I realized while reading this how easy it is to come up with a pre-judged idea of one side during a war. I learned so much about the German Air Force that I never knew...they were NOT joined with the SS and one place said many of the German pilots feared Goering more than the Allied pilots. That just barely scratches the service of the details given that I know I will be referencing in the future. I just finished reading A Higher Call: An Incredible True Story of Combat and Chivalry in the War-Torn Skies of World Franz Stigler started flying gliders at age 12 and soloed in a bi-plane in 1933. He joined Lufthansa, becoming an Airline Captain, before joining the Luftwaffe in 1940. There, he became an instructor pilot, with one of his students being Gerhard Barkhorn, who would later become the second highest scoring Ace in history with over 300 victories.

December, 1943: A badly damaged American bomber struggles to fly over wartime Germany. At the controls is twenty-one-year-old Second Lieutenant Charlie Brown. Half his crew lay wounded or dead on this, their first mission. Suddenly, a Messerschmitt fighter pulls up on the bomber’s tail. The pilot is German ace Franz Stigler—and he can destroy the young American crew with the squeeze of a trigger... For me, the book served to confirm what I already knew: not every German was a callous killer, and wearing the gray for many was not a matter of choice. German fighter pilots in particular had a code of conduct that forbade gunning down enemy flyers descending in parachutes and on a number of occasions rescued Allied POWs from SS troops and angry civilian captors. I think this is an uplifting read, demonstrating that even in the horror and wastefulness of war there are still men who can see past flags and uniforms and pardon a defenseless enemy he could easily kill. I'll leave you with the words of the famous Ace Gerd Barkhorn who, when asked why he had encouraged a terrified Russian pilot to bail out of a doomed aircraft, answered: "Bubi, you must remember that one day that Russian pilot was the baby son of a beautiful Russian girl. He has his right to life and love the same as we do," (P.314) A Higher Call is a non-fiction book by Adam Makos with Larry Alexander, published in 2012 by Berkley Books. It recounts the story of the Charlie Brown and Franz Stigler incident of 1943, which took place in the skies of Germany during the Second World War. In it, Franz Stigler, a German Luftwaffe fighter ace flying a Messerschmitt Bf 109, guided a severely damaged American Boeing B-17 Flying Fortress out of German airspace after failing to persuade it to surrender, an act of chivalry.I gleaned so much insight into the Luftwaffe. I have to say I was very impressed with these often times chivalrous Teutonic Knights of the air. The problem was that the Luftwaffe was fighting two front war: The Allies and the Nazi party. I must say I walked away rather impressed by the code that Luftwaffe aces adhered to. After they shot down a bomber crew they would often have to land and save the crew from summary execution from locals or the SS.

Devotion: an epic story of heroism, friendship and sacrifice. Atlantic Books. 2015. ISBN 9780593722336. Majerczyk, Michael R. (May 9, 2018). "Adam Makos and Larry Alexander. A Higher Call. New York: Berkley Caliber, 2012". The Saber and Scroll Journal. 7 (2). While the description of Stigler escorting the bomber to safety is moving, the scene that meant the most to me was at a veterans reunion where Charlie Brown introduced Stigler to two of the crewmen who had been onboard the bomber that Stigler spared. As the four men hugged and cried they were joined by the descendants of the American fliers -- people who owed their lives to the act of generosity and kindness shown by Franz Stigler. Stigler and Brown remained close friends until their deaths, both in 2008. Blake, John (9 March 2013). "Two enemies discover a 'Higher Call' in battle" (PDF). CNN . Retrieved 22 October 2021. Wanting to do this build for over a year now, ever since i finished reading the book A Higher Call by Adam Makos.

A Higher Call is mostly the story of Franz Stigler, an ace WWII German fighter pilot who came upon a heavily damaged and helpless American B-17 bomber struggling to return to England. Stigler could have easily shot the bomber down, but instead he escorted them past an anti-aircraft battery and flew along side them for a while out over the North Sea. Stigler knew he would be court-martialed if anyone found out what he had done. For years he wondered if the bomber had made it home safely and he wondered, "Was it worth it?". It took 46 years for Stigler to find out that the bomber did return home safely and to finally meet the American bomber pilot, Charlie Brown. I was a pre-teen during the war and rooted for the shooting down of Luftwaffe planes when I read the newspapers and saw newsreels of the day, and found myself doing the same thing as I read this book. Don't forget who started that war and every German plane shot down meant Allied lives saved. One act of bravery or whatever it was didn't save the rest of it for me. Franz was credited with 28 confirmed victories and over thirty probables. He flew 487 combat missions, was wounded four times, and was shot down seventeen times, four by enemy fighters, four by ground fire, and nine times by gunners on American bombers. He bailed out six times and rode his damaged aircraft down eleven times. Glancy, Josh (1 September 2013). "A Higher Call by Adam Makos with Larry Alexander". The Times . Retrieved 25 October 2021. Notable Alumni". Lycoming College. Archived from the original on November 20, 2022 . Retrieved November 20, 2022.

An absolutely brilliant work! I cannot say enough of this true World War Two account of Franz Stigler and Charlie Brown. I’ve read many accounts where soldiers from both sides would come to meet one another during a lull in the action. There are countless stories of this occurring in World War I and II. Many of them occur around Christmas when it’s “Good will towards men.”Steward, Marcia Reyes (December 2014). "A Higher Call: An Incredible True Story of Combat and Chivalry in the War-Torn Skies of World War II". The Army Lawyer. 20: 20. War II. I was a little skeptical about the use of the word "incredible" in the title. I discovered that the author chose it for the best of reasons- it's totally accurate. This is an incredible book to read and experience from a personal and historical point of view; plus the story it weaves about two pilots from opposing sides is truly incredible! It is difficult to write this review without sounding sappy or as if I am gushing...it is that good. Adam Makos was brought up on the outskirts of Williamsport, Pennsylvania. [1] He completed his early education from Montoursville Area High School. [2] At the age of 15 years, while in high school, he started to write military history and was one of the founding members of Ghost Wings, a forerunner to Valor, a magazine depicting veterans' stories. [3] [4] He was a member of the school's French club and was signed up for a trip to Paris until opting to go to Walt Disney World with his family. [2] The clubs flight to Paris was the fatal TWA Flight 800, which has been a major life changing event for him. [3] In 2003 he graduated from Lycoming College. [3] [5] Career [ edit ] On one hand, there is an account of an American bomber crew who survived at both the mercy, grace, and self-sacrificing chivalry of their opponent. But theirs is the highlight side story tale, which brought this bio to life.

Adam has written a stunning, eye-opening, and breathtaking story of the lives of WWII pilots from both sides of the European Theater, and I dare say his is probably the most complete and best accounting I have ever read, especially from the German fighter pilot's side...it is absolutely brilliant. And as one who has been reading WWII and fighter pilot books for 30+ years, it stands head and shoulders above all the others in my opinion. The story continued mostly about Franz and the difficulty of his next two years under the failing German fighting. he continued half-hearted and witnessed the hell that the people were going through due to the greed of Hitler and Goering. Goering in one part showed his absolute evil in refusing to give the Air Force the newly minted Jet fighters and kept them for the bombers as the Air force went on with younger and less trained pilots in older and worse planes. a b "Meet the Author: Adam Makos". The National WWII Museum | New Orleans. Archived from the original on November 21, 2022 . Retrieved November 21, 2022.If I could have given more than 5*****, I would have. This book was that good. it was so well written, yet the story could have written itself. It is something you usually read about in novels, but think, "This could not be for real." But yes, it was. I concerns two WWII pilots, Franz Stigler, a German and Charlie Brown, an American. Neither was political. Stigler was a young German born of devout Roman Catholic family in Bavaria who were avidly anti-Nazi and Charlie was the son of American farmers. Both were dedicated to their countries. One day, Charlie was bombing northern Germany when a score of German fighters appeared around him. he was strafed on all sides, and his plane was rapidly getting punched to pieces by all the bullets. Suddenly the German fighters were gone, and Charlie was just beginning to hope he could turn around and try and make it home when a lone German plane showed up on his right wing. Franz Stigler. At first Charlie thought "this is it" we are goners. but for some strange reason no shots were fires and the German pilot hung on their right wing as they turned towards the North Sea. He kept pointing and mouthing words which were intelligibly to the Americans, but Franz was trying to get them to go to Sweden, a 1/2 hours flight where they could be safe. But Charlie did not understand, not did he realize that the German gunners on the North Sea shore did not fire because they saw one of their own with the American plane and figured he was going to take them down over the water. But instead he escorted them farther out to a safe area and watched them turn toward England. Saying a prayer he returned to Germany. Neither plot knew the other and Franz knew he had to keep quiet or he could be shot. Voices of the Pacific: untold stories from the Marine heroes of World War II. Berkley Books. 2013. ISBN 9780425257821. Four days before Christmas 1943, a badly damaged American bomber struggled to fly over wartime Germany. At its controls was a 21-year-old pilot. Half his crew lay wounded or dead. It was their first mission. Suddenly, a sleek, dark shape pulled up on the bomber’s tail—a German Messerschmitt fighter. Worse, the German pilot was an ace, a man able to destroy the American bomber in the squeeze of a trigger. What happened next would defy imagination and later be called the most incredible encounter between enemies in World War II. O'Sullivan, Michael (November 3, 2022). "Here are the movies everyone will be talking about this holiday season". Washington Post. Archived from the original on November 20, 2022 . Retrieved November 20, 2022. His other works include Voices of the Pacific (2013), based on a collection of oral histories of marines and seamen who served in the Pacific during the Second World War.