[Congressional Record Volume 157, Number 158 (Thursday, October 20, 2011)]
[Senate]
[Pages S6879-S6880]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




  SENATE RESOLUTION 303--HONORING THE LIFE, SERVICE, AND SACRIFICE OF 
             CAPTAIN COLIN P. KELLY JR., UNITED STATES ARMY

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

                              S. Res. 303

       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 10, 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

[[Page S6880]]

     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 10, 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.

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