A Higher Call: The Incredible True Story of Heroism and Chivalry during the Second World War

by Adam Makos

Roedel, Maak, and the others knew that any fighter pilot who was a Party member was a rarity and, most likely, a fanatic. To be a Nazi in the German Air Force, one needed to have joined The Party before enlisting or being drafted, usually at a very young age. Once a man joined the Air Force, the German Defense Law of 1938 forbid him from Party membership.8 German civilians could join The Party at any time, as could the SS and the Gestapo. But in the German Air Force, a Nazi fighter pilot was a rarity.

Franz shrugged, unsure where Roedel was going with the talk. “What will you do, Stigler, for instance, if you find your enemy floating in a parachute?” “I guess I’ve never thought that far ahead yet,” Franz said. “If I ever see or hear of you shooting at a man in a parachute,” Roedel said, “I will shoot you down myself.” The words stung.9 “You follow the rules of war for you, not for your enemy,” Roedel said. “You fight by rules to keep your humanity.”

Their code said to fight with fearlessness and restraint, to celebrate victories not death, and to know when it was time to answer a higher call.

As Franz sat on the wing of the downed bomber, his thoughts raced to the bomber he had escorted out of Germany. He wondered if its crew were alive, kissing the tarmac and hugging one another in relief. Or were they floating in a raft in the North Sea, or on the bottom of the ocean in their Four Motor tomb? Their fate mattered to him. He could not get the thought out of his mind: Was it worth it?

If only Willi could have seen him now, giving away victories. Franz knew the rookies would write home of their victories to their parents. Their parents would tell friends and neighbors. But looking at them, Franz felt a wave of sadness. He knew the odds, and the odds said they would not survive the war. He would be right. Four months later, Heinz Mellman and Gerhard Sonntag would both be dead.

Franz saw Charlie and ran to him. The two former enemies hugged and cried.

“It was like meeting a family member, a brother you haven’t seen in forty years.” “Did you find out why he spared you?” she had asked. Charlie nodded. “I was too stupid to surrender,” Charlie said. “And Franz Stigler was too much of a gentleman to destroy us.” Charlie never had his nightmares of “the spin” again after meeting Franz.