What An Amazing Story Of Chivalry

[anotheoldgit]

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2245472/Amazing-tale-WWII-pilots-encounter-German-flying-ace-saluted-American-plane-let-fly-safely-instead-shooting-down.html

[Sqad]

AOG....fabulous story.

There was a lot of that in WW2......Adolf Galland, the youngest General in the Luftwaffer and Douglas Bader were great friends and remained so until the death of Bader.

[Mick-Talbot]

Nice story.

[jno]

very honourable of Lt Roedel too; not too many like him on either side. I wonder what became of him.

[heathfield]

Along the same lines, one of my favourite 'co-incidence' stories is about an elderly British couple on holiday in Bermuda. Going for dinner in their hotel, the head waiter said they were very busy, and would they mind sharing a table? The couple already at the table were German. Turned out both men had been WWII fighter pilots The German told how his Messerschmitt been attacked over the Channel by a Hurricane, and his engine had caught fire. As the Hurricane came in for the kill, the plane suddenly turned away and the pilot waved. The German was able to crashland his plane in France.
"Did you have a pair of baby boots hanging behind you in the cockpit?" asked the Englishman. "Yes, I did", replied the German. "Then that was me.", said the Englishman. "I saw those boots, and realised you had a wife and child, so I turned away."

[anotheoldgit]

heathfield

That is absolutely fantastic, who said that "fact was stranger than fiction"?

[boxtops]

wow, that story from heathfield made me go all tingle. What an amazing coicidence.

[cybertommo]

Although Heathfield's story is heartwarming, it's most probably apocryphal. There have been many variations on the theme in location of coincidental meeting, nationality of pilots and theatre of war.