US B17 Bomber (left) and German BF109 Fighter (right)

As a former commercial pilot, I had lots of exciting adventures (and a few brushes with death)—some of which I’ve talked about in these posts over the years.

But I never had an experience like that of Lieutenants Charlie Brown and Fritz Stigler, both World War 2 pilots. They met on December 20, 1943, 5 days before Christmas, in skies over Germany.

Charlie was a US bomber pilot returning to England after an attack on Germany. Fritz was a German fighter pilot whose mission was to shoot down American bombers.

I thought their story would be a fitting way to close out this year, when our planet is still struggling with the horror and violence of war. Charlie’s and Fritz’s story is fitting not because of the horror and violence that was World War 2, but because of the way their story ended.

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In the video below, please pay careful attention to Fritz’s words to Charlie at 4 minutes and 47 seconds. It’s a powerfully poignant moment.