Name the former United States Army Air Forces fighter pilot, who flew the final combat mission of World War II in a North American P-51 Mustang againstJapan off Iwo Jima Island on August 14, 1945?
The Last Fighter Pilot The Last Fighter Pilot is a 2017 work of creative nonfiction written by author Don Brown, which documents the final combat mission of World War II, flown by fighter pilot Captain Jerry Yellin against Japan off Iwo Jima Island on August 14, 1945 (August 15, 1945 in Tokyo.) Captain Yellin flew the final combat mission in a North American P-51 Mustang along with another pilot, First Lieutenant Phil Schlamberg, who was piloting a second P-51 as Captain Yellin's wingman. Schalmberg was apparently shot down as he and Yellin attacked a military airfield outside Tokyo about the time that Japanese Emperor Hirohito's famous Jewel Voice Broadcast was being played over the airways, effectively announcing Japan's surrender. Phil Schlamberg became the last known combat death of World War II. His body was never recovered.
Kenneth M. Taylor Kenneth Marlar Taylor (December 23, 1919 – November 25, 2006) was a new United States Army Air Corps Second Lieutenant pilot stationed at Wheeler Field during the Japanese attack on December 7, 1941. Along with his fellow pilot and friend George Welch, he managed to get a fighter plane airborne under fire. Taylor claimed to have shot down four Japanese dive bombers but only two were confirmed. Taylor was injured during the incident and received several awards for his efforts, including the Distinguished Service Cross and the Purple Heart.