up front was devastating.
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The flack sheared away a
large portion of the bomber's
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Plexiglas nose allowing subzero
wind to howl in through the
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jagged hole. The 300 kilometer
per hour gale pushed the
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temperature inside the plane
down to -60 degrees Celsius.
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or 76 degrees below zero
Fahrenheit. And that was only
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the beginning of the Pub's
problems. Though taking another
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hit which caused one of the
engines to malfunction they were
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able to reach their target
and drop the bombs. Now the only
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goal was to get home but that
wasn't going to be easy. The
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plane was crippled and losing
altitude. It lagged behind the
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rest of the bombers in the
squadron and soon Ye Olde Pub
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was all alone over enemy
territory. And then 15 German
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fighter planes started attacking
Bullets and cannons began to
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dismember the plane. Before long
half the crew was injured and
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the tail gunner was dead. The
crippled bomber shook violently
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from the tail forward. Charlie
knew an enemy plane was behind
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him chewing up his tail section.
He could feel it, but he didn't
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know that a fighter had just
shot off his left horizontal
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stabilizer leaving just one
meter stub from what had been a
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five meter rear wing. The plane
went into a deadly dive. Charlie
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immediately dug his heels into
the rudder pedals and pulled
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back on the yoke with all
his power. The bombers wings
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responded by biting into the
air stabilizing and then surging
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forward. Dropping below
700 meters after falling nearly
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seven kilometers, the bomber's
wings began flying again. But
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the plane was still dropping.
Charlie's arms shook and just
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when he was sure the Pub was
going to scrape the houses below
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the nose lifted to the horizon
and she leveled out blowing
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leaves from the trees and
shingles from homes. The German
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people below gazed up in awe
forgetting to run from the green
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bomber that thundered
overhead rattling their windows.
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Amazingly enough the enemy
fighters disappeared as the
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crippled plane stabilized
further and lumbered toward the
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coastline. Their pilots were
probably certain the bomber was
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doomed and going to crash.
Captain Charles Brown told the
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crew to bail out because
he thought that they would be
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better off in a German prisoner
of war camp than blown out of
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the sky or crashing in a ball of
fire. None of the men chose to
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leave. They were going to stay
with their captain in the plane.
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And if they thought they'd made
the right decision, what they
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saw next would make them think
again and fear the worst. A lone
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German 109 Messerschmitt fighter
plane appeared on the horizon.
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And with their weapons frozen
their plane crippled, their crew
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of Ye Olde Pub were helpless
before the enemy. And what an
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enemy he was. The pilot of the
109, Franz Steigler was a battle
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hardened ace who needed only one
more kill in order to win the
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Knights Cross Germany's highest
award for valor. And now this
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crippled bomber plane appeared
in the sky, ripe for the
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plucking. It looked like a
gift. This was his opportunity.
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Though never a fan of the
Nazi party, Steigler was a loyal
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German who loved his country and
had seen the devastation that
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that these bombers were doing
to his people. Plus there was a
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personal element. He had lost
his only brother, August, to
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Allied aircraft. Now was
the time for him to get not just
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revenge but the Knights Cross as
well. Yet what happened next was
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beyond imagination and truly
amazing. It was nothing like
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what this brave fighter pilot
was trying to do. It was nothing
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like what he'd planned or
expected. Franz had seen planes
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come back from battle shot
to pieces, but he'd never seen
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anything like this. Every meter
of the bomber's metal had filled
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the holes were bullets had
entered and flaked away the
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paint. Hanz became entranced
with wonder. He couldn't believe
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what he saw. Pushing the rudder
pedal and nudging the throttle
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forward a bit Franz swung his
109 past the tail and flew along
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the bomber's right side parallel
to the fuselage. He scanned the
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craft for guns that the bomber's
crew could still turn on him. He
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saw that the waist gun was
missing, blasted from its mount.
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Through the planes exposed ribs
he saw it's crew huddled over
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one another desperately caring
for their wounded including one
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whose leg had been blown off.
Moving forward Franz settled his
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109 into position above the
bombers right wingtip. He could
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see that the bomber's nose was
blown away. The bomber flew as
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if held up by an invisible
string. Then suddenly something
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switched inside Franz Steigler.
Yes these men were his enemies
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And yes they were bombing
his people. Yes their side had
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killed his brother. Yes, he was
a German fighter pilot and his
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job was to shoot down enemy
planes. Yet he just couldn't do
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it. It would be blatant murder.
Instead, to the astonishment of
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the men in the crippled plane,
the 109 flew in formation right
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next to it guiding the B17
past antiaircraft gunners on the
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ground who could see the German
plane right next to the bomber
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and so wouldn't fire. The
Germans had some B17s of their
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own so the men on the ground
thought that maybe this was one
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of theirs. Franz protected the
plane and escorted and guided
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it out towards
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the North Sea in the direction
of England. Then when they were
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safe from further attack again
to the astonishment of the men
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in the Pub, the German
pilot saluted them and left. The
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crippled plane somehow made it
back to England. In short, the
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man who was sworn to kill them
had instead, at great personal
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risk, done all that he could
to make sure that these men, his
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enemies, made it back home
safely. What a story. We're so
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used to all the horror stories
that came out of the II World
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war, that it's uplifting
and inspiring once in a while to
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hear something like this, isn't
it? In fact, this story brings
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to mind some texts in the Bible.
Look at these verses with me.
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Here's Romans chapter 5:
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While we were enemies of God
Christ's death reconciled us to
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him. Enemies of God? What does
that mean? Many have heard of
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the American writer, Henry David
Thoreau who lived in the 1800s.
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He was an outdoors, back-to-
nature kind of guy. As he was
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dying one of his Christian aunts
had said to him, Henry, have you
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made your peace with God? To
which he replied, I didn't know
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that we've ever quarreled, Aunt.
But I think Mr. Thoreau missed
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the point. You don't have to be
an open anti-God blasphemer or
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an atheist in order to be
in opposition to God. You don't
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even have to be an overtly evil
person to be in opposition to
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God. You don't have to be
shaking your fist in the sky and
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cursing him to be an enemy.
Instead we're all sinners. We've
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all made mistakes. We all fall
short of God's glory. That alone
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is enough. In other words, we're
all sinners. We've all done
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wrong. We've all rebelled and
offended God in our words, our
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thoughts and our actions. And
deep down in our hearts we know
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that's true, don't we? Imagine
you had to stand before a
00:16:05.03\00:16:09.93
perfectly holy and righteous
God a God of infinite purity and
00:16:09.96\00:16:15.57
perfection. How would you fare?
Haven't you done things in your
00:16:15.60\00:16:19.61
life that have offended a
righteous and perfect God.
00:16:19.64\00:16:22.51
Haven't you done things
that you're ashamed of, that you
00:16:22.54\00:16:26.08
regret now because they were
wrong? I imagine each one of us
00:16:26.11\00:16:31.02
has done things that we really
don't want other people to know
00:16:31.05\00:16:35.62
about and if we would be ashamed
before other people how would we
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then feel before a holy God.
And yet what did we just read?
00:16:39.79\00:16:44.57
While we were sinners, while
we were enemies with God. What?
00:16:44.60\00:16:50.84
Christ died for us. Just as
Franz Steigler could have and
00:16:50.87\00:16:56.61
justifiably so, after all
this was war, blown the men of
00:16:56.64\00:17:01.98
Ye Olde Pub, his enemies, out
of the sky, so God could have
00:17:02.02\00:17:06.15
justifiably so condemned our
world to destruction. Instead
00:17:06.19\00:17:11.96
though he sent
Christ to save it. Listen:
00:17:11.99\00:17:15.53
Yes maybe you have done
something you are ashamed of,
00:17:26.11\00:17:28.98
something you know is wrong,
but Jesus came to save you, not
00:17:29.01\00:17:34.05
condemn you for it. Yes, maybe
you have been guilty of having
00:17:34.08\00:17:38.32
done something outright evil,
but Jesus came to forgive you
00:17:38.35\00:17:42.62
that evil, not condemn you
for it. This means that God is
00:17:42.66\00:17:48.93
reconciled to us, to you,
to me even despite all that we
00:17:48.96\00:17:54.10
ourselves have done and
the mistakes we've made. So the
00:17:54.14\00:17:57.87
question is this: Will you now
be reconciled to him? You know
00:17:57.91\00:18:04.55
the amazing story of Ye Olde
Pub and the two enemy pilots,
00:18:04.58\00:18:09.35
Charles Brown and Franz
Steigler didn't end on that cold
00:18:09.38\00:18:13.29
December day above the war torn
skies of Germany. No that was
00:18:13.32\00:18:17.66
only the beginning. As I
said, the plane made it back to
00:18:17.69\00:18:21.16
England, but just barely.
Charles Brown flew a few more
00:18:21.20\00:18:25.57
missions and then returned to
America. He got married, raised
00:18:25.60\00:18:29.94
a family and lived the American
dream, yet he could never forget
00:18:29.97\00:18:35.18
what happened in the skies over
Germany back in 1943. He was
00:18:35.21\00:18:40.58
that German pilot? Why did
he not shoot them down? The
00:18:40.62\00:18:46.09
questions just grew and grew.
Finally in 1989 he placed an ad
00:18:46.12\00:18:52.09
in the newsletter for former
German Luftwaffe pilots asking
00:18:52.13\00:18:56.23
if anyone knew the identity
of the pilot who saved a B17 to
00:18:56.26\00:19:01.50
please contact Charles Brown.
And then on the 18th of January
00:19:01.54\00:19:07.64
1990, about 47 years after
that fateful day, Charles Brown
00:19:07.68\00:19:12.71
received a letter in the mail.
Dear Charles, all these years I
00:19:12.75\00:19:19.05
wondered what happened to
the B17, did she make it or not?
00:19:19.09\00:19:23.26
Yes, it was Franz Steigler
who himself had been trying for
00:19:23.29\00:19:29.80
years to find out what had
happened to the crew that he had
00:19:29.83\00:19:33.34
saved and at a terrible risk
to himself. Why, because if the
00:19:33.37\00:19:38.27
authorities had discovered what
he had done, he would have been
00:19:38.31\00:19:42.48
court martialed and shot
for treason. Instead of shooting
00:19:42.51\00:19:46.21
down an enemy bomber as he was
supposed to do he not only let
00:19:46.25\00:19:50.59
them go but he protected them
and guided them back to safety.
00:19:50.62\00:19:55.09
The Nazis would have shown
him no mercy. He couldn't tell
00:19:55.12\00:20:00.36
anyone the truth. He had helped
the enemy escape. If anyone
00:20:00.40\00:20:05.63
pinned him to that act, he knew
he would face a firing squad.
00:20:05.67\00:20:10.74
During the war a woman had
been executed for telling a joke
00:20:10.77\00:20:14.74
during a break from work at a
munitions factory Her only crime
00:20:14.78\00:20:20.12
was to say, Hitler and Goering
are standing atop the Berlin
00:20:20.15\00:20:23.65
radio tower. Hitler says he
wants to do something to put
00:20:23.69\00:20:27.32
a smile on Berliners faces.
So Goering says, Why don't you
00:20:27.36\00:20:32.56
jump? That was it. That's all
she said. But someone overheard
00:20:32.59\00:20:38.00
her tell that joke and turned
her in. The fact that the woman
00:20:38.03\00:20:41.67
was a war widow made no
difference. Hitler's blood judge
00:20:41.70\00:20:46.17
Roland Freisler order her
to be killed for violating the
00:20:46.21\00:20:50.18
subversion law. That's what they
did to a woman who just made a
00:20:50.21\00:20:54.98
joke. Yes, there's no doubt
what they would have done to a
00:20:55.02\00:21:00.59
Luftwaffe pilot who helped
an American B17 make it back to
00:21:00.62\00:21:04.33
safety when he could have shot
it down. Franz Steigler would
00:21:04.36\00:21:08.46
have been executed. His secret
stayed with him. Eventually
00:21:08.50\00:21:14.17
Franz Steigler had immigrated to
Vancouver, Canada where he had
00:21:14.20\00:21:18.01
been a successful businessman
and raised a family. Then when
00:21:18.04\00:21:22.14
he had seen the ad in the news
letter, he knew it was the pilot
00:21:22.18\00:21:25.81
of the crew he had saved. So
Charlie received a letter in the
00:21:25.85\00:21:30.89
mail with Franz's return address
on it. He started to write back
00:21:30.92\00:21:35.29
but then threw it out. Instead
he dialed Vancouver information,
00:21:35.32\00:21:40.30
asked for Franz Steigler, got
the number and rang him. Is this
00:21:40.33\00:21:47.50
Mr. Franz Steigler Charlie asked
Yah, Franz replied. This is he.
00:21:47.54\00:21:53.44
The Franz Steigler who flew
in World War II, Charlie asked.
00:21:53.48\00:21:58.98
Yah, Franz replied. Franz, I
think we go way back. This is
00:21:59.01\00:22:05.35
Charlie Brown, the pilot of
the B17. As they talked, Franz
00:22:05.39\00:22:12.19
started to describe things that
only the German pilot could have
00:22:12.23\00:22:17.07
known. Amazed, Charlie answered
Yes, it is you. Charlie and
00:22:17.10\00:22:25.51
Franz former enemies, sworn
to kill each other, arranged to
00:22:25.54\00:22:29.91
meet and what a meeting it
was. They became great friends
00:22:29.94\00:22:34.55
This amazing act of grace and
redemption made national news.
00:22:34.58\00:22:41.52
CBS News would later bill it as
the story of a war reunion that
00:22:41.56\00:22:45.76
took place only because of the
compassion of an enemy. But it
00:22:45.79\00:22:51.23
wasn't just the story of Charlie
and Franz. After one of their
00:22:51.27\00:22:55.40
later meetings in an airplane
hanger two other men approached
00:22:55.44\00:23:00.48
them. Franz, these two
gentlemen would like to meet you
00:23:00.51\00:23:06.05
Charlie said fighting a grin.
He steered Franz out from under
00:23:06.08\00:23:09.88
the wing and into the light. The
first veteran to reach Franz was
00:23:09.92\00:23:14.92
Charlie's old ball turret
Sam "Blacky" Blackfoot. His wide
00:23:14.96\00:23:19.79
wide mustache was now grey
and his head was bald but for
00:23:19.83\00:23:24.33
wispy grey hair above his ears.
Blacky started crying as he
00:23:24.37\00:23:29.17
shook Franz's hand vigorously
refusing to stop. The other
00:23:29.20\00:23:35.28
veteran was Charlies radio
operator Dick Pashot. His hair
00:23:35.31\00:23:39.08
had turned white and his eyes
remained meek behind tortoise
00:23:39.11\00:23:42.62
shell glasses. Charlie looped
his arms over Franz and Blacky
00:23:42.65\00:23:48.09
hugging them. Blacky broke down.
Through sobs, he thanked Franz
00:23:48.12\00:23:53.66
sparing his life. He said that
because Franz had not pulled the
00:23:53.70\00:23:57.57
trigger on him his children
and grandchildren were able to
00:23:57.60\00:24:01.60
experience life. Pashot draped
his arms silently around Franz
00:24:01.64\00:24:07.71
and the others as the four
huddled together. What more can
00:24:07.74\00:24:11.81
I add to this except to say that
in a sense what Franz Steigler
00:24:11.85\00:24:16.92
did for those men, Jesus Christ
did for us, for you, for me, but
00:24:16.95\00:24:22.76
on an even greater scale. While
we were enemies Christ died for
00:24:22.79\00:24:29.60
us and in that death, he offers
you grace, redemption and life.
00:24:29.63\00:24:37.37
Why not reach out and accept
it for yourself as we pray.
00:24:37.41\00:24:42.48
Dear Heavenly Father, we're so
thankful for the grace offered
00:24:42.51\00:24:46.28
us in Jesus. Yes, we
don't deserve it. If we did, it
00:24:46.31\00:24:50.82
wouldn't be grace. Thank you for
it and may we all claim it for
00:24:50.85\00:24:55.29
ourselves and receive the gift
of life you offer. In Jesus'
00:24:55.32\00:24:59.89
name we pray, Amen.
00:24:59.93\00:25:05.37
Acts of kindness, mercy and
grace are traits we admire but
00:25:05.40\00:25:09.40
don't always find often in our
world. Franz Steigler certainly
00:25:09.44\00:25:14.78
did the right and noble thing.
His act of kindness and mercy
00:25:14.81\00:25:19.78
gave the ultimate gift, the gift
of life. It's a reminder that
00:25:19.81\00:25:24.42
we too have been shown kindness
and grace. God's gift of grace
00:25:24.45\00:25:29.36
provides us with inner peace,
happiness and eternal life. So
00:25:29.39\00:25:35.50
if you're struggling with
the challenges of life and would
00:25:35.53\00:25:38.73
like to experience God's grace
and kindness, then I'd like to
00:25:38.77\00:25:42.97
recommend a free gift we have
for all our viewers today. It's
00:25:43.00\00:25:47.01
the popular booklet, The
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You'll find it most helpful in
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is absolutely free. There are no
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costs or obligations whatsoever.
So please don't miss this
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wonderful opportunity to receive
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Here's the information
you need: Call or text
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0436333555 in Australia or
0204222042 in New Zealand or
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Don't delay.
Call or text us now.
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The Incredible Journey and
Pastor Gary Kent with Pastor
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Louis Torres and Carol Torres
as the principle trainers are
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opening a Bible College in
Sydney in February of 2020. This
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14-week program will give
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00:27:04.45\00:27:07.66
effective co-laborer with
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crucified, risen and soon coming
Savior to the whole world. For
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more information and to register
phone or text us at 0481315101
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email us at info@tij.tv or visit
our website at TiJ.tv/events.
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If you've enjoyed our journey
through the skies over war-torn
00:27:31.18\00:27:37.29
Germany in World War II and our
reflections on the grace, hope
00:27:37.32\00:27:41.22
and happiness that God offers
us then be sure to join us again
00:27:41.26\00:27:47.23
next week when we will
share another of life's journeys
00:27:47.26\00:27:49.20
together. Until then remember
the ultimate destination of
00:27:49.23\00:27:54.04
life's journey. Now I saw a new
heaven and a new earth and God
00:27:54.07\00:27:58.91
will wipe away every tear from
their eyes. There shall be no
00:27:58.94\00:28:02.78
more death nor sorrow nor crying
There shall be no more pain, for
00:28:02.81\00:28:07.58
the former
things have passed away.
00:28:07.62\00:28:10.22
¤ ¤
00:28:10.25\00:28:23.53