December 1943 By now Franz was a lieutenant, and one victory from earning the Knight's Cross. On the 20th December 1943, he encountered a very damaged B-17 bomber named "Ye Olde Pub", piloted by Charles Brown, and his crew. The bomber was helpless. Franz had never seen such a damaged bomber that was still flying. He could see that the tail gunner was dead. He could have shot down the bomber with ease, ending the lives of the nine remaining crew. Instead he flew alongside the crippled bomber. He was so close that he could clearly see the distress of the crew trying to save the lives of their wounded comrades. All at once Franz remembered his brother August, and thought: what would his brother do, and laid a hand over his pocket where he always kept his rosary beads. "This will not be a victory for me, I will not have this on my conscience for the rest of my life." https://www.wikitree.com/wiki/Stigler-142
