Last Combat Mission

August 2025 is the 80th anniversary of the Japanese surrender.  This is the story of the last combat mission of World War II.  Captain Jerry Yellin and his wingman Phil Schlamberg flew this final mission.

Transcript

Paula: 0:00

For the Best Aerospace Era this is mansplaining. Here is the host Anthony L. Sealey

0:11

Iwo Jima, August 14th, 1945. US forces have continued the relentless bombing raids on the stubborn Japanese empire. They refuse to surrender on the eve of yet another attack. At the Briefing for the 78th Fighter Squadron pilot, Phil Schlamberg leaned in next to his friend Captain Jerry Yellen and said. If I go on this mission captain, I'm not coming back. Ladies and gentlemen, welcome. If you're listening to this episode right now in August, 2025, then it's the 80th anniversary of the Japanese surrender. In the end of mankind's largest and deadliest conflicts. Great Britain, Russia, France, Germany, Italy, China, Japan, and many other countries around the world are commemorating this event in their own ways. Just as we are here today celebrating and remembering those who made this victory possible. I thought this would be a perfect time to tell you the story of the men who flew the last combat mission of World War ii. Their story is remembered by P 51 Fighter pilot Captain Jerry Yellin. His name will sound familiar to those who have listened to episode six of the first e mansplaneing seven series. Why the Shinden was made. Let's get into it. Jerry Yellen was born on February 15th, 1924. He was from Hillside, New Jersey. One day growing up, he found swastikas painted on the garage of his house. He came from a Jewish family, although they were not devout in their ways of life, it did not attend service. Yellen was an athlete. He played second base in baseball and was a quarterback on the football team. He never understood the Jewish hate he received, but maybe it was just an excuse to hate him because of his success on the field. He joined the Army just as thousands of others had in the wake of the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor. Yelling at 21 years old was selected to be a fighter pilot. He would fly the awesome P 51 Mustang D fighter. He was assigned to the 78th Fighter Squadron in the Pacific Theater of World War ii. To achieve all out victory over the Japanese empire, avenge some men and women who were lost at Pearl Harbor and end this terrible world conflict. The US needed a plan and a good one. The US Navy thinks in part a fearless dive Bomber. Pilots like Richard Best fought and destroyed Japanese aircraft carriers in the Pacific, particularly at the battle at Midway. Marines were deployed to many strategic Pacific Islands to fight the devout in deadly Japanese forces. Mainland Japan and Tokyo was the ultimate target. As a prelude to the ground invasion, US forces needed to gain air superiority over the mainland Japan and destroy strategic targets. The P 51 Mustang fighters cannot escort the 29 bombers from the Mariner Islands to Japan and make it back. Another strategic island would be needed to stage the fighters. Iwo Jima. A small island about halfway between Japanese mainland, and the air bases in the Mariner Islands was selected in early March, 1945, captain Yellen arrived at a five star resort and hotel on Iwo Jima. No wait, that's not right. He and the 78th fighter squadron landed in a war zone on. A year earlier in February, 1944, B 24 and B 25 bombers began raids on Iwo Jima. The bombardment lasted months until US Marines landed in February, 1945. The vegetation of the volcanic island was blown and burned off. Some of the Marines described the island as a large gray port chop. Yelling in the 78th first saw the 555 foot gray mount of Mount Suribachi on the blue horizon. The pilots did a fly by of the US beachhead to see where they'd be landing. They landed on a strip built by the Japanese forces that the US Marines had just recently secured. Marines had only invaded 16 days prior. Only the southern third of the island was under us. Control After landing, captain Yellen was ordered to get out of his plane, keep his head down, and dig a foxhole and sleep. Sounds of shouting. Gunfire and explosions were everywhere. It was hot. It was loud, it smelled. Death was everywhere. There were enemy bodies piled up beside the runway nearby how could anyone sleep in these conditions? Could you? After a few days, the island was deemed secure and most of the Marines moved on. Construction on two more runways by the Navy. Seabees began because more fighter groups were expected. This was a grave miscalculation on the morning of March 26 at oh 400 hours, hundreds of Japanese forces hiding in tunnels emerged on a suicide attack. Known as Bonsai because that's what they yelled as they attacked. They threw grenades in tents, some used knives, and even swords. They could not retake the island, but they could go down fighting and die for the empire. The pilots only had their standard issue, 1911 sidearm to defend themselves. Now as awesome of a gun as a 1911 is, you'd probably want something with more rounds and some more firepower. In this situation. A few pilots bartered for the grand rifles from the Marines before they left, just in case they would need them, and now they did. If you have seen the HBO miniseries, the Pacific. Released in 2010. Then you can get an idea or an image in your head of what it looked like for those on Igo Jima as the Japanese attacked. They combine forces of army ground personnel, the pilots, the Navy cbs, and the last remaining few Marines were able to stave off the attack. After five hours as a result of the attack, 44 command staff along with 11 pilots were killed and over a hundred more were injured. This Bonsai attack created chaos that morning, but it would not stop the US forces plan. Early in the morning of April 7th, 1945, 300 B-29s took off from Saipan in the marinara islands, bound for Japan. Later that morning, captain Yellen, along with this fighter group of over a hundred P 51 and a few P 61 fighters. Would take off from Iwo Jima and rendezvous with the B-29s Every aircraft played an important role. A few P 61 fighters would provide radar and navigation for the P 51 fighter squadrons. The P 51 fighters would escort and protect the B 29 bombers during their bombing raids over targets in Tokyo. The B-29s would be the prime target for the Japanese interceptors as well as anti-aircraft guns on the ground. This would've been an awesome site to see all those aircraft in formation unless you were on the Japanese side. Captain Yellen was instructed to keep Mount Fuji in his 50 caliber gun sites of his P 51 that he nickname Dory R. After his love interest back home, he hoped to see her again if he survived this mission. He met her in Orange County, California while he was on leave at the Santa Ana Army Base training to be a fighter pilot. Gora and Rosen was glamorous, beautiful, and had a various limb build. With long flowing hair and long legs. She obviously made quite an impression on Yellin. He and the armada encountered their first enemy fighter. A Ki-44 Shoki known as Tojo, the first of many enemy aircraft that they would face as they cross Sagami Bay. They approached the city anti-aircraft, fire increased. The B-29s target was an industrial complex that included An aircraft engine factory, captain Yellen described the scene. I saw little dots of light spring from the ground as the bombs exploded. Wave after wave of bombers drop their cargo inside the squares of fire on the ground. We fighter pilots were in constant state of alert. Japanese fighters were all over the sky. And the aerial battles between us were fierce. He went on to say, when I had a chance to look down, I could see fire raging. All of the city it seemed was on fire. Captain Yellen in the 78th did everything they could to protect the B-29s, but the Japanese pilots were determined to destroy as many as they could. Captain Yellen said, I saw one of our B-29s get hit and the right wing fell off. The plane burst into flames when parachute came out. Then the second and the third, then the huge lumbering plane keeled over of the 12 crew members on board. Only three had bailed out as the Japanese empire did not treat their POWs. Humanly whatsoever. One has to wonder what happened to those three men that bailed out once back at a Iwo Jima, captain Yellen and the other pilots received their post mission briefing. The reports were positive. The 78th remarkably did not lose anyone from their squadron, and of the 100 B-29s nines they escorted. Only three were lost for the Japanese 21 fighters were taken out of the sky trying to intercept and stop the attack on Tokyo. This mission was only the beginning. The ultimate goal was to cripple the Japanese forces as much as possible. Before a large scale invasion of the mainland could take place much like the invasion of Normandy in Europe in D-Day. The next mission did not go near as smooth for the 78th. Yellen lost several of his squadron mates to the formidable anti-aircraft firing solution from the ground and the awesome Japanese interceptors in the air. Captain Yellen lost count of how many missions he flew, either escorted B 20 nines over Tokyo, or striping missions on many small islands that the Japanese occupied one mission Captain Yellen had. Was with a wingman named First Lieutenant Danny Mathis, Jr. He and 101 other fighters came across a storm en route to Tokyo. The squadron guided by a B 29 for navigation, decided to fly under the storm. They met up with a squadron of 450 B 29 bombers that also flew through weather to reach the coast of Japan, their target and naval arsenal. It's hard to imagine the scale of this many airplanes of formation flying towards a target. As a B 29, started their run a Mitsubishi A six M, known as zero, penetrated the patrols and threatened the raiding bombers. Captain Yellen jolted his stick to follow along with his wing man Mathis. He fired streams of six 50 caliber guns shattered by Mathis. The deadly Japanese fighter billowed smoke and spun down their first kill. In just one hour and nine minutes of Ariel maelstrom of fighters and bombers shooting at each other, 42% of the city was destroyed. The numbers after the mission, three mustangs were shot down, and two pilots were missing in action. The Japanese had lost at least 26 fighters and possibly more for the proud Japanese. These numbers were very different than anything they had experienced in the previous decades of dominating the air. Early on in World War ii, the Japanese had a kill ratio of 12 to one. Nothing seemed to waver The Japanese resolve, however, not after their allies. Italy and Germany fell. Okay. Night after the B 29, Enola Gay or Bockscar dropped nuclear bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki. Nothing. This brings us back to Iwo Jimmo, August 14th, 1945 at a briefing for the 78th fighter Squadron, P 51 Fighter pilot. Phil Schlumberger leaned into his friend and Captain Jerry Yellen and quietly said, if I go on this mission captain, I'm not coming back. What are you talking about, Phil? Yelling asked. Schlamberg, casual replied. The feeling that I have, was this a premonition stress from war, what we now call PTSD. I believe at the time they commonly called this shell shock or war fatigue. I wasn't simply a loss of confidence by Schomberg. Captain Yellen knew that confidence was paramount for the pilots in the 78th fighter squadron. There was, however, a delicate balance Yellen says, there are old pilots and there are bold pilots, but there are no old bold pilots. Yellen tried to talk sch Loberg out of flying the next mission, which was scheduled for the next day, August 15th. No, I'm going to fly the mission he said. Phil Schlamberg was also from a Jewish family. He was the youngest of Ted's siblings born in Manhattan, New York. He grew up on the poor side of town in Coney Island, Brooklyn. He was smart and graduated with honors from high school. Their Schlamberg family cannot afford college, so we decided to join the Army Air Force. As his older brothers had before Schlamberg IQ and Army aptitude test results were among the highest in the US military. Keep in mind of how large the US military was at the height of World War II with these scores, he could choose whatever occupation he wanted in the army. Sch Longberg chose to be a fighter pilot. On the morning of August 15th, 1945, before they took off, Yellen said to sch Longberg, who would be his wing man on this mission. Whatever you do, just stay tight on my wing today. You'll be okay. And remember, if we hear the broadcast Utah, then the war's over and we can come home. Got it. The 78th approach, the now familiar Mount Fuji and their gun sites, they flew in the four finger formation, which consisted of four fighters. The four together is known as a flight. If you extend just your forefingers straight out on your right hand. At the nail of your middle finger is the position of the flight leader. His role was to lead the flight in an attack. The nail on the index finger is the flight leader's wingman responsible for defending the left area and to the rear. The tip of the ring finger is the element leader. Their role is to follow the flight leader in an attack and aim and fire as the lead does. The nail of the pinky is the element leader's wingman, who defends the right area and to the rear. They're designated with a color like red or green. It can be assigned to escort and defend B 29 bombers. It can be grouped together with other flights to form a squadron and perform strafing missions on their own. Their flight approached mainland in Japan. The Utah broadcast never came, so the mission was on They released their external fuel tanks and prepared themselves for yet another raid on Japan. yelling. Berg's flight made their strafing runs on Japanese targets while facing fierce anti-aircraft fire. After hitting an airfield, one of the pilots radioed that he was at the 90 gallon mark, which was the amount of fuel a P 51 Mustang needed to make it back to Iwo Jima. It was time to get out and away from the ever threatening anti-aircraft guns. The four Mustangs made for the coast led by Yellen. They were headed to rendezvous with one of the P 60 ones. Our P 20 nines that remained in a holding pattern off the coast. These aircraft are equipped with radar and tracking systems that would guide them back to Iwo Jima in the forefinger formation. The P 50 ones climb to 7,000 feet and into some clouds for cover from the ground. Fire Yellin Looked over his left shoulder for his wingman and friend. Only three Mustangs emerged from the other side of the clouds. Phil Sch. Loberg was gone. He was only 19 years old. He had just lost another of his close friends After landing yellow noticed the mood on the dreaded island was much different. The ground personnel were ecstatic. Emperor Hirohito had radioed the surrender of the Japanese empire. The 78th did not receive the news until hours later, which is why they never received the Utah broadcast. World War II was finally over. Phil Schulberg was the last American to lose his life in the air in a combat mission during World War ii. Schlumberger could have used the GI bill to go to college, meet a girl, have a family. Maybe he could have applied his intellect to further his career in aviation after the war. If only the 78 squadron had received the broadcast of the Japanese surrender in time before the mission, or has Schlumberger survived the mission? Who knows what he could have achieved? This episode is for him. Now as for Jerry Yellen, he was not able to find Dory and marry her after the war. He met a woman named Helen in their marriage, lasted 65 years until her death in 2015. Interestingly, one of his sons married a Japanese girl who was a daughter of a kamikaze pilot, and they moved and lived in Japan. Now on March 31st, 2015, Jerry Yellen, despite his advanced age, still had a sound mind in relatively decent health. Returned to Iwo Jima, 70 years later. Imagine what was going through his mind as he stood there on that small island surrendered by the vast specific ocean. Once again, could he still hear the sound of the piston engine of his P 51, the screams of the Japanese during the Bonai attack? The voices of the 5,931 Marines who were killed in the battle to secure the island, the voices of his squadron mates of the 78th Fighter squadron, namely Phil Schomberg, remarkably, he was able to return after all these years in honor them one last time. There is a video on the internet where yelling is interviewed. On Iwo Jima in 2015, he seems very sharp. Despite his advanced age he gave them all one final salute. Jerry Yellen passed away on December 21st, 2017 at the age of 93. I highly recommend you read his book. The last fighter pilot by Don Brown and Captain Jerry Yellen. Now 80 years later, whether it's at a Major League baseball game or a college football game, or alone in your backyard, let's take a moment to remember in out of those men and women who died in the air during World War ii, and just one more thing about Phil Schlumberger. He is actually the great uncle of actress Scarlett Joe Hanson. Thank you so much for listening and remember, there's always a light at the end of the runway. I.

Paula: 28:24

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