Two weeks after D-Day, Capt. Jack Tueller had seen 28 of his friends die at the hands of German snipers. Eventually, after a horrifyingly slow search and destroy operation, only one sniper remained.
The only mission of that lone sniper, sitting in the dark, was to take out as many of the invading Americans as possible until he himself was either captured or killed.
It was night now, and in spite of the danger, Tueller had had enough of death. He had seen too many young men die in this horrific war, and he knew he had just one opportunity to stop the sniper — but it wasn't by using more violence. Instead, he decided to stand up and play his trumpet.
Before the war, he had loved to play his favorite instrument; he was even becoming a bit of a star in the music world. Legendary trumpet player Louis Armstrong had heard him play and had nothing but compliments, but when the war began, Tueller threw out his dreams of fame and joined "the good fight."
He played his trumpet that night, a song from days gone by, a popular German pop tune titled "Lilly Marlene." Tueller just knew in his heart that the sniper wouldn't take a shot at him. He recalls, "I thought to myself, that German sniper is as lonely and scared as I am. How can I stop him from firing?"
It wasn't until the next day that Tueller learned what happened to that German sniper… Watch the video below to find out his fate.
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