Colin Kelly
Colin Purdie Kelly, Jr. (
July 11,
1915 â€"
December 10,
1941). Born in
Madison, Florida, he was a
World War II B-17 Flying Fortress pilot who flew bombing runs against the
Japanese navy in the first days after the
Pearl Harbor attack. He is remembered as a
war hero for sacrificing his own life to save his crew when his plane became the first American B-17 to be shot down in combat. Colin Kelly has been called the first American hero of the Second World War.
On
December 10,
1941, Kelly's plane lifted off from
Clark Field in the
Philippines. During its bombing run, Kelly's bomber hit the Japanese cruiser
Ashigara. On its return flight the bomber came under attack by
Zeros, one of which was piloted by famed Japanese
flying ace Saburo Sakai. Kelly stayed at the controls of the badly damaged aircraft so that the surviving crew members could bail out. Just after the last crew member escaped the plane exploded. Early reports misidentified the Ashigara as the battleship
Haruna, and also mistaknely reported that he had crashed his plane into the smokestack of the
Haruna, becoming the first
Suicide pilot of the war.
For his extraordinary heroism and selfless bravery, Kelly was posthumously awarded the
Distinguished Service Cross.
Aviation artist
Robert Taylor has painted a painting entitled
The Legend of Colin Kelly.*
Air Force Magazine article -
Colin Kelly: He was a hero in legend and in fact*
Artwork of Colin Kelly and Saburo Sakai by Robert Taylor and
Stan Stokes*
:Captain Colin P. Kelly, Jr. Post Office (with a short biography)
