Documentary about Fairfield fighter pilot now available

FAIRFIELD — A documentary about a Fairfield man who flew the last combat mission of World War II is now available to the public.

The film “Jerry’s Last Mission” tells the story of P-51 fighter pilot Jerry Yellin, who flew combat missions over Iwo Jima and Japan and who returned home with “a dark life of post-traumatic stress disorder, survivor’s guilt and thoughts of suicide.” The documentary tells how Yellin learned to overcome PTSD and how he was forced to face his hated enemy once again when his youngest son moved to Japan and married the daughter of a Kamikaze pilot.

“It’s a moving story of resilience, of reconciliation, and of hatred turned to love,” according to the film’s Facebook page.

The film’s director, Louisa Merino, announced earlier this month that the film is now available for rental or purchase through Apple TV and iTunes. It’s also available to watch worldwide through the streaming platform Altavod.

The film has been endorsed by celebrities such as director David Lynch and actor Gary Sinise, famous for his role as Lieutenant Dan in “Forrest Gump.”

"U. S. Veteran Jerry Yellin is a great man with a great and important story of humanity,” Lynch said.

"Please watch and let it inspire you,” Sinise said.

Merino got to know Yellin when the two were both living in Fairfield. In 2015, while Merino was working for David Lynch Foundation Television as a senior editor and story producer, she met a man in the Roosevelt Aquatic Center who was “running” laps in the pool, not swimming. It was Yellin. Merino struck up a conversation with him, and learned about his fascinating life, about how he flew the last mission over Japan in World War II, how he battled post-traumatic stress after the war, and how his view of the Japanese changed when his son Robert married a Japanese woman.

“He talked about his transformation from hatred to love,” Merino recalled. “He was a really charming man, and I was inspired by his story.”

Merino followed Yellin all over the country and the globe, including his move to Florida, where he lived with his son Steven, and on a trip to Japan in 2015 after the death of his wife, Helene. Yellin made the trip because he wanted to spread half of her ashes in the country that she came to love. In the last few years of his life, Yellin traveled frequently, giving talks on post-traumatic stress and how to address the problem of veterans’ suicides.

Merino not only directed the film but also helped to produce, write and edit it. She was joined by fellow producers and writers Melissa Hibbard and Ed Cunningham. They uploaded the film online for a limited time the week of Veterans Day in 2020, during which it was free to view.

In the year since, Merino said it’s been “positive and beautiful” to see how the film has affected those who’ve seen it, especially those who had a grandfather or great-uncle who was involved in the war.

Merino said she never thought her film would someday be available for streaming worldwide.

“I wasn’t thinking about that. I just wanted to tell the story,” she said. “It feels good because I’m so happy to share it with a wider audience.”

Merino said her team had hoped to show the film at festivals, but that was before COVID canceled so many of them. They decided to skip the festival circuit.

Merino said the film is mostly about Yellin looking back on his life as an older man, and how he was able to “confront his enemy.” His son Robert married the daughter of a kamikaze pilot, but the man was sent to China instead of being sent on a suicide mission, so he survived the war. The two men met after the wedding, realized how similar they were, and became friends.

Robert still lives in Japan to this day, and is regarded as one of the experts in Japanese pottery. In fact, when Apple founder Steve Jobs visited Japan, he contacted Robert to show him the country’s pottery galleries.

“This is not really a war film, although it looks like it,” Merino said. “It’s about healing and humanity.”

The film also talks about Yellin’s practice of Transcendental Meditation and how he credits the technique with helping him address his PTSD.

“Jerry said he hated the Japanese until he learned TM,” Merino said. “In his words, when he learned TM, he started to become a human again, and it opened his heart to be able to heal.”

Yellin died Dec. 21, 2017, at age 93. He was laid to rest with full military honors at Arlington National Cemetery in Arlington, Virginia.

Call Andy Hallman at 641-575-0135 or email him at andy.hallman@southeastiowaunion.com