Fighter pilot who flew last combat mission in World War II dies at 93

https://www.militarytimes.com/news/your-air-force/2018/01/03/fighter-pilot-who-flew-last-combat-mission-in-world-war-ii-dies-at-93/

Fighter pilot who flew last combat mission in World War II dies at 93

By: Charlsy Panzino    10 hours ago


The fighter pilot known for flying the last combat mission of World War II has died at the age of 93. Jerry Yellin, a captain in the 78th Fighter Squadron of the Army Air Corps, died on Dec. 21. During World War II, Yellin flew his P-51 Mustang from Iwo Jima to attack Japanese airfields near Tokyo, according to HistoryNet.

Yellin and his wingman, 2nd Lt. Philip Schlamberg, took off on Aug. 14, 1945, hoping their mission would be called off if Japan surrendered. Yellin and Schlamberg never received word of the surrender, so they continued their bombing mission. "When we got back to Iwo Jima from Japan, we found out that the war had been over for three hours while we were strafing,” Yellin said in an oral history documented by the Library of Congress. Schlamberg, who had told Yellin he had a bad feeling about surviving the mission, disappeared and was presumed dead. Schlamberg is considered one of the last casualties of World War II.
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Sixteen of the airmen Yellin flew with were killed, including Schlamberg, but Yellin found a temporary way to cope with the loss. “I never thought that these guys were killed, [just] transferred to another squadron and that we’d meet again one day,” he told the Washington Times in August. “That’s the way I got through the war. The seriousness of the loss wasn’t felt until after the war when I came home, and then it was very difficult.”
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Yellin’s wife introduced him to Transcendental Meditation, and the twice-daily technique of silent concentration helped him find solace. In 2010, Yellin co-founded Operation Warrior Wellness, a division of the David Lynch Foundation that helps vets learn Transcendental Meditation.

In 2017, Yellin helped author Don Brown write “The Last Fighter Pilot,” which recounts Yellin’s World War II service.

Besides advocating for veterans, Yellin also became a national spokesman for Keep the Spirit of ’45 Alive, a nonprofit that promotes the legacy of WWII veterans.