Posted on 12/27/2017 12:19:33 PM PST by oh8eleven
When the Japanese bombed Pearl Harbor on Dec. 7, 1941, plunging the United States into World War II, Jerry Yellin was a teenager living with his family in Hillside, N.J.
Having been intrigued by flight since he was a youngster — he constructed planes modeled on World War I aircraft — he joined the Army Air Corps in February 1942, on his 18th birthday, and became a fighter pilot.
(Excerpt) Read more at nytimes.com ...
RIP
Nice story. RIP, shipmate.
Actually, the last combat mission was flown by a photo unit of B-32 Dominators on August 18.
They were intercepted by 4 N1K George fighters, Photographer Staff Sergeant Joseph Lacharite was wounded in the legs (his recovery required several years). Sergeant Anthony Marchione, a photographer's assistant, helped Lacharite and then was fatally wounded himself.
Marchione was the last American to die in air combat in World War II.
A very nice homage to Cpt Yellin.
I didn’t want to click on NYT but was worth it.
RIP Sir.
Thank You and the rest of the Greatest Generation for keeping us from having to speak Japanese or German.
Heard about Yellin story on C Span!
RIP.
RIP....
"...They will live a long time, these men of the South Pacific. They had an American quality. They, like their victories, will be remembered as long as our generation lives. After that, like the men of the Confederacy, they will become strangers. Longer and longer shadows will obscure them, until their Guadalcanal sounds distant on the ear like Shiloh and Valley Forge..."
It applies to all these men, not just those of the South Pacific. You could substitute "Schweinfurt" for "Guadalcanal", and "European Theater" for "South Pacific" and it would mean just the same.
Every time one of them passes, I hear this passage. My dad was one of those men. How I miss him.
RIP, Sir.
My second cousin, who is still alive, flew B-32s in the closing weeks of the war. He transitioned out of B-24s. Many people, including some who work in aviation museums, have never even heard of the B-32.
The story is definitely worth a read. A few surprises there. I don’t know if it’s the same airplane, but somebody did a bang-up restoration of the Dorrie R P-51 he’s standing next to.
The really weird but true story is how the Brits, French and Japanese all fought together in Vietnam against the Viet Minh from Sept 45 through Spring of 1946!
I salute you sir and may God accept you into heaven.God Bless the remaining members of his family that are loyal to America.
“...he joined the Army Air Corps in February 1942...”
The U.S. Army Air Corps became the U.S. Army Air Forces in 1941. Fail for NY Times reporter.
Kind of a butt-ugly plane, but hey, they were trying to build everything and anything in that day.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Japanese_Surrendered_Personnel
Yup.
And there were Allied POW’s murdered after the surrender to keep them from talking about Japanese atrocities.
No B-32's survive even in museums.
They were still trying to get the bugs out of them and were just starting to transition when the war ended.
Great post ... I miss my WWII dad too.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.