Jerry Yellin

United States Army Air Forces officer (1924-2017)

Jerome "Jerry" Yellin (February 15, 1924 – December 21, 2017) was a former United States Army Air Forces fighter pilot. He flew the final combat mission of World War II in a North American P-51 Mustang against a military airfield near Tokyo on August 14, 1945 (August 15, 1945 local time in Tokyo).[1]

Jerry Yellin
Born(1924-02-15)February 15, 1924
Newark, New Jersey
DiedDecember 21, 2017(2017-12-21) (aged 93)
Orlando, Florida, U.S.
AllegianceUnited States of America
Service/branchUnited States Army Air Forces
Years of service1942–1945
RankCaptain (United States O-3)
Battles/warsWorld War II
Air raids on Japan
Pacific Ocean theater of World War II

Yellin's mission was executed five days after a U.S. Army Air Force Boeing B-29 Superfortress named Bockscar had dropped a second American nuclear weapon on Japan, with the second being dropped on the Japanese city of Nagasaki.

Yellin died of lung cancer in Orlando, Florida on December 21, 2017 at the age of 93.[2]

References

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  1. "WWII’s ‘last fighter pilot’ relives fateful flight — and the PTSD that followed". New York Post. 2017-05-28. Retrieved 2017-08-06.
  2. Jerry Yellin, fighter pilot in last combat mission of World War II, dies at 93 The Washington Post, December 21, 2017.