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Book Review - A Higher Call: An Incredible True Story of Combat and Chivalry in the War-Torn Skies of World War II

His fighter aircraft freshly fueled and armed, Franz could have easily shot down the stricken American bomber. It was December 20th, 1943. The four engine American B-17 Flying Fortress with her crew of ten flew alone in the skies north of Bremen, Germany, as Franz approached cautiously from behind. The bomber had just participated in a massive raid on a German aircraft plant on Bremen’s outskirts. Now, after surviving harrowing German anti-aircraft fire and fighter attacks, she was limping home. Her tail gunner was dead, killed in a fighter attack. Another gunner was gravely wounded, his left leg nearly severed above the knee. Other members of the crew were also wounded. For the pilot of the crew, this was his second combat mission of the war. For the other nine men of the crew, it was their first.   

Franz Stigler was already a seasoned German fighter ace at 28 years old. He needed one more bomber victory, one more like the one now in his sights, to earn the coveted Knight’s Cross. The central story of A Higher Call by Adam Makos is what happened next in this potentially deadly encounter between enemies in the war-torn skies of World War II.

As the B-17’s wings were filling his gun sight, Franz began to realize that something was wrong. He had expected by now the tail gunner would be firing at him. Instead, he could see that the bomber’s tail position was obliterated. The dead gunner was slumped over his guns, his blood soaking his fleece collar red. Franz saw that the left horizontal stabilizer of the bomber’s tail section was shot away. He wondered how the ship was still flying. He made the decision not to shoot.

The author writes, “Franz had never seen anything like this.” The crippled plane was helpless as he pulled alongside and began to fly in formation with it. Through gaping holes in the fuselage, Franz could see the American airmen caring for their wounded.

Adam Makos thoroughly researched this true story of an aerial combat encounter between enemies.  He wrote that Franz Stigler at this moment in time answered “a higher call.” Franz decided that he would not have the death of these helpless men on his conscience for the rest of his life.

Flying at the wingtip of the bomber, Franz nodded to the American pilot staring incredulously at him. He was a 20-year old West Virginia farm boy named Charlie Brown. Adam Makos writes of Charlie, “he had milked the cows before school and lived without electricity…he had never missed a day of school.”  New to combat, Charlie had flown his plane with heroic skill to this point of the mission. Just before Franz appeared, he had pulled the Flying Fortress from a deadly spin after being nearly shot from the sky by eight enemy fighters.

The German fighter ace flying alongside him was trying to signal Charlie to land and save his crew. Not comprehending the signals, Charlie kept flying toward the North Sea coast and England. Franz flew with him for about ten minutes and escorted him over the coastal German anti aircraft batteries. The gunners on the ground, seeing one of their own flying as escort to the American bomber, did not fire. Then, with a salute, Franz left Charlie over the North Sea and turned back to Bremen airport. He told no one of his encounter and hoped that he would not be reported for letting an enemy escape. His act of mercy would be considered an act of betrayal to his country.

After his aerial encounter with Franz, Charlie struggled to keep his plane flying over the sea on its way back to England. She was losing altitude, and he had just 250 feet of height when he finally made the English coast. Two American fighter planes guided him to the nearest airfield, and Charlie landed safely.

Charlie and Franz both survived their later combat experiences. For years later, long after the war, each thought often of their encounter. A Higher Call tells the moving story of how these two men found each other 46 years after their first meeting in the war-torn skies of Europe. Upon first making contact, Franz wrote to Charlie, “I am happy now that you made it, and that it was worth it.”

For years after their reunion, Franz and Charlie appeared together in many speaking engagements across North America. They told audiences of their incredible war-time encounter. Adam Makos writes,“Their message was simple: Enemies are better off friends.” 

In the introduction of his book, Adam Makos asks, “Can good men be found on both sides of a bad war?” A Higher Call reveals the truth that indeed they can.