[Congressional Bills 112th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. Res. 303 Agreed to Senate (ATS)]

112th CONGRESS
  1st Session
S. RES. 303

 Honoring the life, service, and sacrifice of Captain Colin P. Kelly, 
                        Jr., United States Army.


_______________________________________________________________________


                   IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

                            October 20, 2011

  Mr. Nelson of Florida submitted the following resolution; which was 
              referred to the Committee on Armed Services

                           November 16, 2011

Committee discharged; considered and agreed to with an amended preamble

_______________________________________________________________________

                               RESOLUTION


 
 Honoring the life, service, and sacrifice of Captain Colin P. Kelly, 
                        Jr., United States Army.

Whereas Captain Colin P. Kelly, Jr., was born in Madison, Florida, in 1915 and 
        graduated from that community's high school in 1932;
Whereas Captain Kelly attended the United States Military Academy at West Point, 
        New York, graduating in 1937 and was assigned to a B-17 bomber group;
Whereas Captain Kelly was stationed in the Philippines as a B-17 pilot in the 
        Army Air Corps when the United States came under Japanese attack on 
        December 7, 1941;
Whereas, on December 9, 1941, when Clark Field in the Philippines was attacked 
        by Japanese forces, Captain Kelly and his 7 crew members, Lieutenant Joe 
        M. Bean, Second Lieutenant Donald Robins, Staff Sergeant James E. 
        Halkyard, Technical Sergeant William J. Delehanty, Sergeant Meyer S. 
        Levin, Private First Class Willard L. Money, and Private First Class 
        Robert E. Altman, were sent to locate and sink a Japanese Aircraft 
        Carrier, one of the first bombing missions of World War II;
Whereas the crew, commanded by Captain Kelly, located Japanese warships 
        operating off the Luzon Coast, and during the mission successfully hit a 
        large Japanese warship;
Whereas on the return flight to Clark Field, the B-17 came under attack by 2 
        enemy aircraft and was critically damaged;
Whereas Captain Kelly ordered his crew to bail out while he remained at the 
        controls;
Whereas Captain Kelly continued to operate the controls as the 6 surviving crew 
        members bailed out and parachuted safely to the ground, despite 
        remaining under fire during the descent;
Whereas the B-17 crashed near Clark Field, killing Captain Kelly, who had 
        remained at the controls so his crew had time to evacuate the aircraft;
Whereas Captain Kelly was posthumously awarded the Distinguished Service Cross 
        for his heroic actions on December 9, 1941; and
Whereas the Four Freedoms Monument in Madison, Florida was commissioned by 
        President Franklin D. Roosevelt and dedicated in Captain Kelly's memory 
        in 1943: Now, therefore, be it
    Resolved, That the Senate--
            (1) recognizes Captain Colin P. Kelly, Jr., as an Army 
        officer and pilot of the highest caliber, upholding the Army's 
        core values of loyalty, duty, respect, selfless service, honor, 
        integrity, and personal courage;
            (2) commends Captain Kelly for his service to the United 
        States during the first days of World War II; and
            (3) honors the sacrifice made by Captain Kelly, giving his 
        own life to save the lives of his crew.
                                 <all>