An Interview With Jerry Yellin, the 93-Year-Old Vet Who Flew WW2’s Last Combat Mission

History Unplugged Podcast

History Unplugged

Society & Culture, History

4.2 • 3.7K Ratings

🗓️ 3 August 2017

⏱️ 49 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

I had the extraordinary pleasure to talk with Captain Jerry Yellin, a 93-year-old World War Two vet who flew the final combat mission in World War Two's Pacific Theatre. Yellin piloted for the 78th Fighter Squadron and was part of the 1945 bombing campaigns that ultimately triggered Japan's surrender. From April to August of 1945, Yellin and a small group of fellow fighter pilots flew dangerous bombing and strafe missions out of Iwo Jima over Japan. Even days after America dropped the atomic bombs on Hiroshima on August 6 and Nagasaki on August 9, the pilots continued to fly. Though Japan had suffered unimaginable devastation, the emperor still refused to surrender. Nine days after Hiroshima, on the morning of August 14th, Yellin and his wingman 1st Lieutenant Phillip Schlamberg took off from Iwo Jima to bomb Tokyo. By the time Yellin returned to Iwo Jima, the war was officially over—but his young friend Schlamberg would never get to hear the news. Yellin joined the war efforts when he was 19 and jumped directly into action. The stench of death, the rain of bullets, and the minute-to-minute fight for survival faced young Captain Jerry Yellin when he landed on Iwo Jima in in 1945. Little did Capt. Yellin know that his life would be turned upside down during a routine flight, which turned out to be the last combat mission of WWII. Flanked by his devoted comrades, Yellin was a flight leader in the final fight for freedom—a mission that will forever leave its mark on the history of the world. TO HELP OUT THE SHOW Leave an honest review on iTunes. Your ratings and reviews really help and I read each one. Subscribe on iTunes or Stitcher

Transcript

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0:00.0	The History of North America podcast is a sweeping historical saga of the United States,
0:09.4	Canada, and Mexico from their deep origins to our present epoch.
0:14.1	Join me, Mark Vinet, on this exciting, fascinating epic journey through time, focusing on the compelling,
0:20.7	wonderful, and tragic stories of North America's inhabitants, heroes, villains, leaders,
0:27.1	environment, and geography.
0:29.5	I invite you to come along for the ride!
0:59.5	Welcome to the History Unplugged Podcast, the unscripted show that celebrates unsunkey
1:13.8	heroes, myth busts historical lies, and rediscover the forgotten stories that changed our world.
1:20.8	I'm your host, Scott Rank.
1:28.8	I am very excited about this episode because I get a chance to talk to a living legend that is Captain Jerry Yellen,
1:36.8	a 93-year-old World War II vet who flew the final combat mission in the Pacific theater.
1:42.8	Captain Yellen's final mission was nine days after Hiroshima on August 14th and six days after the bombing of Nagasaki.
1:49.8	He took off from Iwo Jima to Bomb Tokyo, but by the time he returned, the war was officially over.
1:56.8	Captain Yellen, who was a P-51 pilot, has all sorts of stories.
2:00.8	In our interview, we don't just talk about the final mission.
2:02.8	We talk about his upbringing, growing up as a Jewish kid in New Jersey who face anti-semitism,
2:08.8	what it was like going through flight training in World War II when you didn't have flight simulators,
2:13.8	you just had to memorize the control panel blindfolded, and then to practice take off and landing,
2:18.8	you just took off and landed.
2:20.8	He has a story about how he had to cheat on his eye exam because he didn't have 2020 vision in order to become a fighter pilot
2:26.8	and not a transport pilot, and failing that argued his case in front of a full colonel when he was still a cadet.
2:32.8	Then his experiences landing in Iwo Jima and flying combat missions over Tokyo starting from April 1945,
	...

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