The Tragic Tale of a Jewish Teen: The Last Fallen American Soldier as World War II Drew to a Close
Amidst Emperor Hirohito's surrender announcement, a poignant tale emerges of Philip Schlamberg, a Jewish teen who tragically became the last American combat fatality in WWII This gripping account reveals his final mission, a haunting premonition, and a heartwarming healing with his family Discover a fitting end to an extraordinary story
After Emperor Hirohito declared Japan's surrender, on August 15, 1945, two P-51 fighters from the US Army Air Corps conducted an attack on a Tokyo airfield in the closing hours of World War II. Following their successful strafing run on Japanese forces, Capt. Jerry Yellin, the leader of the US mission, and his wingman, 1st Lt. Philip Schlamberg, communicated their approval through "thumbs up" gestures before ascending to higher altitudes to evade anti-aircraft fire from below.
Yellin rose above the clouds, only to find that Schlamberg had vanished. The youthful aviator would never be sighted again.
Records from the US Defense Department indicate a total of 291,557 American lives lost during the four-year duration of their engagement in World War II.
After Nazi Germany surrendered to Allied forces over three months ago, Schlamberg, a 19-year-old Jewish honor student from Brooklyn, found himself thousands of miles away from the war-torn battlefields of Europe. Tragically, he became the last American serviceman to lose his life. This unfortunate event marked the concluding combat mission for the US military, and it eerily aligned with Schlamberg's premonitions of his impending fate.
P-51s from the 78th Fighter Squadron P-51 on the flight line at Iwo Jima on April 16, 1945.
National Archives and Records/NHD Silent Heroes
The final mission
Conflict is currently escalating worldwide, spanning from Ukraine to the Middle East, Sudan to Myanmar. As various nations observe Armistice Day or Veterans Day in the United States, they pay tribute to those who bravely battled in wars. Saturday will serve as a day to commemorate the sacrifices made by individuals like Yellin and Schlamberg.
In 1945, it was believed that the war would come to an end by August 15.
However, six days prior to that date, a US B-29 bomber released an atomic bomb on Nagasaki, Japan, following the detonation of the initial destructive weapon over Hiroshima just three days earlier. The atomic bombings resulted in the deaths of at least 100,000 individuals, yet Tokyo remained defiant and did not surrender.
"We had hoped that the second bomb on August 9 would bring an end to the war, sparing us from flying any more combat missions," expressed Yellin in his book "The Last Fighter Pilot" published in 2017.
However, within the Japanese military government, there were individuals determined to fight until death. The six leaders engaged in prolonged debates throughout the night on August 14. Just before midnight, Hirohito recorded a speech intended to be broadcasted on Japanese radio at noon the following day, officially declaring the war's conclusion.
By then, Schlamberg, Yellin, and the rest of the combatants belonging to the 78th Fighter Squadron stationed in Iwo Jima were soaring above Japan in search of "targets of opportunity;" essentially, any military asset that could be targeted from the skies.
Okihiro Terao holds up a stained-glass crane that he made to symbolize peace. He said he sent one decorated in the colors of the Ukrainian flag to the Ukrainian embassy in Tokyo.
Emiko Jozuka/CNN
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Just after noon on that August day, the American pilots dived on a Tokyo area airfield.
"We ventured onto the field and ascended into a dense bank of clouds, with Phil closely by my side," Yellin expressed in the introduction to "The Last Fighter Pilot."
"After traversing through the encompassing clouds for a brief duration, I unexpectedly lost sight of Phil. Regrettably, I would never have the chance to lay eyes on him again."
While flying on that particular day, the US pilots were attentive to catch the radio transmission of the codeword "Utah." This specific word would signify that Japan had surrendered, and thus, the fighting could finally come to an end.
On the 15th of August, a few of the American warplanes flying over Japan were fortunate enough to intercept and listen to the broadcast containing the codeword "Utah." However, those belonging to Yellins group were not among them.
According to Yellins account, the pilots in the 78th Fighter Squadron would only discover their fate after they had completed the three-hour flight back to their airfield on Iwo Jima, leaving Schlamberg with no chance to avoid his destiny.
A P-51 Mustang aircraft performs during the T150 Defence Force Air Show on October 15, 2016 in Townsville, Australia.
Ian Hitchcock/Getty Images
A premonition of death
Yellin, Schlamberg and the rest of the squadron had learned of their August 15 mission the night before at a briefing in a Quonset hut on Iwo Jima.
Having received no indication of Japanese surrender, the American pilots were instructed to maintain their assault on Tokyo. The squadron was informed that they would be conducting a flight over the Japanese capital in the morning.
In the book, it is mentioned that Schlamberg leaned towards Yellin and quietly uttered, "Captain, if I embark on this mission, I have no intention of returning."
Concerned about the potential impact on Schlambergs confidence in combat, Yellin advised him to consult the unit's flight surgeon, who had the authority to ground him for the day.
However, disregarding Yellin's suggestion, the determined 19-year-old responded, "I will proceed with the mission," as per Yellin's recollection.
On May 7, 2015, at Culpeper Regional Airport in Brandy Station, Virginia, a P51 Mustang pilot proudly showcases the American flag following a practice flight alongside numerous World War II era aircraft.
Andrew Caballero-Reynolds/AFP/Getty Images
Who was Philip Schlamberg?
Born into a family of Jewish-Polish immigrants, the flier, being the youngest of ten children, was regarded as the "great hope of the Schlamberg Family," as stated by his niece, Melanie Sloan, in her foreword for "The Last Fighter Pilot."
According to Sloan, they endured a challenging life, relying on public assistance, while Philip and his siblings resorted to illegally selling ice cream on Coney Island to make ends meet. However, despite the hardships, her uncle excelled academically, achieving valedictorian honors at Abraham Lincoln High School.
Schlamberg had aspirations of going to college, but unfortunately, he lacked the financial means to afford tuition and books, as highlighted in "The Last Fighter Pilot" by Yellin and co-author Don Brown.
Schlambergs' intelligence was undeniably impressive. According to Sloan, she acquired US military records through the Freedom of Information Act, which revealed that her uncle had achieved the highest IQ ever documented in Army Air Corps entrance exams.
"The Last Fighter Pilot" says when the service saw those scores, Schlamberg was offered his pick of jobs and chose to be a fighter pilot.
The name of Schlamberg is listed on the Wall of the Missing at the Honolulu Memorial, situated in the National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific in Honolulu, Hawaii, in 2017.
Hating Japan
It was Jerry Yellins choice to be a fighter pilot too.
In the 2021 documentary film titled "Jerry's Last Mission," he recounts the immediate aftermath of Japan's attack on Pearl Harbor in 1941, which led to the United States' involvement in the war.
"I was overwhelmed with devastation, like every other person in this nation. Our collective animosity towards Japan was intense," he expressed.
Driven by a childhood obsession with airplanes and the brave pilots of World War I, he possessed an unwavering conviction about his role in the impending conflict that awaited the US military.
Obtaining his parents' consent at the tender age of 18, he eagerly enlisted, declaring, "I am destined to soar as a fighter pilot and take on Japan," as recounted in the documentary.
Despite being Jewish and having experienced the pain of anti-Semitism firsthand when his New Jersey home was vandalized with Nazi symbols in 1936, he made the decision to fight in the Pacific instead of against Nazi Germany in Europe. Despite their small age difference of only two years, in the war years it felt like an eternity between Yellin and Schlamberg.
Arriving ahead of his wingman for combat on the island of Iwo Jima, he had initiated his training earlier. It was March 7, 1945, and the island was still predominantly under the control of Japanese troops. Stepping onto the ground with his P-51, Yellin was immediately struck by the haunting sight of piles of Japanese soldiers' bodies and the presence of truckloads carrying deceased American Marines nearby.
Naval History and Heritage Command
Years prior to the Pearl Harbor attack, Japan ravaged a US warship in China. However, what troubled him even more, long after the war concluded, were the recollections of his fellow squadron members stationed in Iwo Jima who perished in combat, including Schlamberg.
In "Jerry's Last Mission," he expressed that it seemed acceptable for the Japanese to perish, yet he struggled to accept the loss of the American individuals he knew. He conveyed feeling a sense of unworthiness in the wake of their deaths, questioning the reason behind his survival while they perished.
US captain Yellin was deeply affected by the loss of Schlamberg, his wingman, on their 19th wartime engagement - a mission that marked the end of almost four years of conflict. In a 2020 article featured on the Montclair Local website in New Jersey, Yellin's son Michael shared the heartfelt tale of his father's anguish as he personally delivered Schlamberg's possessions to his grieving mother in Brooklyn.
"She told my father, It should have been you who died, instead of my son. He understood, but it scarred him for the rest of his life," Michael Yellin said.
On May 7, 2015, Jerry Yellin, a veteran of World War II, is pictured in front of a P51 airplane at Culpeper Regional Airport in Brandy Station, Virginia, where numerous aircraft from the World War II era have congregated.
A healing â with family
"When I came home from the war, I was not a decent human being. I was a killer," Yellin said in the movie.
Yellin's life took a turn when two members of his family entered the picture.
According to the film, it was his wife, Helene, who encouraged him to embark on a journey to Japan in 1983. It was during this trip that he had a close encounter with Japanese war veterans and felt an immediate connection with them.
Meanwhile, Helene developed a deep affection for the country her husband had previously detested. She believed that Japan possessed the qualities that would resonate with their son, Robert. Motivated by this notion, Yellin later urged Robert to partake in a brief homestay program in Japan.
Robert embraced the opportunity wholeheartedly and never turned back. Ultimately, he formed a lifelong bond with a Japanese woman, and together they embarked on a journey of building a family.
Taro Yamakawa, the father of his son's new wife, also had a background as a fighter pilot. Yamakawa underwent training to fly Zero fighters as a kamikaze pilot but never received an assignment for a final mission, according to Yellin. The two individuals initially encountered each other three days before their children's wedding. Yellin mentioned in a 2010 interview with CNN that following a conversation where they shared their wartime experiences, a longstanding animosity between them was overcome.
Yamakawa expressed to him, "A man who could pilot a P-51 against the Japanese and survive must possess immense bravery, and I desire for the courage of that individual to be inherited by my grandchildren," Yellin recounted.
Those three grandchildren would come into existence, and alongside them, love triumphed over hatred.
"I used to derive satisfaction from eliminating targets, especially those I considered enemies. But now, everything has changed - those very people have become an integral part of my life," he reflects in the movie while traveling on a high-speed train traversing the picturesque landscapes of Japan.
"This land, and the bonds forged here, hold as much significance to me as my home in America, for my loved ones reside within its confines."
On May 8, 2015, in Washington, DC, the National Mall was graced with the presence of North American P-51 Mustangs during the Arsenal of Democracy. This remarkable event commemorated the 70th anniversary of V-E Day with a breathtaking plane flyover.
Andrew Caballero-Reynolds/AFP/Getty Images
Fitting endings
Yellin passed away in December 2017, soon after the publication of "The Last Fighter Pilot." An obituary by the US Air Force, which was published during Yellin's burial with full military honors at Arlington National Cemetery in Virginia in 2019, acknowledged the challenges he faced after the war.
"Despite the brevity of his flying career, he bore witness to an extraordinary amount of turmoil, more than any person should ever have to endure," the obituary stated. "Yellin was discharged in December 1945 and grappled with post-traumatic stress disorder, long before it was formally recognized."
Yellin's remains are laid to rest in an Arlington columbarium.
Schlamberg is commemorated with an inscription on a stone tablet at the Courts of the Missing, situated within the National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific in Hawaii. Neither he nor his P-51 have ever been located.
"The Last Fighter Pilot" foreword explains how the end of World War II was appropriate for the circumstances. In 1945, when news about the Nazi atrocities against Jews spread across the world, it was quite ironic that the last mission of the war was carried out by two Jewish pilots hailing from New York and New Jersey.
"And that the final combat life in the defense of freedom would be laid down by a teenage Jewish fighter pilot who had not yet learned to even drive a car."
