
The Charlie Brown and Franz Stigler incident happened on December 20, 1943, when German fighters severely damaged Charles “Charlie” Brown’s B-17 Flying Fortress (named “Ye Olde Pub”) following a successful bomb run on Bremen. Despite having the chance to bring down the damaged bomber, Luftwaffe pilot and ace Franz Stigler chose to let the crew return to their airfield in England for humanitarian reasons. The two pilots eventually crossed paths 40 years later after a thorough search by Charlie Brown, and the friendship they formed lasted until their deaths.
Pilots
Farm boy from West Virginia and 2nd Lt. Charlie Brown flew the B-17F for the 379th Bomber Group of the United States Army Air Forces (USAAF) at RAF Kimbolton in England. Franz Stigler, a veteran Luftwaffe fighter pilot from Bavaria who had previously flown for an airline, was a member of Jagdgeschwader 27 at the time and had amassed 22 victories. With one more enemy aircraft brought down, he would qualify for the coveted Knight’s Cross.
Bomb run
Brown’s B-17 started its 10-minute bomb run at 27,300 feet, in minus 60 °C of outside air. Accurate anti-aircraft fire damaged the bomber’s Plexiglas nose, disabled the number two engine, and further damaged the number four engine, which had to be throttled back to avoid overspeeding before the bomber released its bomb load. Due to the bomber’s slowing down from the damage, Brown was unable to stay with his formation and retreated as a straggler, where he would be subject to continuous enemy attacks.
Attacks by fighters

Brown’s B-17 was even more damaged than this one; the B-17 pictured was able to land with all their crew alive.Now, for more than ten minutes, more than a dozen enemy fighters—a mix of Bf-109s and FW-190s—attacked Brown’s lone B-17. Additionally, the number three engine, which could only produce half power, suffered damage (meaning the aircraft had at worst 40 percent of its total rated power available). Internal oxygen, hydraulic, and electrical systems of the bomber were also compromised. The bomber’s two dorsal turret guns and one of its three forward-firing nose guns were its sole remaining defensive armament (from eleven available). The majority of the crew were now injured (the tail gunner had died), and Brown had a shoulder injury.
When Brown ran out of oxygen, he passed out. When he awoke, the bomber was remarkably flying level at a height of about 1000 feet. He regained the controls and started the long journey home in the wrecked bomber.
Franz Stigler

Germans on the ground, including Franz Stigler, who was refueling and arming at an airfield, noticed Brown’s damaged bomber. He quickly accelerated in his Messerschmitt Bf-109 and caught up to Brown’s aircraft. Stigler was able to see the hurt and helpless crew clearly through the bomber’s damaged air frame. The crippled bomber was not attacked by Stigler, which surprised the American pilot.
During his time fighting in North Africa, Gustav Rödel recalled the advice of one of his commanding officers from the Jagdgeschwader 27: “You are fighter pilots first, last, always. If I ever hear of any of you shooting at someone in a parachute, I’ll shoot you myself.” Stigler later commented, “To me, it was just like they were in a parachute. I saw them and I couldn’t shoot them down.”
Stigler made two attempts to convince Brown to either land his aircraft at a German airfield and surrender or to make a U-turn and land in nearby neutral Sweden, where he and his crew would receive medical care but would also be interned and forced to sit out the rest of the war. Brown objected and carried on. Then Stigler flew close to Brown’s aircraft, escorting it until they reached the North Sea, and then he took off while saluting.
Landing
Brown was able to fly his aircraft the 250 miles across the North Sea and land it at RAF Seething, home of the 448th Bomb Group. He then told his officers about how a German pilot had let him go during the post-flight debriefing. In order to avoid creating a favorable impression of enemy pilots, he was instructed not to mention this to the other members of the unit. While Stigler was aware that a German pilot who spared the enemy while in battle risked execution, Brown remarked that “someone decided you can’t be human and be flying in a German cockpit.” Stigler kept the incident a secret from his commanding officers.
Lt. Brown went on to complete a combat tour.
Post-war and meeting of pilots
Charlie Brown returned to West Virginia after the war, attended college there, and then enlisted in the Air Force once more in 1949, serving there until 1965. Later, he traveled to Laos and Vietnam a lot while serving as a Foreign Service Officer for the State Department. But he decided to become an inventor in Miami in 1972, so he gave up his job as a government employee.
In 1953, Stigler moved to Canada and established a prosperous business.
Colonel Charlie Brown, who had just retired, was asked to give a speech in 1986 at the “Gathering of the Eagles,” a gathering of combat pilots. After being questioned about his most memorable missions from World War II, Brown took a moment to reflect and remembered the tale of Stigler’s escort and salute. Brown then made the decision to look for the unidentified German pilot.
Brown had spent four years looking in vain for American and West German Air Force records that might provide some insight into the identity of the other pilot, but he had not found much. Then he sent a letter to the newsletter of a group of combat pilots. Brown got a letter from Stigler, who was residing in Canada, a few months later. It declared, “I was the one. Stigler gave Brown all the information he needed to know to identify him as the German fighter pilot when they spoke on the phone about his plane, including the escort and salute.
Franz Stigler and Charlie Brown became close friends between 1990 and 2008, and they remained so until their deaths a few months apart in 2008.

Iranian inmate dies from happiness after finding out he will not be executed
An Iranian man who was convicted of murder reportedly died from happiness after learning that his death sentence was being commuted.

How a Total Lunar Eclipse Saved Christopher Columbus in 1504
In 1504, Christopher Columbus was stranded in Jamaica with natives who refused to give him food. But he knew the date and time of an upcoming lunar eclipse. So he told the natives that his gods were angry at their treatment of him, and would provide a clear sign. Once the eclipse started, the natives raced to give him food and begged for mercy.

Thomas Baker's heroic act that earned him the "Medal of Honor" was 8 bullets until death
Thomas Baker instructed his team to leave him with a pistol and eight bullets propped up against a tree after he was injured. Later, American troops discovered the now-deceased Baker in the same location, lying next to eight dead Japanese soldiers and carrying an empty pistol.

Mario Segale, Developer Who Inspired Nintendo to Name Super Mario
Super Mario is named after real-life businessman Mario Segale, who was renting out a warehouse to Nintendo. After Nintendo fell far behind on rent, Segale did not evict them but gave them a second chance to come up with the money. Nintendo succeeded and named their main character after him.

Poto And Cabengo: The Secret Language Of Twins
Poto and Cabengo, as the two girls called each other, communicated in their own language. The twins were ignored by their parents and secluded from the outside world because their father felt they were developmentally retarded, and their unique language evolved as a result of that neglect.

Shizo Kanakuri’s 1912 Olympic Marathon Finished 54 Years
At the 1912 Olympics, a marathon runner quit and went home to Japan without telling officials and was considered a missing person in Sweden for 50 years. In 1966, he was invited to complete the marathon. His time: 54 years, 8 months, 6 days, 5 hours, 32 minutes, and 20.379 seconds.

The unbroken seal on King Tutankhamun's tomb until 1922
The unbroken seal of Tutankhamun's tomb before it was opened in 1923, it was unbroken for over 3000 years.

The incredible story of a plane that lost its roof in mid-flight and the light signal that saved 94 lives.
On April 28, 1988, Aloha Airlines flight 243 was on the way to Honolulu from Hilo when a huge portion of the upper part of the fuselage blew off the airplane.

Man's Blood Helped Save Millions of Babies
Australian blood donor James Harrison has been one of our most impressive and valued donors, having donated for 60 years. Know his story, how he was a pioneer of our Anti-D program, and why this matters.

1972 Andes Plane Crash Survivor recall the terrifying Struggles to Stay Alive
On October 13, 1972, a plane carrying a rugby team from Uruguay crashed in the Andes between Chile and Argentina. The survivors were in brutal conditions - high altitude, bitter cold, and the lack of food—and faced the most terrible choice—eating the frozen flesh of their dead friends or starving to death themselves.

Louis Le Prince Invented the motion picture camera, and then he mysteriously disappeared
Louis Le Prince, the inventor of motion pictures, vanished without a trace in 1890. Thomas Edison quickly claimed the title of "first and sole inventor of cinema," even taking Le Prince's son to court to dispute it. A few years later, the son also dies under mysterious circumstances.

Inside China’s Footbinding Tradition: The Painful Ritual of Lotus Shoes and Bound Feet
In China, Lotus shoes were used to bind women's feet to keep their feet small

story of the youngest mother in the world at age of five - Lina Medina
Lina Medina, a five-year-old Peruvian girl, became the youngest mother in history in 1939 when she gave birth to a boy.

Roller Coasters were First Invented to Distract People from sin
Roller coasters were invented to distract Americans from sin. In the 1880s, hosiery businessman LaMarcus Thompson didn’t like that Americans were going to places like saloons and brothels and created the first roller coaster on Coney Island to persuade them to go there instead.

A Brief History of the PlayStation Gaming Console
Sony's PlayStation was never meant to be an actual product. Instead, it was intended to be a CD-ROM console that would support Nintendo games. However, when Nintendo backed out of the deal at the last minute, Sony went ahead and launched what soon became one of the most successful gaming consoles of all time.

Ea-Nasir: world's oldest written customer complaint
This clay tablet, written in cuneiform, is the oldest known written customer complaint about the delivery of poor quality copper ingots. Originally from ancient Babylon, the tablet dates back to 1750 BCE, and it was written by a customer named Nanni to a merchant named Ea-Nasir. It is currently housed in the British Museum.

The Bizarre (And Magical) Duel Between Chung Ling Soo And Ching Ling Foo
Ching Ling Foo and Chung Ling Soo were two magicians from the early 20th century who were bitter rivals. While Ching Ling Foo was genuinely Chinese, Chung Ling Soo was actually a New Yorker named William Robinson.

Knockers-up: waking up the Industrial Britain's Workers in 1900-1941
Before alarm clocks were invented, there was a profession called a knocker-up, which involved going from client to client and tapping on their windows (or banging on their doors) with long sticks until they were awake. It lasted into the 1920s.

The true story Of The Radium Girls that change US labor laws
Hundreds of young women worked in clock factories during World War I, painting watch dials with luminous radium paint. The company lied about the risk of radiation, claiming there was no danger, which resulted in the death of the young women.

10 world’s most destructive and dangerous volcanic eruptions in history
Volcanic eruptions can devastate cities, change the world's atmosphere, and devastate economic systems. They can create molten lava rivers, mudslides, suffocating ash, and poisonous gases that cause chaos around the world for years. A volcanic explosion's effects can be massive, from its size to its death toll to its economic cost. Here is ten world’s most destructive and dangerous volcanic eruptions in history.

Ancient Jericho: The First Walled City In History
The ancient city of Jericho is the world's oldest walled city, with evidence of stone fortifications dating back nearly 9000 years.

The 1976 April Fools' Pranks, Planetary Alignment
On April fool's Day, 1976, the BBC convinced many listeners that a special alignment of the planets would temporarily decrease gravity on Earth. Phone lines were flooded with callers who claimed they felt the effects.

Top 10 most cruel medical procedures that are being used today
We are all aware that medicine has advanced dramatically over the last fifty years. There are several modern medical approaches available today, but this was not always the case. However, the past of medicine is a dark one. Medical leeches, lobotomy, vascular surgery, cranial stenosis, and even electroshock therapy are all options. These are only a couple of the cruel healing techniques that are still in use today.

Reason Behind The Suicide Of Christine Chubbuck Live On Air
Actor Rebecca Hall had serious reservations about tackling the macabre story around why Chubbuck killed herself in 1974. So what changed her mind?

History of Treadmill, punishment for prisoners
Treadmills were originally a punishment used to harness human power on a giant wheel used to grind grains, hence the name "treadmill." The History of Treadmill