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Episode #629 of Hometown Heroes, airing May 22-25, 2020, marks Memorial Day weekend with the story of a Gold Star hero who made the ultimate sacrifice 75 years ago on May 25, 1945. You’ll hear from a corpsman who was decorated for his efforts to try to save him, and also get a taste of what an ex-prisoner of war was experiencing in Europe 75 years ago this week.

Yontan Airfield was the site of a unique moment on May 24-25, 1945, when the only airborne assault launched by the Japanese throughout the entire 83-day battle for Okinawa sent five planes toward the base Americans had captured six weeks earlier. This episode of Hometown Heroes includes the memories of Dana “Zeke” Mulder, who was a corpsman assigned to the crash crew at Yontan during that surprise overnight attack. First, you’ll hear how Mulder made it into the military, which given his farsightedness, was no small feat. After working in southern California aircraft factories, he paid a woman over $300 to help him scheme his way through the eye test, and was accepted into the Navy. Mulder came ashore on Okinawa on the first day of battle, April 1, 1945. The “Giretsu” Raid on Yontan late at night on May 24, 1945 sent Mulder and many others into frenzied action. Of the five enemy aircraft targeting the field, four were shot down by American fighter planes, but one made it through and skidded to a stop about 250-feet shy of the 30-foot tall wooden control tower.

“They would jump out of the airplane,” Mulder recalled of the Japanese commandoes. “With satchel charges, they would tie them to as many airplanes that were on the ground as they could.”

In addition to destroying dozens of American aircraft, the enemy force detonated 70,000 gallons of aviation fuel, creating flames visible from miles away. Learn more about the Giretsu attack here, and listen to Hometown Heroes for Zeke Mulder’s memories from that unforgettable night. You’ll hear how Zeke saved the lives of ten men that night, and also the extreme effort he devoted to trying to save a man who ultimately could not be saved. Maynard Carter Kelley, a native of Seattle, WA, had already earned the Distinguished Flying Cross flying his F6F Hellcat with VMF-533. Just a week earlier, he had survived an emergency landing on nearby Ie Shima after his Hellcat was damaged by enemy fire. Kelley was taking his turn in the control tower when the “Sally” bomber belly landed on the runway. He climbed down staggered wooden ladder steps, hopped in the radio jeep parked at the base of the tower, and drove toward the enemy craft, armed only with his service revolver. Kelley was able to kill one of the attackers, according to his Navy Cross citation, but when planes started exploding around him, he found another way to repel the raid. He climbed back up into the tower, manning the spotlight to help his fellow Americans direct their fire at the enemy.

“He shone the light on them, and one of the Japanese shot at the light,” you’ll hear Mulder explain. “It hit him just below the rib cage, and missed his heart.”

Mulder came to Kelley’s aid and administered morphine, but quickly realized the extent of Kelley’s wounds from what Mulder was told was a wooden bullet (outlawed by the Geneva Convention as inhumane), were too serious to keep him in the tower. He had to find a way to get him into the ambulance down below. When another corpsman climbed to the top of the tower, Mulder enlisted him to help tie a rope around Kelley for safety.

“This other guy helped me get him on my shoulders,” you’ll hear Mulder remember. “I just backed down the ladder and got him on the ground and immediately put him in the ambulance.”

As the chaotic clash continued on one runway, Mulder drove the ambulance down an adjacent runway to make it down the hill to the hospital, hoping Kelley’s life could be spared.

“The thing that I’ve always regretted is that I couldn’t save him, ” you’ll hear Mulder lament. “He died towards morning that day.”

Mulder was awarded the Bronze Star for his efforts to save Kelley’s life. To envision what he had to navigate to get Kelley’s body to the base of the tower, watch this short film of that control tower from 1945, hosted by Getty Images. Kelley was posthumously awarded the Navy Cross. He is buried at Golden Gate National Cemetery in San Bruno, CA.