Shot down by German fighters during a mission over Merseberg, on 2 November 1944, it was his 30th Mission. The aircraft caught fire and he bailed out with a pierced lung and broken arm. He was captured near Kothen and taken to the hospital there to be treated for his wounds. He feared that the Germans would choose to kill him, but he was instead treated for 4 months and taken to a Prisoner of War Camp. He remained there until liberation on 29 April 1945.



Dietzler chose not to follow a military career after the end of the war, reflecting on his service and the ordeal of facing death on a daily basis, never being sure he would return safely from a mission. Six years later, in 1951 he chose to leave his girlfirend and become a Trappist Monk. He has served in confinement since. In 1977 he moved to Brazil. He now works in the kitchens at the monastery and gives Church history classes and spiritual care to visitors and students. He sees his faith as penance, and seeks forgivness for the bombing missions he flew which killed innocent Germans.



Crashed on 11/2/44 at Nichaln in B-17 'Winged Victory' #42-97563, Prisoner of War (POW).