III
112th CONGRESS
1st Session
S. RES. 303
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
That the Senate—
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;
commends Captain Kelly for his service to the United States during the first days of World War II; and
honors the sacrifice made by Captain Kelly, giving his own life to save the lives of his crew.