heartfelt
1943
Franz Stigler Refused to Shoot the Wounded B-17
👤 Franz Stigler and Charlie Brown
📍 Bremen, North Sea
On December 20, 1943, near Bremen, German Lt. Franz Stigler spotted a damaged B-17 Ye Olde Pub. Navigator dead, tail gunner killed, two engines out, crew wounded. Stigler recalled his commanders words: I fight soldiers, not children. He escorted the B-17 out of German airspace and saluted. He would have been executed if discovered. Stigler and pilot Charlie Brown reunited in 1990 and stayed close until both died in 2008.