Pluto
Cat Extremist
- Dec 27, 2020
- 6,235
OK, so this isn't really news, unless you are reading this in 1943. But I was watching this video yesterday and it struck me as something profoundly special, even when filtered by the comedic delivery of the creator.
The text summary, which does not touch what an emotionally-charged event and later reunion it was (many even shed tears from the video):
I don't know what the lesson is but it feels like a really big one, especially in the context of our current political climate. These guys are peak Greatest Generation; absolutely kick-ass fighters yet deep, caring and heartfelt. The best in humanity, and the direct opposite of a lot of the narcissistic types who hog the airwaves these days. Where to find role models like this now? That generation was the 'older folk' back in my day and I wish they'd come back. That's my take.
The text summary, which does not touch what an emotionally-charged event and later reunion it was (many even shed tears from the video):
The Charlie Brown and Franz Stigler incident occurred on 20 December 1943, when, after a successful bomb run on Bremen, 2nd Lt Charles "Charlie" Brown's B-17 Flying Fortress (named "Ye Olde Pub") was severely damaged by German fighters. Luftwaffe pilot Franz Stigler had the opportunity to shoot down the crippled bomber but did not do so, and instead escorted it over and past German-occupied territory so as to protect it. After an extensive search by Brown, the two pilots met each other 50 years later and developed a friendship that lasted until Stigler's death in March 2008. Brown died only a few months later, in November of the same year.
I don't know what the lesson is but it feels like a really big one, especially in the context of our current political climate. These guys are peak Greatest Generation; absolutely kick-ass fighters yet deep, caring and heartfelt. The best in humanity, and the direct opposite of a lot of the narcissistic types who hog the airwaves these days. Where to find role models like this now? That generation was the 'older folk' back in my day and I wish they'd come back. That's my take.
