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"The Guardian" by Nick Trudgian Valor Studios |
Inspirational Historical Romance Author
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"The Guardian" by Nick Trudgian Valor Studios |
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Kimbolton Airfield at Sunset American Air Museum in Britain |
Our story ended last month when German fighter pilot Franz Stigler encountered American pilot Charlie Brown's wounded B-17 over the skies of Germany. Brown and hundreds of other Allied pilots had completed a bombing run over Bremen, Germany, but "Ye Olde Pub" was so damaged, she couldn't keep up with the other B-17's and was left to be picked off by an eager German pilot. Stigler would have enough points to earn the coveted Knight's Cross if he shot down one more B-17.
If you missed Parts 1 and 2 of this fascinating story, you can find them here and here.
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Messerschmitt. Wikipedia. |
Last month I shared Part 1 of the story of two WWII pilots, one German, one American, who were destined to meet as enemies over the skies of Germany. If you missed that post, you can find it here. Today we will pick up with the American pilot, Charlie Brown flying from England to bomb Bremen, Germany.
On the morning of December 20, 1943, twenty-year-old Lieutenant Charlie Brown piloted his B-17 crew into combat for the first time. "Ye Olde Pub" flew in a twenty-one-plane battle formation and led most of the 8th Air Force's bomb groups to Germany (475 B-17s and B24s). They were told to expect five hundred or more bandits (German fighters) to intercept them.
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Restored B-17 Bomber Creative Commons via Wikipedia Author Airwolfhound |
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Auschwitz.org |
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Danuta's Route Map Courtesy of Kressy Family |
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Inside the Gate of Auschwitz II-Birkenau Public Domain. Courtesy of Wikipedia. |
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Dunkirk Beach in 2012. User: Eporte Wikimedia Commons |
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Courtesy of urdumovies.net |
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Oslo, Norway Today. Photo by Sean Hayford O'Leary via Flikr & Wikipedia |
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Vilnius, Lithuania Old Town Skyline Photo by DAVID ILIFF. License: CC BY-SA 3.0. Courtesy of Wikipedia |
Author Pensées de Pascal Courtesy of Wikimedia Commons |
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Milíč House in 1937 Wikimedia Commons & Milidu (Author) |
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Professor John L Heineman, Boston College |
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U. S. Holocaust Memorial Museum |
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Bundesarchiv, picture 102-00344 / Heinrich Hoffmann / CC-BY-SA 3.0 |
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Przemysl, Poland. Author Ferdziu Wikimedia Commons |
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Modern-Day Gilleleje, Denmark.
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Reine Fishing village in Lofoten, Norway Credit Petr Šmerkl, Wikipedia |
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Molde Under Attack in 1940 Painting by Rolf Groven |
Åndalsnes, top left Wikimedia Commons. Public Domain. |
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Wikimedia Commons - Public Domain |
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U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum |
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King Haakon and Crown Prince Olav Hiding in the Woods During Bombing Public Domain. Courtesy of Wikipedia |
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The Orzel in 1940 - Public DomainWikimedia Commons |
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Official Website of the Doolittle Tokyo Raiders |
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Doolittle Before WWII Public Domain |
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The Official Site of the Doolittle Tokyo Raiders |
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Doolittle Raiders Bombing Japan Used by Permission |
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Used by Permission
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Congressional Gold Medal
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U.S.A.F. via Wikimedia Commons
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U.S. Army Air Forces via Wikimedia Commons |
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Nat'l Museum of the U.S. Air Force via English Wikipedia |
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Kindertransport from Vienna, AustriaCourtesy of USHMM |
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Theresienstadt. Courtesy of YIVO & USHMM |
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German Kindertransport Refugees in Great Britain. USHMM. |