There’s a detail in Günther Rall’s story that tells you everything you need to know about the man. In 1942 he was shot down over the Black Sea, broke his back in three places, and was told by doctors he would never fly again. Nine months later he was back in a cockpit. Three years after that, he had 275 confirmed aerial victories.

The Third-Greatest Ace in History

Born in 1918 in Gaggenau, Germany, Günther Rall joined the Luftwaffe as a fighter pilot and was deployed to the Eastern Front in 1941. He was a methodical, technically gifted pilot who quickly mastered the art of aerial combat and began racking up victories at a pace that would eventually place him third in history — behind only Hartmann and Barkhorn — with 275 confirmed kills.

The broken back was not the only time Rall was shot down; he was forced down eight times in total and wounded three times. Each time he returned. His persistence was legendary even within a squadron full of legendarily persistent pilots.

After the War: A Different Kind of Excellence

Rall’s story after WWII is particularly remarkable. He joined the new Bundeswehr Luftwaffe and eventually rose to become its Chief of Staff — the highest military aviation position in West Germany. He served as Germany’s representative to NATO’s Military Committee and was widely respected as one of Europe’s finest military minds. He lived to be 97 years old, dying in 2009 as the last of the great German Eastern Front aces.

275 kills, a broken back reassembled by sheer will, and a second career at the summit of NATO military aviation. Günther Rall didn’t just survive the war — he built something worthwhile out of the other side of it.

Watch: Günther Rall Documentary