Source

State Archives of Florida, Series S406

Description

Letter from Marion Wick Kelly to R. W. Simpson thanking him for his support and the support of the Tampa Tribune following the death of her husband, Captain Colin P. Kelly Jr., during World War II. In the aftermath of Kelly's death, the Tampa Tribune established a fund to benefit his young son, Colin P. Kelly III.

Date

1941-12-26

Creator

Kelly, Marion Wick

Format

Letters (correspondence)

Coverage

Florida during World War II (1939-1945)

Topic

Military And Veterans

Subjects

Heroes
Kelly, Colin Purdie, II, 1915-1941
Kelly, Colin Purdie, III
Simpson, R. W.
Tampa Tribune (Firm)
World War II
World War, 1939-1945
World War, 1939-1945--Casualties

Geographic Term

Tampa
Hillsborough County
Madison
Madison County

General Note

Colin Purdie Kelly Jr. of Madison County, Florida, became one of America's first heroes of World War II. A 1937 graduate of West Point, the 29-year-old Kelly was a B-17 pilot in the Army Air Corps, stationed in the Philippines in December 1941 when the islands came under Japanese attack. On December 10, Kelly's plane was sent on a bombing mission to attack Japanese ships off the coast of Luzon. The crew spotted a large ship they believed to be the battleship Haruna and from a height of 20,000 dropped three 600-pound bombs. Though smoke obscured the target, Kelly and his men believed that at least one bomb struck the ship and that the ship was probably destroyed. In fact, the Haruna was not in the vicinity and Kelly's plane had perhaps bombed a large transport or the light cruiser Ashigara, neither of which had sunk. On the return to its base at Clark Field, a Japanese fighter attacked and severely damaged the American bomber. Kelly ordered his crew to bail out, but he unable to exit the plane before it crashed. He was killed instantly.