Photo By Eric Ritter | World War II veteran Army Air Corps Capt. Jerry Yellin, retired, discusses his...... read more read more
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WASHINGTON- Nearly 70 years ago, retired Army Air Corps Capt. Jerry Yellin delivered many air strikes against Imperial Japan’s homeland during World War II, and now delivered his stories of history, heroics and advice for the public and, especially, those who have served in combat at this year’s Air Force Association Air & Space Conference at the National Harbor.
Born in 1924, the Newark, New Jersey, native joined the military on his 18th birthday shortly after the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor. He graduated from flight school in August 1943 where he learned to fly fighter planes like the P-40, P-47 and the P-51. He served in many notable battles during the war such as providing air support for the Marines who were battling for control of Iwo Jima and was on the first land-based mission into Japan and also the last.
“I felt it was my duty to join the military after Pearl Harbor,” Yellin said to the AFA crowd. “About 10 percent of the American population served at that time. That’s just what we did then.”
During his experience in the Pacific theater, Yellin said he lost 16 wingmen.
“At the time, you don’t think about it,” he said. “You focus on what you’re doing and the mission you have to do. If you stopped to think about losing them or how they were lost, you’d never want to get in the cockpit again.”
He said he still carries the memories of the sounds and smells of combat from operations in Iwo Jima. Unfortunately, shortly after the war, he found himself using substances to cope with what is now called Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD). It was his wife of 65 years who finally helped him quit.
“For a long period of my marriage, I caused a tremendous amount of suffering for my wife—unknowingly,” he explained. “I thought I was a normal guy when I came home. I didn’t know my dependencies where causing her to have had so many psychological issues like depression and anxiety. But then, one day, my wife was introduced to meditation in 1975, and it helped her a lot. Shortly after that, I decided to take some self-defense classes as well as tried meditation. Just like that, I quit my dependencies. All of my addictions were gone, and I became a human again.”
The author of four books continued that he had other lingering feelings that he carried later into life, and one of those feelings was hatred. He said he continued to have immense resentment for the Japanese people after the war. But then, in 1983, he was working in real estate and was approached to attend a real estate conference in Tokyo by other another Realtor he worked with.
“I had a deep hatred for the Japanese people,” he added. “Even so many years after the war, I still didn’t consider them human. But, I agreed to attend the conference anyway. I’m glad I did, because that changed my life. I saw a whole different side to them. It was a wonderful human experience.”
That positive impression carried over to his son. Yellin said he suggested his son accept a scholarship to attend school in Japan a year later. After school was completed, his son decided to settle in Japan after meeting a young Japanese woman he’d later marry.”
“I had the opportunity to meet her father,” he boasted. “He was a fighter pilot in the war too. He flew over China. Here is a man I fought against so many years ago, and now I call him family. It’s been a wonderful experience. Through my children, I have learned about life. I have learned to become accepting of all people…of all cultures through them.”
Yellin said he has three passions in life. The first is his national campaign, Spirit of 45, where he is trying to have every flyable military aircraft take flight on the up-coming 70th anniversary to mark the end of World War II. The second is the youth of America.
“The young people of this country need to know about the country that fought for their freedom. They need to know the sacrifices the people of my generation made to preserve that freedom.”
His final passion is for the veterans of today’s conflicts.
“We need to take care of the Operation Iraqi Freedom (OIF) and Operation Enduring Freedom (OEF) veterans,” he stressed.
“Twenty two to 23 OIF or OEF veterans are committing suicide every day in this country. The Veterans Administration is spending $5 billion a month on medication. But, I want to reach out to those veterans and help teach them what helped me, so they can get their lives back together. Thanks to meditation, I’ve come to feel blessed. I’m 90-years-old. My body works. My mind works, and I finally know what I want to do when I grow up.”
Although he volunteered and fought actively in the largest war in recorded history, he still always wishes for peace before war.
“War is not a pleasant enterprise. It’s fought by the young, but constructed by the old,” he explained. “It’s devastating to civilians and military alike. But, is it necessary? It seems the answer is sometimes yes, sadly—but with a qualified ‘yes’. As long as there are evil men and evil governments forcefully exporting their wants and needs on others, then war is often necessary. But, in my case, as well as countless others, we looked forward to the outcome. I flew for freedom. I live for peace.”
| Date Taken: | 09.16.2014 |
| Date Posted: | 10.06.2014 13:42 |
| Story ID: | 144395 |
| Location: | WASHINGTON, DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA, US |
| Hometown: | NEWARK, NEW JERSEY, US |
| Web Views: | 167 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
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