Actress Scarlett Johansson PSA’s on Behalf of Captain Jerry Yellin

The stench of death, the rain of bullets, and the minute-to-minute fight for survival faced young Captain Jerry Yellin when he landed on Iwo Jima in 1945—but little did Jerry know that his life would be turned upside down during a routine flight, which turned out to be the last combat mission of WWII. Flanked by his devoted comrades, Yellin led the Seventy-Eighth Fighter Squadron in the final fight for freedom—a mission that will forever leave its mark on the history of the world.

New York Times bestselling author Don Brown collaborates with Captain Jerry Yellin in his book The Last Fighter Pilot: The True Story of the Final Combat Mission of WWII to bring to life the harrowing story of one of America’s last living WWII heroes.

Anxiously awaiting Japan’s surrender, Jerry and his wingman, 2 Lieutenant Phillip Schlamberg, took off in their P-51s on August 14, 1945, expecting the assignment to be aborted with the end of the war imminent. During their mission, the war was declared over, but word did not reach Yellin and Schlamberg in time – and Schlamberg would never live to celebrate V-J Day.

Yellin relays not only the loss and horror he experienced in war but also his battle to overcome PTSD decades after the war had ended. Ultimately, Jerry found healing from hatred in an unlikely way and continues to advocate for the greatest generation.

In The Last Fighter Pilot, you’ll learn:

• The events surrounding the war in the Pacific, specifically the Seventy-Eighth Fighter Squadron, captained by war-veteran Jerry Yellin.
• The suffering and heartbreak that the American fighter pilots endured during and after the war, especially the brutal treatment of the American POWs on the island of Chichijima
• The story of Phil Schlamberg, the last fallen hero of the war and great-uncle to movie star Scarlett Johansson, and the last airborne mission of WWII.