Somewhat o/t recommendation

[Childress]

A Higher Call: An Incredible True Story of Combat and Chivalry in the War-Torn Skies of World War II. It's the most gripping- and moving- WW2 book I've read to date. And I've read dozens of 'em. Strategic bombing was a hellish job. And the German pilots come across as, frankly, great guys; brave, fun loving and chivalrous.

http://www.amazon.com/Higher-Call-Incredible-Chivalry-War-Torn/dp/0425252868/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1366842167&sr=8-1&keywords=a+higher+ground

Blurb:

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.

This is the true story of the two pilots whose lives collided in the skies that day—the American—2nd Lieutenant Charlie Brown, a former farm boy from West Virginia who came to captain a B-17—and the German—2nd Lieutenant Franz Stigler, a former airline pilot from Bavaria who sought to avoid fighting in World War II.

A Higher Call follows both Charlie and Franz’s harrowing missions. 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. 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.

Ultimately, Charlie and Franz would stare across the frozen skies at one another. What happened between them, the American 8th Air Force would later classify as “top secret.” It was an act that Franz could never mention or else face a firing squad. It was the encounter that would haunt both Charlie and Franz for forty years until, as old men, they would search for one another, a last mission that could change their lives forever.

[AttorneyAtWar]

It is most certainly a fantastic book, I recommend it to anyone, historian or not.

[John Kettler]

Childress,

A friend of mine was audibly choked up describing it to me over the phone. A must read, clearly!

A little video overview.

Regards,

John Kettler

[Wodin]

Thanks for the heads up

[Childress]

Yes, you could call it life altering experience. It hits you with the force of an 88 shell. But not lacking in interest for grogs either. Did you read it, John?

[$Pec5]

Just ordered book off amazon.

[Vanir Ausf B]

Just ordered book off amazon.

Hopefully you'll find time to send me some turns one of these days between chapters...

[Childress]

Okay, I'm about 2/3 through this book. And it remains utterly compelling. But I will be posting some, perhaps, heretical opinions re the two protagonists.

[Childress]

Finished. Here are my impressions:

75% percent of the book concerns the life of Franz Stigler, the German ace. Which is fine. The Luftwaffe, among the various services, was the least politicized. The lived by a strong code of ethics. No member, apart from Goering, was ever indicted for war crimes. Opening fire on enemy parachutes, a vice to which American and British pilots succumbed, was a strict no-no. German pilots were known to follow their 'kills' to the ground to ensure that POWs were handed over to Luftwaffe ground units, not the Gestapo or the SS.

The Allied bomber forces suffered extreme casualties: 5,000 of 17,000 bombers built were destroyed. They lost 160,000 men. Out of 30,000 German fighter pilots around 1500 survived the war; an occupation nearly as hazardous as crewing a U-Boat.

Charlie Brown, the B-17 pilot, continued zestfully bombing German cities after Stigler's noble gesture. I have a bit of a problem with that. His was a voluntary assignment, transferring out incurred no stigma. In his place, well, who knows...

Stigler flew close enough to the wounded bomber to determine there were wounded aboard and the guns not functioning. A devout Catholic, he found himself incapable of squeezing the trigger. He remained close friends with his boss, Adolf Galland, until the latter's death in 1996. Yet Galland, despite their retaionship, always considered Stigler's behavior treasonous. It's hard to argue with him, given Brown's subsequent career. Certainly Stigler would have found himeself before a firing squad had the truth got out. My hunch is that if the event had not occurred relatively early in the bombing campaign- late 1943- he would not have shown as much forbearance.

[JonS]

The Luftwaffe, among the various services, was the least politicized. The lived by a strong code of ethics.

Balls. It sounds like something produced by Paul Carell for Signal.

[Baneman]

Balls. It sounds like something produced by Paul Carrel.

So you're saying another branch of the services was the least politicised ? Which one ?

[JonS]

The GAF was utterly a product of the party, and fighter pilots weren't a band of chivalrous blonde knights.

A Higher Call sounds like badly written propaganda porn, which Childress appears to have fallen for wholesale.

Charlie Brown, the B-17 pilot, continued zestfully bombing German cities after Stigler's noble gesture. I have a bit of a problem with that.

Because there's always a few who need reminding: Germany were the bad guys in WWII.

[Sublime]

Charlie Brown, the B-17 pilot, continued zestfully bombing German cities after Stigler's noble gesture. I have a bit of a problem with that.

Why? Stigler's noble gesture doesnt simply wipe away the rest of the Nazi sins, or change the facts. It says a lot even Galland - a well known and respected ace on both sides - thought his behavior treasonous. Imagine what more die hard Nazis would have thought.

Plus why wouldn't Brown? I doubt it would have felt like there'd be no repercussions to transferring out of a combat assignment, especially to one's pride and manhood. The whole nation was at arms, in a time where young men out of uniform were viewed with suspicion and/or disdain. One could ask why Stigler, himself a long veteran of German service on multiple fronts in a war of conquest, didn't resign or pull a Rudolf Hess and surrender.

[Wodin]

There is an interview with both of them on youtube..

[ASL Veteran]

By implication one could probably say that the German Army was less politicized than the air force. I seem to recall that the reason the Luftwaffe Field Divisions were formed rather than having the personnel given over to the army was because Hermann Goring didn't want his 'good Nazis' polluted by mixing with the regular army. Assuming that's the case, then if it was the other way around Hermann Goring wouldn't have voiced any objections to giving those men over to the army.

[Childress]

Be nice, Jon! Or I'll bring on the big guns. How do Cantorian diagonalizations, aleph nul sets, and countable uncounted infinities strike you? A bit out of your depth, perhaps?

[JonS]

The Luftwaffe, among the various services, was the least politicized. The lived by a strong code of ethics. No member, apart from Goering, was ever indicted for war crimes.

This specific claim, for example, is total revisionist bull****.

[Childress]

You're just gainsaying my comments, throwing out assertions. Is this a Monty Python routine?

[JonS]

Dude. It's trivial to check this stuff for yourself. And it's the kind of thing you definately *should* check.

I'll give you a starter for ten: Milch.

Besides, even if that specific claim *was* true ... Goering was the frigging boss! He set the tone for the whole organization.

[Blackcat]

"...His was a voluntary assignment, transferring out incurred no stigma...."

American bomber pilots in WWII could resign? Really?

[Childress]

Yep. A burned-out bomber pilot was the head of the 379th field kitchen: Brown's unit.

[Childress]

JonS: just to demonstrate my impartiality... There were experiments testing the effects of hypothermia performed on prisoners. Luftwaffe equipment was used. But it's unclear whether Luftwaffe personnel was involved. At any rate, no one from the service was prosecuted apres-guerre.

[Blackcat]

Yep. A burned-out bomber pilot was the head of the 379th field kitchen: Brown's unit.

Burned-out? If a member of an armed force is declared medically unfit through combat fatigue, or any other reason, fair enough. However, I doubt that even the beneficent USA actually allowed its combatants to throw their hand in because they no longer fancied fighting.

[JonS]

But it's unclear whether Luftwaffe personnel was involved. At any rate, no one from the service was prosecuted apres-guerre.

You might think you're 'demonstrating your impartiality', but the overall effect is the opposite. In both of these assertions you - or the book - are quite simply wrong.

Really, it is trivial to check. Please do so.

[mjkerner]

"...His was a voluntary assignment, transferring out incurred no stigma...."

American bomber pilots in WWII could resign? Really?

LOL, never read/saw Catch 22!