[the Army Goes Rolling along plays] [anchors aweigh plays] [the u. S. Air force plays] [marines hymn plays] [applause] as you were downstairs getting ready to start the ceremony, captain yellen was asking if i stand for the army or if i stand for the air force, because he was in both appeared and i said sir, you are 93 years old. You can stand for anybody that you want to. [applause] captain jerry yellin is an Army Air Forces veteran who served in world war ii between 1941 in 1945. He enlisted on his 18th birthday, just two months after the bombing of pearl harbor. After graduating as a Fighter Pilot in august of at the ripe old age of 19, he spent the remainder of the war flying combat missions in the pacific with the 78 fighter squadron. 78th fighter squadron. He participated in the first landbased fighter mission over japan on april 7, 1945. Has the unique distinction of having flown the final combat mission of world war ii on august 14, 1945, the date combat ended. On that mission, his wing man was the last man killed in a final combat mission of world war ii. His book was published early this year. Ladies and gentlemen, please welcome to our platform, recipient of the flying cross, air medal with three oak leaf clusters, world war ii veteran and Fighter Pilot, captain jerry yellin. [applause] capt. Yellin thank you, sir. I have to begin by saying that this is an unbelievable honor for me. Throughout my air force career, i was constantly reminded that the air force that i served in stood on the shoulders of giants. And those giants were the men, and no apologies to the women present, but in world war ii, there were no women in combat. Not that none served. You and your generation, properly referred to as the greatest generation, set the standard for what it means to fly, fight, and win. , which is the basis of what is today the worlds greatest air force, which i proudly served in. You gave us a warrior ethos that defines who we are. And i and talking about this from an air force perspective , but that same ethos, those same standards are present across all of our military services, and it is because of men like jerry yellin and your generation. That gave that to us, and i think you. I am so honored to be here with you. We talked about some questions we were going to go through, but i have to start with this one. You talked about the airplanes that you flew. I am the son of an aviator. A soft spot in my heart really p51. Every time i see one fly i am just absolutely in awe. You have to tell us. What was it like flying the p 51 mustang. We learned to fly sterman,horsepower then a 400 horsepower aircraft, then a 600 ai horsepower aircraft. Each one of those airplanes you flew with an instructor. A p40, then the 47, a heart airplane to fly, then we got the finest airplane 1hat was ever built, the p5 mustang. You could fly that with your the sound of it, the feeling of instant response with anything that you wanted to do. That was what the p51 was about. It is still the best. [laughter] i would agree with you. [applause] you made reference about your book and we have a copy here well talk to me and about availability of this in our yellinre and captain will autograph copies of the book. You share your experiences as a Fighter Pilot in world war ii. I think to start with and although the book ends with it, walk us through that last mission, the last Fighter Pilot, the last mission 1945. , augustcapt. Yellin we, i landed on iwo jima on august 6, the day the first atomic bomb was dropped on hiroshima. A prop was still spinning and squadron made from brooklyn jumped on my wing and said we dropped one bomb. I said what are you drinking . I want some. It was hard to believe. But it was true. Then in 1945, the second bomb august was dropped on nagasaki. We thought that the war was over. We would not fly anymore missions. At that point in time i had flown with 15 guys who were killed. I never thought them as being dead. They were transferred. We would see them again someday. And we were called to a briefing on august 13 with 100 plus pilots, and told we would fly a final mission, another mission. Someone asked our co, why are we going to japan again . He said they are negotiating that there is no movement. We have to go and keep him honest, but theyre going to broadcast the code word utah to abort the mission. We hear that, we wont go to japan. One pilot, 19 years old, leaned over to me and said come if we we go on this mission im not coming out. Talkinghat are you about . And he said it is a feeling i have. I went and told him what he told me. And he said you cannot go to the. Light surgeon and i told and he said no way. Early on the morning of august 14, i said get on my wing and dont get off, just stick in. Lose we flew all the way to a drop tank. We dropped the tanks and went into strafe and airfield, somewhere in japan. We needed 90 gallons of fuel to get back to iwo jima. Someone called 90 gallons and i looked over. He was on my wing. I gave him a thumbs up. He gave me a thumbs up. Airplanes into some heavy weather towards the b29 that would fly back. To, and when ik came out of clear skies, he was gone, just gone. No radio contact, no visual contact. And when we landed back on it which is we found out the moment that we had started to strafe, the war had already been over for three hours. It was never broadcast to us. That was a devastating day. Pluss the last of 400 thousand world war ii veterans who lost their lives. He was lost, 19 years old. And you were 21 . I was 21. I was the old guy. [laughter] the old guy, grandpa. You just made reference to a number of Close Friends and fellow pilots to work killed during world war ii. You relay several incidents in your book. How did the loss of so many affect you personally . You have to understand when you put the uniform on, you educate your life to protect your buddies. Canten they go, you think about them as being dead or gone, because if you did, you wouldnt fly another mission. You just wouldnt get into the airplane. I had three more that were killed. One guy on 29 may. Kill of ared a kyl of zero. And g mckay had a toothache, went to the dentist, who pulled four wisdom teeth, and they grounded me. They gave my place to someone. They took off and was led into a front. 27 fighter planes went down. 25 guys were killed. And my airplane. It is hard for me to say the truth of how i felt then but i missed my airplane. We were there to protect our freedom. We were there to fight. We did that. It was after the war that i suffered. For 30 years. I spoke to these guys every night, 16 guys that i flew with. I thought about suicide. I could not work. I suffered from what is now known as ptsd. Posttraumatic stress. And i did not get my life back learned when i combat is the killing of people for what they believe is evil. And that is the height of evil. Japan was evil, germany was evil, italy was evil. We fought against those countries. And i dont believe that i am part of that generation. General eisenhower, general marshall, general macarthur, they were all west point graduates. I was 18. I did not know anything about the world. But admiral nimitz, admiral king, all annapolis graduates, they were the greatest generation. Tom brokaw wrote a book speaking about this catchy title, sold a lot of books, but really the leaders of the free world with men whoe military served from west point and annapolis. Thank you for that perspective. The war in said 1945. I think i heard you spent some time in reserve. But then like millions of world war ii veterans, you return from the war, start a new life in the civilian world, that returning workforce in the work ethic, the freedom you brought back to our society really launched an incredible pe riod in American History. How did your military service prepare you for that new life and what transpired after the war . Capt. Yellin i think the military service for me was the greatest experience i ever had in my life. We, i graduated from high school in 1941. I had a scholarship to college. I was going to become a doctor. I did not have money for books. I did not have money for clothing or housing. So i postponed entrance to college to the Spring Semester of 1942. And when we were attacked in pearl harbor, december 7, i made up my mind that i was going to fight, fly fighter planes against the japanese. I remember when i was 11 or 12 boy scout. I was pre i went to Boy Scout Camp for two weeks. Boy scouts gave me the fundamentals to join the military, to be in the military. And the discipline that we learned, we were all quarterbacks, all guys who were cocky guys who could fly fighter planes. Bomber pilots were like that but we were. [laughter] capt. Yellin and we became a squadron. We became more interested in protecting our bodies than we were interested in our own lives. In our life was all about you. Today, i have six grandchildren. I have four sons. And it seems to me that today life is all about me, not about you, and the military put me in that frame of mind, that service to our country. You fortt thank setting that standard for so many of us. Reference to some of the things you struggled with based on your combat experience in world war ii, dealing with ptsd, although we did not have a name for it at that time. How has your experience as a veteran impacted your life, triumphs, struggles, how have you used those experiences . Capt. Yellin i enjoy speaking to people. I enjoy going to eighth graders, 10th graders, seniors in high about 10 of the population that served in the military in world war ii, 16 million of us. We fought against evil. We conquered the people who were inple, created democracies germany, japan, and italy that exist today. As friends of america and the two countries that we fought with as allies, russia and china seemingly to me, the enemies of the world. But what i have learned is we are not the color of our skin. We are not the language we speak. Were not the religion that we believe. We are all human beings, all exactly the same, and we have to preserve that, that feeling. Isis is evil today. They are willing to kill people for what they believe. And that is evil. We have to protect them, the from them people, preying on people that believe everyone is part of humanity. I try to give that message. It is probably the best time in my life other than when i was in uniform, and i wear that uniform proudly. What would you say we have several young people here, the band, the choir, several young people in our audience. I know some rotc cadets, children of our chaplain, others. What would you say to them today . Those who are at a point where they are considering or maybe simply have an opportunity to make a decision about serving the nation as a member of the United States military . What would you say to them . Capt. Yellin i my mother used to read a lot of books. And 80 years ago when i was 13 years old, i read a book by a minister. The books name was the magnificent obsession. It is a story of a small town in lake george, new york state, son of a rich man was drowning in the beloved daughter, dr. Hudson, was dying of a heart attack and the fire department, and the fire tionrtment had one resuscitated. Evice they use that on the young man in the old daughter died. Then thousands and thousands of doctor died. Then thousands and thousands of people came to his funeral. And the family discovered a journal that he had kept. And had it translated into english. The opening lines of that journal said, do something good for someone else every day of your life and tell no one what you did, because by talking about it, you might lose the benefit. So i would suggest to everyone, find a way to help somebody. Find a way to do something for everybody. Somebody, every day. Even if it is a smile. The four professions i admire in america are the three that put uniforms on, in the fourth, teachers in schools, who learn a subject and give themselves away in using that subject to give other people knowledge. They are not as respected as i think they should be. My feelings are that we should be giving a little bit of ourselves away to other people every single day. That is the advice that i would give. [applause] col. Scott for you, what you just described is, those of us who wear the uniform. Especially around veterans day a lot of people tell us thank you for your service. But when i hear you saying is, service is what our lives should be about every single day. Doing something for someone else. So service is not just military service. Service is how we should lead our lives. Capt. Yellin i believe that very much, sir. I believe that very much, sir. We are all part of humanity. I think that the pure purpose of everything that is living on this earth from trees to birds to fish, animals is to recreate ourselves, pass ourselves on. There is nothing else that comes close. It all comes with the territory. That territory has to be protected for fathers to pass on to their sons, from others to pass on to their daughters, what is good in life. We need to keep doing that. Might have lost some of it, but to me that is what life is about. Col. Scott wonderful. In a moment we will open this up and see if our audience has any questions they would like to ask you directly. Any final thoughts you would like to share before we open this up to the audience . Capt. Yellin no. Im just proud to be an american. [applause] and just continue [applause] and continue to wear this uniform probably. And i cant tell you what an honor it is to me for me to be in his audience on this day and in 2017. Of lived my life like a checking account. Yesterday is a canceled check. You cannot get it back anymore. Today is money in the bank. I can spend it today and colonel scott owes me a promissory note tomorrow. I dont know if i will get paid tomorrow. So todays the day and i am just thrilled to be here. Thank you. Col. Scott thank you, sir. Would like to open up two questions that you may have for captain yellin. We have our microphone handler in the audience. If you have a question, please raise your hand and we will get the microphone cave. We do have time for a couple of questions. Please raise your hand. I will come to the microphone. I would like to ask a question of captain yellin. This is being broadcast, really worldwide, via facebook. It is being recorded by cspan. We have a very large audience. I know you said you suffered with ptsd for a number of years. What suggestion, what guidance might you give to somebody listening to this that would be in need of help . Capt. Yellin i was told that i had battle fatigue. The war was over. You cant forget about it. The veterans today or 22 commit , 20 suicide every day. Those who serve, they need something for themselves. We spend a lot for antidepressants and anti psychotic drugs, which is sometimes addictive. And we can teach meditation for 700 to a veteran one time fee for a lifetime of help. Tm. Org is the website that they can find out about it. I still meditate twice a day, 20 minutes a day. I think it has kept me alive and it is keeping me alive. So i an advocate of that. Amyou cant force it on anybody. It is something that removes the stress of combat. It did for me. It can do it for others. Center section, sir . Hello. Yes. My fatherinlaw, 94, world war hump over the himalayas. He is alive today and he does walk with a walker. And today i set with a very good friend of mine at a breakfast who is 95 years old and flew combat in italy. ,o that they are still the 5 and those of you who have not read the book, the greatest generation, need to read it. Its a wonderful book. Thank you very much, sir. Capt. Yellin i appreciate that. [applause] sir, in preparation coming here, i read a little bit about your life after the war, and a little bit of some reconciliation that you made through your family. I do not know if you would take a moment to share that and i know that is probably a long story, but i would like everyone to hear a little bit about that. In 1983 i was a consultant for major banks in california. And they asked me to go to japan to speak to a bank group. I have been on it with g mike. You can replicate the sights, the sounds, but you cant replicate the smell of 28,000 bodies rotting in the sun. I have no use for the japanese people and i said no, i cannot go to japan. I am too busy. I told my wife when i came home that night that i turned down the trip to go to japan. She very quietly said, jerry, you never once asked me if i wanted to go to japan. [laughter] being a dutiful husband, in 1983, i found myself in japan. And i was completely overwhelmed by the culture, the education, the food, the scenery, the people, everything. And my youngest of four sons was then a senior at san diego state, and my wife said we should give him a trip to japan for graduation present. We did that. He signed a contract in 1984 to teach english in japan for one year. Now it is 2017. And he has not come back yet. So there. In 1988, he married the daughter of a kamikaze pilot who hated me as much as i hated him. And we became friends and family. I have three japanese grandchildren. The oldest is 28. He has a masters in physics from the m. I. T. Of japan. He is one of hundred people that who got a job from 23,000 applicants. His brother simon, not after my japaneseut two characters, graduated from the university in the city of london, a fouryear course in philosophy, and was awarded a twoyear course at oxford to get a bachelors in philosophy. Which he graduated from in one year. And a 21yearold granddaughter sarah. So my enemy is my family. My whole thought process of world war ii was to kill japanese, and now i have three grandchildren and family in japan. I found that was the biggest learning experience i could have had. I wrote a book about that in 1980, called of war and weddings. I dont like to promote myself, but that is a book you can read on amazon. I am proud of them. I am proud of the three grandchildren. And my love for them. To your right, sir. [applause] we have time for one last question. We will take that now and then we will hear from our choir and band. The very dramatic battle hymn of the republic. Afterwards, jerry will be available to autograph copies of his book in the front lobby which are available in our store. Our last question. Thank you, sir for your service and everyone out here. Thank you very much for keeping us safe in america. Have you flown anything since your time behind the 51 . Have you even gotten in a jet and experienced that . And having parents both in the navy, i have to say say, go navy. [laughter] [applause] capt. Yellin well, you know, you never lose the ability to make love unless you get old, and you never lose the ability to fly. I flew in a sterman in phoenix two days ago. [laughter] [applause] [applause] i flew a t6 at Laughlin Air Force base in december. I am going back to phoenix in january to get a ride in an f16. [laughter] [applause] they have a very small club of pilots today, Fighter Pilots, called the 9g club. 9gs in an f16. I dont think i will make it through that