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A Higher Call by John Shaw

Includes companion prints "Return of the Pub" and "Long First Mission".

Includes the Certificate of Authenticity and a custom-embroidered JG-27 "Dancing Bear" squadron patch.

Includes portraits of Franz Stigler and Charlie Brown, each signed by John Shaw.

Franz Stigler & Charlie Brown celebrating together in their later years.

Hand signed and numbered by John Shaw

Incredibly rare and pristine Artist's Proof

Overall size: 32" x 22 1/2"

Image size: 28" x 17"

Never before framed

Includes all items mentioned in photos above.

The incredible and touching true story of two deadly enemies who became lifelong friends.

December 20, 1943: Encountering a mortally-wounded B-17 limping back to England, Luftwaffe ace Franz Stigler anticipated an easy kill and another opportunity to avenge his brother�s death at the opening of WWII. As he approached the virtually helpless American plane, however, he saw the faces of the dead and wounded crewmen. Then, Stigler�s eyes met those of pilot Charles Brown. Despite the potentially severe consequences of letting an enemy plane escape, Stigler felt that he had to answer a higher call of honor . . . mercy.

Expecting the worst at any moment, Brown marveled as the enemy Bf-109 stuck with him to the North Sea. His adversary then saluted and veered away, allowing the astonished Brown to journey safely home. With this encounter engraved into the minds of both pilots for decades after the war�s end, the two men remarkably located one another in 1990. In the years that followed, their friendship developed to the point where Stigler considered Brown to be as precious as the brother he had lost.

Signatures:

Oberleutenant Franz STIGLER

Lieutenant Charles BROWN

About the companion print Return of the Pub:

Overall size: 18 3/4" x 12 1/2"

Image size: 16 1/2" x 8 1/2"

The print, which was issued with the Artist's and Publisher's Proofs, is signed by John Shaw.

In a scene often repeated during the European Air War, P-47s deliver a heavily damaged bomber to the safety of the English coast. Beginning in August 1943 and during the darkest days of the air war, P-47s shouldered the bulk of bomber escort. Representing the countless "heavies" protected by "little friends", pilot Charlie Brown nurses home B-17 "Ye Olde Pub" on Dec. 20, 1943 after being spared by Luftwaffe ace Franz Stigler. After a two-hour flight across the North Sea, two P-47s that had also participated in the action over Bremen, caught up to the wounded "Pub", marveled at her damage, and escorted her to a safe landing at Seething Air Base, England.

Signatures:

Al SADOK - Navigator of the B-17 "Ye Olde Pub" during the encounter with Franz Stigler on the December 20, 1943 mission.

John ARCHER - B-17 pilot with the 305th Bomb Squadron, "Bloody 100th"

Description of the companion print Long First Mission:

Overall size: 19" x 8 3/4"

Image size: 16" x 5"

Charles L. Brown & crew flew their first operational mission together on this fateful December day in which they were escorted safely to the North Sea coast by Franz Stigler. Exhausted & nearly out of fuel, the devastated B-17 limped into Seething Air Base, England, home of the 448th Bomb Group. Notified minutes earlier by the P-47 pilots who usher the Pub in, emergency and medical personnel marveled at the plane's damage as they tended to her dead and wounded. Brown and his crew were ordered to keep news of the chivalrous German classified. Shaken, but not defeated, they would go on to complete their tour of duty.