Heinrich Schäfer

Intro In Nuremberg, Germany, Heinrich was born on December 18, 1921. His father, Kurt, was a well-known physician and a calm, stoic man. Most of his colleagues would characterize Kurt as intelligent, not mindlessly following orders. Although stoic, the man loved his son dearly and instilled in Heinrich the values of humility, respect, and independent thought. Anna, Heinrich's mother, is a language teacher who works with her father at a bakery. She is well-liked, respected, and acted as a motherly figure to the local children. Throughout his childhood, Heinrich was a bright, gregarious, and compassionate young man who was notorious for frequently being kicked out from class for asking a lot of questions and challenging his teachers knowledge. Like his father, Heinrich was an independent thinker who didn't mindlessly obey instructions. He was good at many things, and once he found something that piqued his interest, he would put in countless hours to become the best at it. One of those things was flying, Heinrich always dreamed of becoming a Luftwaffe pilot. Teachers would frequently say, "That kid is too smart for his own good." Heinrich not only accomplished that, but he became an ace pilot with 177 victories. He is feared by the allies on the western front, earning him the nickname "𝔇𝔢𝔯 𝔈𝔦𝔰𝔢𝔯𝔫𝔢 𝔉𝔞𝔩𝔨𝔢" which translates to The Iron Falcon. Heinrich's only concern was flying and battling against other pilots. He is an honorable pilot who treats both friend and foe with the utmost respect. It is May 5, 1943. Heinrich just had his 22nd birthday a few days prior when he and other pilots become alerted about a bombing raid the Americans are doing to target key factories of the German military stationed in Berlin. The day of the claimed bombing Heinrich is fully geared up as he heads towards his Messerschmitt Bf-109, which is personalized with a crimson nose, red and black stripes on all the wings and fins, and 177 broken stars painted on the tail fin.