Sasquatch Chronicles - SC EP:812 A Higher Call (Holiday Show)

Episode Date: December 3, 2021

A little Holiday show for everyone. On 20 December 1943, Franz met the B-17 bomber named "Ye Olde Pub" and its pilot Charles "Charlie" Brown for the first time. Franz had shot down two B-17s earlier that day and he soon caught up to a wounded B-17 flown by Charles Brown. Lining up to finish the bomber and shoot it down, he noticed the tail gunner never moved the guns. Upon further inspection of the airplane, he saw through large holes in the fuselage a frantic crew trying to save the lives of their fellow airmen. Franz is quoted as saying "and for me it would have been the same as shooting at a parachute", in reference to a statement by his commander and mentor Gustav Rödel; "If I hear of one of you shooting a man in a parachute, I'll shoot you myself!". Stigler motioned to Brown to land his airplane in neutral Sweden because of the extensive damage. However, Brown didn't understand, and decided to keep flying towards England. Stigler escorted the B-17 and its crew to the North Sea coast, protecting it from German anti-aircraft gunners.

December 20th, 1943. A German ace is refilling his plane. But this is no ordinary pilot. Fran Stigler was an ace several times over. He was the best Germany had to offer. And when he wasn't shooting down Allied planes, he would train his fellow pilots on the art of dogfighting. His methods were simple.

He's going to come for you. You know where he's going. He knows where you're going. Now do something about it. Franz Ziegler had all the qualities of a legendary fighter pilot. On this particular day, he had already shot down two B-17 bombers. While Franz was refueling, a B-17 bomber flew over his head, very low to the ground. He didn't even finish feeling when he jumped into his plane and went after the bomber. 40 minutes earlier, Charlie Brown and the crew of the B-17 Flying Fortress, named the Old Pub, had just finished their bombing run when the plane was severely damaged from German anti-aircraft fire. The Ye Old Pub fell behind the B-17 group formation. Formation just pulled off and left us. They were alone over enemy territory, and they were attacked by German fighters. It was a feeling of absolute helplessness.

The ye old pub started hurtling towards the earth. The last thing Charlie recalled was pulling up over the tree line. The B-17 was so damaged it was unable to fly above a thousand feet. Barely conscious, Charlie wiped the blood from his eyes and looked up. He saw a small German airfield ahead. The plane was so damaged Charlie had no other option but to fly right over it. So I'm sitting in the cockpit alone and I look out and there's the world's worst nightmare sitting on my right wing. I closed my eyes and I opened him again and he was still there.

Charlie was not seeing things. A German pilot was on his wing and motioning for Charlie to land his B-17. My guns were frozen up and I had my barrels played at him and he didn't know. and he knew they couldn't do anything. Oh, they weren't shooting. He kept closing. I couldn't shoot. Realizing that the Yankee was not going to land his plane,

Fran Stigler flew around the bomber, examining the damage. Fran said that it appeared that the B-17 was flying with only one engine. He noticed a huge gaping hole in the side of the B-17. There were men in there, desperately trying to save. their fellow airmen. As Franz moved to Charlie 6, he noticed at the very rear of the plane the gunner was dead and slumped over the guns. Charlie, seeing the German pilot move into perfect attack position, closed his eyes and asked God to watch over his family. When Charlie opened his eyes,

he was shocked. This German pilot was flying in formation with him as his wingman. And I saw him lying in there, bleeding profusely, so I couldn't shoot. If I wouldn't have seen them, it was different. If I wouldn't have seen a person at all, I would have shot. When you shoot at the airplane, you don't think of people in there. You see the airplane, nothing else. The plane that bombs your cities or your factories or whatever. But in this case, as I saw this tail gun, has...

just couldn't die. Seeing a silhouette of a German plane in the sky, none of the anti-aircraft guns fired. Now across enemy lines and heading for the coast. France pulled directly next to Charlie. The two men looked at each other. France gave a military salute,

waved to the men, and then flew off into the clouds. I say, I hope you make it home. That's what my wish was about. Even a warrior can show his enemy compassion and respect. As Franz returned to base and landed, he told no one of what he had just done. Charlie would make it home and land the ye old pub. A member of the ground crew would let a remark,

If I had not watched a B-17 land, I would have never believed it ever flew. This whole incident would remain classified until well after the war. I'm Chief O'Brien. I'll be here Corman today, okay? Can you please tell me what's going on? Charlie, along with the survivors, were pulled from the wreckage. Can you talk? Can you tell me what's going on? I'm okay. Are you okay? Because you don't look okay. Injured and exhausted, Charlie was barely

able to speak. Okay, I need you to look at me. I need to calm down and I need a breeze. If there was only one thing on Charlie's mind, what just happened and who was that pilot?