American pilot shot down in WWII makes emotional return to German town

A remarkable story of German-American friendship recently took place in the small town of Gerolzhofen between Frankfurt and Nürnberg. A former American pilot who was shot down over Germany and taken in war captivity is visiting the place where he almost lost his life for the first time in 76 years.

Roland Martin was a pilot of the “Iron Maiden” on October 14, 1943 as part of America’s second major attack on a ball bearing factory in Schweinfurt. As the youngest pilot of the US Air Force at that time, his plane and those of other pilots were shot down shortly before his 20th birthday. Six pilots had already left the plane with parachutes; the rest had to face an emergency landing. Due to the high losses, this day went down in US history as the “Black Thursday”. Although all 10 crew members survived the emergency landing, Martin was picked up by German ground troops after two weeks on the run. As a prisoner of war he remained in a prison camp at the Baltic Sea until the end of the war. The fact that today, despite this history, he came back to the scene of the events shows how much German-American relations have developed in times of peace.

This history of enmity between Germany and the USA has found a moving and happy end, which we owe also to the Americans, who committed themselves to a peaceful reconstruction of Germany after the war.

Roland was visibly touched by his visit to the launch site, especially by the frankness of the Germans. It shows that friendships can nevertheless emerge from death, suffering and destruction in war. “Today we meet as friends” summarizes Gerolzhofen’s mayor Thorsten Wozniak. When Roland received the honor to write down a few words in the Golden Book of the City of Gerolzhofen, the 95-year-old was in tears.

Next year marks the 75th anniversary of the end of the Second World War. There are many sad stories to remember, but also rays of hope, just like the connection between Roland Martin and Germany that shows that over time enemies can become friends. We look back on decades of support from America and are grateful that we live together in friendship and peace today.