Franz Stigler was a deeply religious Catholic who loved flying.
That single encounter was too short for a book, but Makos and military writer Alexander ( Biggest Brother: The Life of Major Dick Winters, the Man Who Led the Band of Brothers, 2005) bring together the stories of the pilots. Instead of finishing off the crippled bomber, the German pilot guided it toward the Channel and sent it on its way to England. Both pilots were still living 60 years later when Makos, editor of the military journal Valor, discovered the story. In 1943, a severely damaged B-17, returning from a mission over Germany, was intercepted by a Messerschmitt fighter. Hardbound, 392 pages.An inspiring dual biography of two World War II airmen against the background of the European air war. Features a bookplate signed by B-17 pilot Ronald Martin from the 379th Bomb Group and the author Adam Makos. It was the encounter that would haunt both Charlie and Franz for forty years until, as old men, they would search the world for each other, a last mission that could change their lives forever. 8th Air Force would later classify what happened between them “top secret.” It was an act that Franz could never mention for fear of facing a firing squad. Franz would face sandstorms in the desert, a crash alone at sea, and the spectacle of 1,000 bombers, each with eleven guns, waiting for his attack. Charlie would face takeoffs in English fog over the flaming wreckage of his buddies’ planes, flak bursts so close they would light his cockpit, and packs of enemy fighters that would circle his plane like sharks. What happened next would defy imagination and later be called “the most incredible encounter between enemies in WWII.” A Higher Call follows both Charlie’s and Franz’s harrowing missions. The pilot is German ace Franz Stigler and he could destroy the young American crew with the squeeze of a trigger. Out of nowhere, a Messerschmitt fighter pulled up on the bomber’s tail. Half his crew lay wounded or dead on this, their first mission.
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