The theme of my novel, “Hearts, Minds, and Coffee” shows enemies working together to survive, in this case the heroes were four U.S. Army soldiers and a Vietcong village. Some readers felt it was a stretch. Enemies don’t work together! One friend called my story a fable, a fairy tale, and not real. I thought enemies could cooperate. So I searched for examples and so far found three:
First, most know about the Christmas Truce of December 25, 1914, when German and British troops faced each other across trenches in Belgium. On Christmas eve, British soldiers heard Christmas carols. The next day under a white flag, a German captain and a British captain met and decided to celebrate the holiday. They talked, shared food and drink, and even played a friendly soccer match. Afterwards, they didn’t want to fight. Higher authorities on both sides said they would be court-martialled if they stopped fighting. Regrettably, both sides continued the battle.
Second, December 20, 1943: As told in the book, “A Higher Call” by Adam Makos, an American B-17 bomber was badly damaged after its run with half the crew dead or wounded. A German ace approached the plane to shoot it down. Instead he saw how crippled it was. He flew up and waived to the bomber pilot and escorted it to the English Channel. If the German left it alone, other German aircraft would have shot it down. This heroism was kept a secret until recently because of a fear of court martial. Forty years later, the pilots found each other and became close friends.
Third, May 1945: In “The Last Battle” by Stephen Harding, with World War II close to an armistice, a small group of American army soldiers joined forces with a German army unit and a Nazi lieutenant and fought off fanatical SS troops who sought to execute former French government leaders then being held prisoner in Austria.
Other examples exist but are not publicized. These heroics show that humanity can inspire us if we access its loving nature.
