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

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A Higher Call is an incredible account of gallantry that is nothing short of miraculous. The story is told through the eyes of the two principal pilots and covers their lives before, during, and after the war. A Higher Call is riveting from beginning to end, and both pilots’ points of view are woven seamlessly throughout the book. The majority of the story is told from the German perspective and gives the reader invaluable insight into the Nazis’ fight under Hitler’s leadership and the disillusionment that came toward the end of the war for the German people. It is often said that ‘war is hell’—and it is—however, this story reveals how the human spirit can shine in the darkest hours.”—Colonel Charles McGee, Tuskegee Airman, WWII

I realized while reading this how easy it is to come up with a pre-judged idea of one side during a war. I learned so much about the German Air Force that I never knew...they were NOT joined with the SS and one place said many of the German pilots feared Goering more than the Allied pilots. That just barely scratches the service of the details given that I know I will be referencing in the future. The final part of the book covers Franz and Charlie during their post-war lives, including their unlikely reunion. December, 1943: A badly damaged American bomber struggles to fly over wartime Germany. At the controls is twenty-one-year-old Second Lieutenant Charlie Brown. Half his crew lay wounded or dead on this, their first mission. Suddenly, a Messerschmitt fighter pulls up on the bomber’s tail. The pilot is German ace Franz Stigler—and he can destroy the young American crew with the squeeze of a trigger…Wanting to do this build for over a year now, ever since i finished reading the book A Higher Call by Adam Makos. Makes you see that in war not everybody wants to go and kill other people. Most off them are there because they have to. The narrative illuminates what the life of a fighter pilot was like in the Luftwaffe. For example in telling the story of Stigler’s service in North Africa, the sand, bad food and probably more importantly the comradeship between pilots and their crew chiefs/mechanics is well drawn. In fact, when North Africa falls, Stigler along with most of his squadron mates squeeze their mechanics into their airplanes when they are transferred to Sicily rather than let them be captured. During this period Stigler’s ambition to win a Knights Cross is emphasized. I found the part about Franz's service in LuftWaffe including the conflict between LuftWaffe's aces and it's Nazi high commander Hermann Goring especially interesting. When I first phoned the World War II bomber pilot named Charlie Brown, all I wanted was thirty minutes of his time. But what I found was a beautiful story worth every minute of eight years.”

of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars A Higher Call: An Incredible True Story of Combat and Chivalry in the War-Torn Skies of World War II by Adam Makos There was no going forward—in front of the column, from the slope of a field, ten German tanks blasted away. There would be no retreat—behind the American column, another five German tanks shot down from a hilltop, silhouetted by the moon. The woods were a killing zone too. The tree line blinked with small-arms fire from SS infantry stationed at both ends of the route. With nowhere to run, all that remained for most Americans was to hide.”I just finished reading A Higher Call: An Incredible True Story of Combat and Chivalry in the War-Torn Skies of World Adam Makos was brought up on the outskirts of Williamsport, Pennsylvania. [1] He completed his early education from Montoursville Area High School. [2] At the age of 15 years, while in high school, he started to write military history and was one of the founding members of Ghost Wings, a forerunner to Valor, a magazine depicting veterans' stories. [3] [4] He was a member of the school's French club and was signed up for a trip to Paris until opting to go to Walt Disney World with his family. [2] The clubs flight to Paris was the fatal TWA Flight 800, which has been a major life changing event for him. [3] In 2003 he graduated from Lycoming College. [3] [5] Career [ edit ] According to A Higher Call, Stigler was a German fighter pilot credited with shooting down 45 allied aircraft during his 400-plus combat missions. He probably killed more than a hundred enemy airmen and continued to fly missions up until the very end of the war. He advanced in rank from corporal to first lieutenant in the span of his three years of service. This was a person who, at best, was fully committed to the killing that was required of a German fighter pilot; or at worst, was fully indoctrinated into the Nazi Party. Do the two men meet years later to discuss that amazing day? For that, you’ll have to read the story.

I obviously had multiple problems with this book. Had it not been written and presented as a true story, but rather as a non-fiction novel ala Capote's "In Cold Blood", I would have had less of a problem. The purple prose recalling minute details of events, scenarios and conversations that supposedly were recalled from memory 50 or 60 years before was just too far beyond credibility. a b McConnell, Richard A. (2014). "A Higher Call: An Incredible True Story of Combat and Chivalry in the War-Torn Skies of World War II". Air Power History. 61 (3): 55.Every now and then I cross paths with a book that strikes a chord somewhere deep within me, a book that shares my waking hours and my sleep. This is one of those books, as was Laura Hillenbrand's Unbroken. Coincidentally, both tell a true story from World War II ... Unbroken tells of Louis Zamperini who survived to tell about his adventures as a US pilot in the Pacific, subsequent capture and imprisonment by the Japanese." A Higher Call: An Incredible True Story of Combat and Chivalry in the War-Torn Skies of World War II" tells of two pilots, one German and one American who meet high in the skies over Germany on December 20th, 1943. Both of these books will stay with me, I am sure, for a lifetime. A Higher Call grabbed me and simply won't let go. I was a pre-teen during the war and rooted for the shooting down of Luftwaffe planes when I read the newspapers and saw newsreels of the day, and found myself doing the same thing as I read this book. Don't forget who started that war and every German plane shot down meant Allied lives saved. One act of bravery or whatever it was didn't save the rest of it for me. Voices of the Pacific: untold stories from the Marine heroes of World War II. Berkley Books. 2013. ISBN 9780425257821. A Higher Call is a non-fiction book by Adam Makos with Larry Alexander, published in 2012 by Berkley Books. It recounts the story of the Charlie Brown and Franz Stigler incident of 1943, which took place in the skies of Germany during the Second World War. In it, Franz Stigler, a German Luftwaffe fighter ace flying a Messerschmitt Bf 109, guided a severely damaged American Boeing B-17 Flying Fortress out of German airspace after failing to persuade it to surrender, an act of chivalry. El suceso protagonista del libro es impactante tanto cuando ocurre, como los hechos que le suceden tras la guerra.

The 2022 film, Devotion, is based on his 2015 book of the same title, which recounts the true story of a friendship between two U.S. Navy pilots in the Korean War. [9]Pond, Neil (May 5, 2013). " 'Voices of the Pacific' Book Review". American Profile. Archived from the original on November 21, 2022 . Retrieved November 21, 2022.