Lt Franz In Adam Makos's A Higher Call

In A Higher Call written by Adam Makos with Larry Alexander they describe the harrowing experience of two pilots over the skies of germany on christmas eve of 1943 . The two pilots were, twenty one year old Second Lieutenant Charlie Brown of the united states air force , and Second Lieutenant Franz Stigler of the Luftwaffe of the Third Reich. They encountered each other when Brown is attempting to fly his heavily damaged B-17G back to England after a bombing run in germany. At the time of the encounter Stigler was just a victory away from completing the requirements for being awarded the Knight's Cross, one of Germany's highest awards for valor that is bestowed to Military personnel. Remarkably, Franz decided to let the B-17G go and risk court

The whole idea that Lt Franz is fighting for his nation but not what it believes in brings into play how even in the human races darkest hour the best in humans come out. The author following Lt Franz throughout the war and how he went from flying civilian airplanes to becoming a German ace in the Luftwaffe sets the stage for how he becomes the “good guy”. The author specifically shows a great example of how Lt franz was shaped by telling the story of Lt Franzs service in the North African Front. The sand, Bad food and constant bombardment of their airbase play a role in the development of Lt Franz but the comradeship between pilots and their Mechanics/crew is what really drives him to become who he is. His growth as a person in the North African theater is shown when North Africa falls to the advancing Allied forces. Lt Franz and most of his fellow pilots risk court martial and having their planes overloaded when they evacuate their fellow crew mates with them to Sicily hidden in claustrophobic compartments with no hope to wiggle and no parachute. The pilots of the planes which were shot down while crossing had bravely stayed with their planes rather than jump and leave their mechanics. Lt Franz taking this risk begins to set up the rest of the his life where he is willing to take

The book shows how the Fighter Pilots really felt and how they grew because of the horrid atrocity they experienced. The vivid details of love, heartbreak, and families being torn apart show truly how dark of an hour World War Two was. Somehow in the depth of the atrocities taking place, Second Lieutenant Franz Stigler managed to discover the true strength of the light with himself, and discover forty six years later that he truly did make the correct choice by saving those airman's life on December 23,