HONORING THE MILITARY
MEMBERCONNECTION
Pro;les of Costco members who
have developed meaningful ways
to give back to those who serve
or have served our country.
George Starks
(left) and Jerry Yellin
in 2017.
COSTCO MEMBER CAPTAIN Jerry
Yellin was just ;; years old when he
decided to enlist in the U.S. Air Force.
“But I flunked the physical,” says the
;;-year-old Orlando, Florida, resident. “I
had ;;/;; vision in one eye. And the doctor
told me to go home, stay in a dark room, eat
a lot of carrots and don’t read anything;
come back in three days and take the test
again. My mother was working on the draft
board, and when she came home from
work I asked her to bring me a copy of the
eye chart. I passed the eye exam because I
memorized the chart.”
Yellin’s story is told in the book The
Last Fighter Pilot (Regnery Publishing,
;;;;; not available at Costco), detailing his
experiences in World War II and his
struggle with post-traumatic stress disorder, getting his life in order through Transcendental Meditation and reconciling his
distrust of his wartime enemy when his son
married a Japanese woman whose father
was a kamikaze pilot.
While Yellin was fighting in the
skies over the Pacific, Costco
member George Starks,
now ;; and also living in
Orlando, was flying in
the European theater.
On March ;;, ;;;;,
his B-;; and its crew of
;; men, led by the ;;-
year-old Starks, was shot down over
German-occupied France. He and his men
had to leave a burning plane in flight and
parachute into enemy territory.
They all survived. But Starks spent the
next six weeks working his way through
France to Switzerland, evading Nazi troops
with help from ordinary men and women,
and several leaders of the French
Resistance. His harrowing tale is told in
the upcoming book Coffin Corner Boys
(Regnery, ;;;;; not available at Costco).
The two veterans have met only twice,
but they recognize the importance of their
shared experiences and of passing on their
stories to future generations.
“We’re connected on a level that other
people are not connected,” Yellin says of
combat veterans. “Movies and pictures
can emulate the sights and emulate the
sounds of war, but no one can emulate the
smell of [war],” he continues. “Our generation is leaving rapidly. And our history
has to be told.”—Steve Fisher
120 The Costco Connection NOVEMBER 2017
year-old Starks, was shot down over
had to leave a burning plane in flight and
parachute into enemy territory.
et
next six weeks working his way through
France to Switzerland, evading Nazi troops
h
and several leaders of the French
Resistance. His harrowing tale is told in
r
(Regnery, ;;;;; not available at Costco).
The two veterans have met only twice,
p
shared experiences and of passing on their
stories to future generations.
“We’re connected on a level that other
people are not connected,” Yellin says of
combat veterans. “Movies and pictures
can emulate the sights and emulate the
smell of [war],” he continues. “Our generation is leaving rapidly. And our history
Honoring
militarythe
JE
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YELLI
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TARK
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GEORGESTARKS
JERRYYELLIN
Fighting
for freedom,
living in peace
OUR DIGITAL EDITIONS
Click here to watch Jerry Yellin talk
about WWII. (See page 9 for details.)
George Starks learning to ;y.
Jerry Yellin
in 1945.
