Fullbore Friday
accidental friends
Can two men who on one day are doing their best to kill each other also hold each other not just with respect, but to become friends?
Most American students of WWII know the name Luftwaffe General-Lieutenant Adolph Galland. Though most Brits know him - for Americans, Royal Air Force Group Captain Douglas Bader may not sound all that familiar.
What a remarkable story about the unexpected friendship between two remarkable men.
Though you should really watch the whole thing, he was brought on to "This is Your Life" and at the 27-min mark, they brought in his friend Adolph ... which is remarkable when you consider who was brought in before him ... all getting along grandly now.
Because we live in an age of miracles and wonders - via YouTube you can watch the entire 1954 movie of Bader;
Adolf Galland allegedly once played the miniature (for given values thereof) wargame Mustangs and Messerschmitts while visiting the US. M&M uses 1:72 scale models mounted on wheeled stands with 6' dowels to depict the Z-axis and has elaborate flight modeling rules and pretty unforgiving gunnery requirements (I play it whenever I can). As the story goes, Galland liked the game.
There are 2 editions of the book "the german aces speak " on audio book available and they are both excellent. They are all Incredible stories of incredible guys who went out of their way to take care of their enemy pilots, even the Russians. Sadly Hollywood put the hex on "the blonde knight" movie