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Series Code: TIJ
Program Code: TIJ002127A
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00:24 On the 20th of December 1943 just four days before Christmas 00:29 the badly damaged American flying fortress bomber 00:32 struggled to fly 00:34 over war torn Germany. At its controls was a 21-year-old pilot 00:40 Half his crew lay wounded or dead. It was their first mission 00:45 A sleek dark shape pulled up on the bomber's tail. A German 00:50 Messerschmitt fighter and worse still the German pilot was an 00:55 ace, a man able to destroy the American bomber with just the 01:00 squeeze of a trigger. What happened next would defy 01:05 imagination and later be called the most incredible encounter 01:09 between enemies in World War II. This is the true story of two 01:14 enemy pilots whose lives collided in the skies over 01:19 Germany that fateful day. Their incredible story will inspire 01:24 you and amaze you. 01:26 ♪ ♪ 01:51 Think about war, men who under other circumstances might have 01:56 been great friends, instead kill each other. Soldiers are placed 02:01 in situations where they do things that in other contexts 02:05 would be considered horrible crimes. But in war, these can be 02:10 seen as acts of valor instead. Soldiers get medals for heroism 02:15 and bravery. Men also get medals pinned on their chests for doing 02:20 things that in other circumstances would get them 02:24 decades in prison instead. Tho' wars are never gentle. The 02:32 brutality of World War II far surpassed anything you'd seen. 02:38 Putting aside the mind-numbing size and barbarity of the 02:42 holocaust, sheer technical power alone enabled all sides, Allies 02:48 and Axis to unleash violence against each other on a scale 02:53 never before experienced in battle. So enraged at what the 02:58 Nazis had done, Pablo Picasso painted one of his most famous 03:05 works, Guernica. This painting became an icon about the terror 03:09 of war on civilians. Supposedly a German officer had seen the 03:15 painting and pointing to it said to Picasso, Did you do this? 03:20 No, Picasso replied, You did. The most famous or infamous of 03:28 Allied attacks was the fire bombing of the German city of 03:31 Dresden in February 1945. English and American bombers in 03:37 four raids over a three day period dropped almost 4000 tons 03:43 of explosives and incendiary devices on the city. Dresden 03:47 erupted into an incredible fire storm. About 25,000 people, 03:54 mostly civilians, were killed. Many thousands more were injured 03:59 No question; the hatred on both sides was intense and terrible 04:06 and one could imagine. But because German cities, 04:09 not American cities 04:10 were being bombed daily, the German hatred for the 04:14 Americans was far greater than the American hatred for the 04:18 Germans, which is one reason why one particular event in the war 04:25 is so incredible. It was December 1943. The Allied 04:32 bombing campaign was in full swing. The idea was to bomb the 04:37 enemy until he lost his will and ability to fight. Bomb him into 04:43 submission. And at the center of the American bombing were the 04:46 monster B17 bombers, known as the flying fortresses. The 04:53 Americans built over 12,000 flying fortresses and they 04:58 developed a reputation as a very effective bomber dropping more 05:03 bombs that any other U.S. aircraft in World War II. Of the 05:07 one and a half million tons of bombs dropped on Nazi Germany 05:11 and its occupied territories by U.S. aircraft, 614,000 tons, 05:18 nearly half, were dropped from B17s. Everything possible was 05:24 done to ensure these bombers could carry the maximum payload 05:29 and inflict as much damage as possible. In December 1943, the 05:35 Americans even decided to stop painting these bombers which 05:39 made them faster and lighter and enabled them to carry even more 05:43 bombs. And on that December day and American pilot, Charles 05:50 Brown, a 21-year-old farm boy from West Virginia had been on 05:54 his first bombing run. Leaving from Kimbolton Air Field in 05:58 England and flying at an altitude of 27-1/2 06:02 thousand feet or about 8 kilometers they were to reach 06:06 the city of Bremam in North Germany, drop their bombs and 06:10 return. Besides Charles Brown and his Copilot Spencer "Pinky" 06:15 Luke, eight others were on board including radio operator Dick 06:21 Pashot and the ball turret gunner Sam "Blacky" Blackfoot. 06:25 along with waist gunners Lloyd James and Alexio Ashanka. The 06:31 plane was named Ye Olde Pub, known affectionately by the name 06:34 of simply The Pub. Yet things had not gone well for Ye Olde 06:41 Pub and the 10 men who manned it. About 50 kilometers from 06:45 their target the plan faced a thick wall of antiaircraft fire. 06:50 Instantly Charlie knew the plane had been hit. A hole was blown 06:55 in the nose of the aircraft. The impact up front was devastating. 06:59 The flack sheared away a large portion of the bomber's 07:03 Plexiglas nose allowing subzero wind to howl in through the 07:08 jagged hole. The 300 kilometer per hour gale pushed the 07:14 temperature inside the plane down to -60 degrees Celsius. 07:17 or 76 degrees below zero Fahrenheit. And that was only 07:22 the beginning of the Pub's problems. Though taking another 07:26 hit which caused one of the engines to malfunction they were 07:30 able to reach their target and drop the bombs. Now the only 07:35 goal was to get home but that wasn't going to be easy. The 07:41 plane was crippled and losing altitude. It lagged behind the 07:45 rest of the bombers in the squadron and soon Ye Olde Pub 07:50 was all alone over enemy territory. And then 15 German 07:55 fighter planes started attacking Bullets and cannons began to 08:00 dismember the plane. Before long half the crew was injured and 08:06 the tail gunner was dead. The crippled bomber shook violently 08:11 from the tail forward. Charlie knew an enemy plane was behind 08:15 him chewing up his tail section. He could feel it, but he didn't 08:20 know that a fighter had just shot off his left horizontal 08:24 stabilizer leaving just one meter stub from what had been a 08:28 five meter rear wing. The plane went into a deadly dive. Charlie 08:35 immediately dug his heels into the rudder pedals and pulled 08:39 back on the yoke with all his power. The bombers wings 08:43 responded by biting into the air stabilizing and then surging 08:48 forward. Dropping below 700 meters after falling nearly 08:52 seven kilometers, the bomber's wings began flying again. But 08:57 the plane was still dropping. Charlie's arms shook and just 09:03 when he was sure the Pub was going to scrape the houses below 09:06 the nose lifted to the horizon and she leveled out blowing 09:11 leaves from the trees and shingles from homes. The German 09:16 people below gazed up in awe forgetting to run from the green 09:20 bomber that thundered overhead rattling their windows. 09:24 Amazingly enough the enemy fighters disappeared as the 09:29 crippled plane stabilized further and lumbered toward the 09:32 coastline. Their pilots were probably certain the bomber was 09:37 doomed and going to crash. Captain Charles Brown told the 09:42 crew to bail out because he thought that they would be 09:44 better off in a German prisoner of war camp than blown out of 09:49 the sky or crashing in a ball of fire. None of the men chose to 09:53 leave. They were going to stay with their captain in the plane. 09:56 And if they thought they'd made the right decision, what they 10:01 saw next would make them think again and fear the worst. A lone 10:07 German 109 Messerschmitt fighter plane appeared on the horizon. 10:12 And with their weapons frozen their plane crippled, their crew 10:16 of Ye Olde Pub were helpless before the enemy. And what an 10:21 enemy he was. The pilot of the 109, Franz Steigler was a battle 10:28 hardened ace who needed only one more kill in order to win the 10:34 Knights Cross Germany's highest award for valor. And now this 10:37 crippled bomber plane appeared in the sky, ripe for the 10:40 plucking. It looked like a gift. This was his opportunity. 10:47 Though never a fan of the Nazi party, Steigler was a loyal 10:50 German who loved his country and had seen the devastation that 10:53 that these bombers were doing to his people. Plus there was a 10:58 personal element. He had lost his only brother, August, to 11:03 Allied aircraft. Now was the time for him to get not just 11:07 revenge but the Knights Cross as well. Yet what happened next was 11:13 beyond imagination and truly amazing. It was nothing like 11:18 what this brave fighter pilot was trying to do. It was nothing 11:23 like what he'd planned or expected. Franz had seen planes 11:27 come back from battle shot to pieces, but he'd never seen 11:31 anything like this. Every meter of the bomber's metal had filled 11:36 the holes were bullets had entered and flaked away the 11:40 paint. Hanz became entranced with wonder. He couldn't believe 11:44 what he saw. Pushing the rudder pedal and nudging the throttle 11:49 forward a bit Franz swung his 109 past the tail and flew along 11:54 the bomber's right side parallel to the fuselage. He scanned the 11:59 craft for guns that the bomber's crew could still turn on him. He 12:03 saw that the waist gun was missing, blasted from its mount. 12:09 Through the planes exposed ribs he saw it's crew huddled over 12:13 one another desperately caring for their wounded including one 12:18 whose leg had been blown off. Moving forward Franz settled his 12:23 109 into position above the bombers right wingtip. He could 12:28 see that the bomber's nose was blown away. The bomber flew as 12:32 if held up by an invisible string. Then suddenly something 12:38 switched inside Franz Steigler. Yes these men were his enemies 12:43 And yes they were bombing his people. Yes their side had 12:48 killed his brother. Yes, he was a German fighter pilot and his 12:52 job was to shoot down enemy planes. Yet he just couldn't do 12:58 it. It would be blatant murder. Instead, to the astonishment of 13:04 the men in the crippled plane, the 109 flew in formation right 13:09 next to it guiding the B17 past antiaircraft gunners on the 13:14 ground who could see the German plane right next to the bomber 13:18 and so wouldn't fire. The Germans had some B17s of their 13:23 own so the men on the ground thought that maybe this was one 13:29 of theirs. Franz protected the plane and escorted and guided 13:34 it out towards 13:35 the North Sea in the direction of England. Then when they were 13:39 safe from further attack again to the astonishment of the men 13:43 in the Pub, the German pilot saluted them and left. The 13:47 crippled plane somehow made it back to England. In short, the 13:56 man who was sworn to kill them had instead, at great personal 14:02 risk, done all that he could to make sure that these men, his 14:06 enemies, made it back home safely. What a story. We're so 14:14 used to all the horror stories that came out of the II World 14:18 war, that it's uplifting and inspiring once in a while to 14:22 hear something like this, isn't it? In fact, this story brings 14:26 to mind some texts in the Bible. Look at these verses with me. 14:30 Here's Romans chapter 5: 14:48 While we were enemies of God Christ's death reconciled us to 14:52 him. Enemies of God? What does that mean? Many have heard of 14:59 the American writer, Henry David Thoreau who lived in the 1800s. 15:04 He was an outdoors, back-to- nature kind of guy. As he was 15:09 dying one of his Christian aunts had said to him, Henry, have you 15:14 made your peace with God? To which he replied, I didn't know 15:18 that we've ever quarreled, Aunt. But I think Mr. Thoreau missed 15:23 the point. You don't have to be an open anti-God blasphemer or 15:29 an atheist in order to be in opposition to God. You don't 15:32 even have to be an overtly evil person to be in opposition to 15:36 God. You don't have to be shaking your fist in the sky and 15:40 cursing him to be an enemy. Instead we're all sinners. We've 15:45 all made mistakes. We all fall short of God's glory. That alone 15:51 is enough. In other words, we're all sinners. We've all done 15:55 wrong. We've all rebelled and offended God in our words, our 16:00 thoughts and our actions. And deep down in our hearts we know 16:05 that's true, don't we? Imagine you had to stand before a 16:09 perfectly holy and righteous God a God of infinite purity and 16:15 perfection. How would you fare? Haven't you done things in your 16:19 life that have offended a righteous and perfect God. 16:22 Haven't you done things that you're ashamed of, that you 16:26 regret now because they were wrong? I imagine each one of us 16:31 has done things that we really don't want other people to know 16:35 about and if we would be ashamed before other people how would we 16:39 then feel before a holy God. And yet what did we just read? 16:44 While we were sinners, while we were enemies with God. What? 16:50 Christ died for us. Just as Franz Steigler could have and 16:56 justifiably so, after all this was war, blown the men of 17:02 Ye Olde Pub, his enemies, out of the sky, so God could have 17:06 justifiably so condemned our world to destruction. Instead 17:11 though he sent Christ to save it. Listen: 17:26 Yes maybe you have done something you are ashamed of, 17:29 something you know is wrong, but Jesus came to save you, not 17:34 condemn you for it. Yes, maybe you have been guilty of having 17:38 done something outright evil, but Jesus came to forgive you 17:42 that evil, not condemn you for it. This means that God is 17:48 reconciled to us, to you, to me even despite all that we 17:54 ourselves have done and the mistakes we've made. So the 17:57 question is this: Will you now be reconciled to him? You know 18:04 the amazing story of Ye Olde Pub and the two enemy pilots, 18:09 Charles Brown and Franz Steigler didn't end on that cold 18:13 December day above the war torn skies of Germany. No that was 18:17 only the beginning. As I said, the plane made it back to 18:21 England, but just barely. Charles Brown flew a few more 18:25 missions and then returned to America. He got married, raised 18:29 a family and lived the American dream, yet he could never forget 18:35 what happened in the skies over Germany back in 1943. He was 18:40 that German pilot? Why did he not shoot them down? The 18:46 questions just grew and grew. Finally in 1989 he placed an ad 18:52 in the newsletter for former German Luftwaffe pilots asking 18:56 if anyone knew the identity of the pilot who saved a B17 to 19:01 please contact Charles Brown. And then on the 18th of January 19:07 1990, about 47 years after that fateful day, Charles Brown 19:12 received a letter in the mail. Dear Charles, all these years I 19:19 wondered what happened to the B17, did she make it or not? 19:23 Yes, it was Franz Steigler who himself had been trying for 19:29 years to find out what had happened to the crew that he had 19:33 saved and at a terrible risk to himself. Why, because if the 19:38 authorities had discovered what he had done, he would have been 19:42 court martialed and shot for treason. Instead of shooting 19:46 down an enemy bomber as he was supposed to do he not only let 19:50 them go but he protected them and guided them back to safety. 19:55 The Nazis would have shown him no mercy. He couldn't tell 20:00 anyone the truth. He had helped the enemy escape. If anyone 20:05 pinned him to that act, he knew he would face a firing squad. 20:10 During the war a woman had been executed for telling a joke 20:14 during a break from work at a munitions factory Her only crime 20:20 was to say, Hitler and Goering are standing atop the Berlin 20:23 radio tower. Hitler says he wants to do something to put 20:27 a smile on Berliners faces. So Goering says, Why don't you 20:32 jump? That was it. That's all she said. But someone overheard 20:38 her tell that joke and turned her in. The fact that the woman 20:41 was a war widow made no difference. Hitler's blood judge 20:46 Roland Freisler order her to be killed for violating the 20:50 subversion law. That's what they did to a woman who just made a 20:55 joke. Yes, there's no doubt what they would have done to a 21:00 Luftwaffe pilot who helped an American B17 make it back to 21:04 safety when he could have shot it down. Franz Steigler would 21:08 have been executed. His secret stayed with him. Eventually 21:14 Franz Steigler had immigrated to Vancouver, Canada where he had 21:18 been a successful businessman and raised a family. Then when 21:22 he had seen the ad in the news letter, he knew it was the pilot 21:25 of the crew he had saved. So Charlie received a letter in the 21:30 mail with Franz's return address on it. He started to write back 21:35 but then threw it out. Instead he dialed Vancouver information, 21:40 asked for Franz Steigler, got the number and rang him. Is this 21:47 Mr. Franz Steigler Charlie asked Yah, Franz replied. This is he. 21:53 The Franz Steigler who flew in World War II, Charlie asked. 21:59 Yah, Franz replied. Franz, I think we go way back. This is 22:05 Charlie Brown, the pilot of the B17. As they talked, Franz 22:12 started to describe things that only the German pilot could have 22:17 known. Amazed, Charlie answered Yes, it is you. Charlie and 22:25 Franz former enemies, sworn to kill each other, arranged to 22:29 meet and what a meeting it was. They became great friends 22:34 This amazing act of grace and redemption made national news. 22:41 CBS News would later bill it as the story of a war reunion that 22:45 took place only because of the compassion of an enemy. But it 22:51 wasn't just the story of Charlie and Franz. After one of their 22:55 later meetings in an airplane hanger two other men approached 23:00 them. Franz, these two gentlemen would like to meet you 23:06 Charlie said fighting a grin. He steered Franz out from under 23:09 the wing and into the light. The first veteran to reach Franz was 23:14 Charlie's old ball turret Sam "Blacky" Blackfoot. His wide 23:19 wide mustache was now grey and his head was bald but for 23:24 wispy grey hair above his ears. Blacky started crying as he 23:29 shook Franz's hand vigorously refusing to stop. The other 23:35 veteran was Charlies radio operator Dick Pashot. His hair 23:39 had turned white and his eyes remained meek behind tortoise 23:42 shell glasses. Charlie looped his arms over Franz and Blacky 23:48 hugging them. Blacky broke down. Through sobs, he thanked Franz 23:53 sparing his life. He said that because Franz had not pulled the 23:57 trigger on him his children and grandchildren were able to 24:01 experience life. Pashot draped his arms silently around Franz 24:07 and the others as the four huddled together. What more can 24:11 I add to this except to say that in a sense what Franz Steigler 24:16 did for those men, Jesus Christ did for us, for you, for me, but 24:22 on an even greater scale. While we were enemies Christ died for 24:29 us and in that death, he offers you grace, redemption and life. 24:37 Why not reach out and accept it for yourself as we pray. 24:42 Dear Heavenly Father, we're so thankful for the grace offered 24:46 us in Jesus. Yes, we don't deserve it. If we did, it 24:50 wouldn't be grace. Thank you for it and may we all claim it for 24:55 ourselves and receive the gift of life you offer. In Jesus' 24:59 name we pray, Amen. 25:05 Acts of kindness, mercy and grace are traits we admire but 25:09 don't always find often in our world. Franz Steigler certainly 25:14 did the right and noble thing. His act of kindness and mercy 25:19 gave the ultimate gift, the gift of life. It's a reminder that 25:24 we too have been shown kindness and grace. God's gift of grace 25:29 provides us with inner peace, happiness and eternal life. So 25:35 if you're struggling with the challenges of life and would 25:38 like to experience God's grace and kindness, then I'd like to 25:43 recommend a free gift we have for all our viewers today. It's 25:47 the popular booklet, The Greatest Act of Kindness. 25:50 You'll find it most helpful in your journey through life. This 25:57 book is our gift to you and is absolutely free. There are no 25:59 costs or obligations whatsoever. So please don't miss this 26:04 wonderful opportunity to receive the gift we have for you today. 26:09 Here's the information you need: Call or text 26:13 0436333555 in Australia or 0204222042 in New Zealand or 26:23 visit our website TiJ.tv to request today's free offer and 26:29 we'll send it to you totally free of charge and with no 26:33 obligation. Write to us at: 26:47 Don't delay. Call or text us now. 26:51 The Incredible Journey and Pastor Gary Kent with Pastor 26:55 Louis Torres and Carol Torres as the principle trainers are 27:00 opening a Bible College in Sydney in February of 2020. This 27:04 14-week program will give you the skills you need to be an 27:07 effective co-laborer with Christ to carry the message of a 27:11 crucified, risen and soon coming Savior to the whole world. For 27:15 more information and to register phone or text us at 0481315101 27:22 email us at info@tij.tv or visit our website at TiJ.tv/events. 27:31 If you've enjoyed our journey through the skies over war-torn 27:37 Germany in World War II and our reflections on the grace, hope 27:41 and happiness that God offers us then be sure to join us again 27:47 next week when we will share another of life's journeys 27:49 together. Until then remember the ultimate destination of 27:54 life's journey. Now I saw a new heaven and a new earth and God 27:58 will wipe away every tear from their eyes. There shall be no 28:02 more death nor sorrow nor crying There shall be no more pain, for 28:07 the former things have passed away. 28:10 ♪ ♪ |
Revised 2020-07-15