[Congressional Record Volume 157, Number 175 (Wednesday, November 16, 2011)]
[Senate]
[Pages S7628-S7629]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
HONORING THE LIFE, SERVICE, AND SACRIFICE OF CAPTAIN COLIN P. KELLY,
JR., UNITED STATES ARMY
Mr. WHITEHOUSE. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the Armed
Services Committee be discharged from further consideration of S. Res.
303 and that the Senate proceed to its consideration.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.
The clerk will report the resolution by title.
The legislative clerk read as follows:
A resolution (S. Res. 303) honoring the life, service, and
sacrifice of Captain Colin P. Kelly, Jr., United States Army.
There being no objection, the Senate proceeded to consider the
resolution.
Mr. WHITEHOUSE. I ask unanimous consent that the resolution be agreed
to; the Nelson amendment to the preamble, which is at the desk, be
agreed to; the preamble, as amended, be agreed to; the motions to
reconsider be laid upon the table with no intervening action or debate;
and that any statements related to the resolution be printed in the
Record.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.
The resolution (S. Res. 303) was agreed to.
The amendment (No. 1057) was agreed to as follows:
(Purpose: To amend the preamble by modifying a date)
In the preamble, amend the fourth and tenth clauses by
striking ``December 10, 1941'' and inserting ``December 9,
1941''.
The preamble, as amended, was agreed to.
The resolution, with its preamble, as amended, reads as follows:
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 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.
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