[Barrett]

I knew Franz Stigler a bit more than casually. We shared ramp space at Northwest airshows a coupla times (he had a borrowed Me.108 complete with victory bars on the rudder). The Stiglers were prominent at airshow hangar parties, as Haya was a lady of Wagnerian physique who loved to dance. IIRC she was fond of polkas and would sweep the floor with any aviator willing to partner with her.

Franz made friends with a 9th AF ace, and they were always threatening to write an expose' of WW II. The theme was to be the similarities rather than the differences between the Army Air Force and the Luftwaffe, as both organizations were capable of real screwups. One of the nonaviation problems Franz mentioned was his notably unsuccessful attempt at driving a former classmate's tank. His borrowed panzer clipped the edge of a house, resulting in structural damage. What to do?

As luck had it, ANOTHER classmate happened along, who commanded an engineering unit. House repaired, problem solved.

Alas, Franz died before Das Buch could be finished.