I recently had access to one of those free book exchange situations where a person can drop off books they no longer want, and take a book they would like to read. I do a fair amount of reading these days, and I needed a new book. Since aviation has become an interest of mine, I thought I’d try out the book The Last Fighter Pilot: A True Story of the Final Combat Mission of WWII by Don Brown.
Both of my grandfathers were in WWII and while I knew general information about the war, I really didn’t know an awful lot. This book helped me fill in some knowledge gaps, and left me wanting to read more about WWII. The focus of this book is on a young Captain named Jerry Yellin. Nine days after Hiroshima, on the morning of August 14, Yellin and and his wingman 1st Lieutenant Phillip Schlamberg took off from Iwo Jima to bomb Tokyo. However, while they were on the mission, the code word “Utah” meaning the war is over, was broadcast over the radio, but it never reached them. His young friend Schlamberg died on this very mission, making him the last casualty of WWII and Yellin the last fighter pilot of WWII.
Reading this book gave me insight to just how terrifying the situation was, and how extremely brave these men were. There were some absolutely horrible situations that occurred, especially to those US military captured by the enemy, including a great deal of cannibalism in “celebration”, especially in Chichi Jima. Sometimes they would keep the person alive and eat their limbs making them watch. It was once a rumor, that was unfortunately proven to be true. Absolutely wicked, evil activity. Never underestimate the evil that can exist at any time in history.
But despite the evil that exists, there is also goodness. That is what I try to focus on and be thankful for. I know how very blessed we are because of those who fought in WWII and I think so highly of them. They were certainly cut from a different cloth than you see of the youth today, generally speaking. I am so glad the story of this man ( who was 93 years old at the time of publishing) was able to be shared, and while this is not the type of genre I am usually drawn towards, I am thankful to have sparked my interest in WWII history.
