Pastor Kuhfal's Address:
When you think of Halloween and Christmas something that everyone can relate to is Charlie Brown. Who can forget “A Charlie Brown Christmas” and “It’s the Great Pumpkin.” But Charlie Brown and Memorial Day? Perhaps you might think of Snoopy and the Red Baron and their airplane battles. But I am thinking of another Charlie Brown, not the Charles Schulz cartoon character, but Charlie Brown the American WWII B-17 Bomber pilot. It’s a story you will not forget.
The story starts with Franz Stigler a German who came from a family of pilots. However, Stigler started to study to be a priest. However, soon his love for flying took over and he decided to become an airline pilot. The war started and he was forced into the military as a pilot. Stigler wasn't just any fighter pilot. He was an ace. One more kill and he would win the Knight's Cross, German's highest award for valor. Five days before Christmas in 1943 he was refueling on the runway in Bremen when he heard a low flying bomber. He immediately dropped what he was doing to get that final kill and exact revenge upon the enemies who had killed his brother, who also was a fighter pilot.
Up in the skies was American bomber pilot Charlie Brown, who had no clue he had just flew over a disguised German airfield. Charlie Brown was happy to be alive. It was Brown’s first bombing mission. Halfway through the bomb run the flak was heavy and hit at least three of the squadrons planes. Both his number two and number four engines were badly damaged. He described it as taking your foot off the gas pedal in a car, the plane slowed and could not keep up with the squad. Eight German fighters suddenly appeared and began to attack.
On Charlie Brown’s plane, one was dead, and four others injured, including Charlie Brown with a bullet fragment in his right shoulder. The oxygen system had been shot out and he had been inverted. He says, “I either spiraled or spun and came out of the spin just above the ground. My only conscience memory was of dodging trees but I had nightmares for years and years about dodging buildings and then trees. I think the Germans thought that we had spun in and crashed.”
Many Americans throughout our history have suffered the fate of giving the ultimate to their country -- their life. That is why we gather here today -- to remember and never forget those who gave their lives for our freedom. Some of them are family members, friends and loved ones of you who are gathered here. Perhaps they were very close to you. Perhaps you have heard their stories passed down through the years. Many were lives taken in their prime -- a loss never to be forgotten. Jesus, who in the greatest sacrifice gave His life to pay the price of the sins of the world, understood such a sacrifice. That is why He said, “13 Greater love has no one than this, that someone lay down his life for his friends.” (John 15:13) Jesus didn’t just speak such words, He also lived them out. He had that love and died upon the cross not just for Americans, but for the sins of the world.
A different cross was on Franz Stigler’s mind as he too off in his German Messersmith fighter plane - the Knights Cross and revenge. He easily caught up to Charlie Brown’s B-17 and was surprised not to be taking fire. He flew about 500 feet above the enemy aircraft, trying to decide the best way to finish it off. “I thought I would do it the classic way, from the rear,” remembers Stigler. “So, I flew above and to the rear of the airplane, about 200 feet. I wanted to give his tail-gunner a chance to lift the guns, to point the guns at me. The guns were hanging down.” The guns never rose to take aim at Stigler. Flying within 20 feet, he was able to find out the reason. “I saw his gunner lying in the back profusely bleeding…”
Charlie Brown’s rear gunner is one of those that we remember today on Memorial Day -- those who sacrificed their lives for us. There are many of them. Nameless, but we dare not forget them collectively -- fallen American warriors. They answered the call to serve their country, willing to pay the price, ending in sacrifice. As Americans we don’t glory in war, nor the shedding of blood, for life is precious. We are a country founded upon the principle that God created life and life is sacred. Our nations first document, the Declaration of Independence, states it this way: “We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.” Because this Christian influence, America fights differently: protecting civilians, treating prisoners with dignity, and following the Geneva Convention. Because life is sacred, we also gather to remember those who gave their life, like the nameless gunner on Charlie Brown’s B-17. Yet, that nameless gunner’s death might have saved the rest of the crew.
Franz Stigler said, “I saw his gunner lying in the back profusely bleeding….. so, I couldn’t shoot.” Franz also had been taught the value of life. In pilot training, his commanding officer, Gustav Rödel, during his time fighting in North Africa once told him – “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." Franz Stigler later commented, "To me, it was just like they were in a parachute. I saw them and I couldn't shoot them down." Franz pulled up beside Charlie Brown’s B-17.
It was then that Charlie Brown glanced out the cockpit and saw the Messerschmitt fighter hovering 3 feet off their wingtip. Brown blinked hard and looked again, hoping it was just a mirage. But his co-pilot stared at the same horrible vision. "My God, this is a nightmare," the co-pilot said. Charlie Brown agreed, "He's going to destroy us." But when Brown and his co-pilot, Spencer "Pinky" Luke, looked at the fighter pilot again, something odd happened. The German didn't pull the trigger. He nodded at Brown instead.
Twice, Stigler tried to get Brown to land his plane at a German airfield and surrender, or divert to nearby neutral Sweden, where he and his crew would receive medical treatment but be interned and sit out the remainder of the war. Brown and the crew of the B-17 didn't understand what Stigler was trying to mouth and gesture to them and flew on. Stigler then flew near Brown's plane, escorting the damaged B-17 over the heavily defended North Sea coast until they reached open water and departed with a salute. Stigler's escort prevented the B-17 from being shot at by German anti-aircraft batteries as they flew towards the coast.
In 1986, the then-retired Colonel Brown was asked to speak at a combat pilot reunion event called "Gathering of the Eagles." Someone asked him if he had any memorable missions during World War II; Brown thought for a minute and recalled the story of Stigler's escort and salute. Afterwards, Brown decided he should try to find the unknown German pilot. After four years of searching vainly, Brown hadn't come up with much. He then wrote a letter to a combat pilot association newsletter. A few months later, Brown received a letter from Stigler, who was living in Canada. "I was the one", it said. When they spoke on the phone, Stigler described his plane, the escort and salute confirming everything Brown needed to hear to know he was the German fighter pilot involved in the incident. Between 1990 and 2008, Charlie Brown and Franz Stigler became close friends and remained so until their deaths within several months of each other in 2008.
Today we gather to salute those who bore the uniform of our country and gave their lives -- in thanksgiving and remembrance of their sacrifice.
