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CLARK
FREE PORT—America’s
first World War II hero in the Pacific was honored with
a memorial inaugurated on Monday at this free port near
the site where he died in a gallant effort to save his
crew and his aircraft.
Mabalacat Mayor Marino Morales with Lt. Col. Clay
Crawford, chief of the US Air Force Program, Joint US
Military Assistance Group; Tom Treadwell Jr., vice
commander in chief of the Veterans of Foreign Wars
(VFW); Dale Barsy, commander of VFW Post 2485; the 600th
Air Base Wing commander Col. Alejandro Camagay Jr.; Maj.
Gen. Gilbert Llanto, Armed Forces deputy chief of staff
for plans; and the Clark Development Corp. paid tribute
to Capt. Colin Kelly Jr. by formally inaugurating the
Kelly Memorial a month after Japanese monks offered
prayers for world peace at the Lily Hill Peace Shrine.
“World
War II has glorious moments, epic sagas and tales of
heroism. This is one of the most memorable moments in
the history of our respective communities,” Morales
said.
Morales
remembered Kelly’s gallantry for the sake of freedom and
democracy.
“We
Filipinos honor him in our own little way by dedicating
the Capt. Colin Kelly Jr. Memorial. We believe then and
now that life is worth sacrificing in defense of
freedom, liberty and democracy,” he said.
Crawford
confirmed Morales’s view, saying Kelly’s deeds “inspired
us, and I do find it extremely fitting to be here in
Clark Air Base.”
Treadwell, meanwhile, speaking in behalf of National
Commander George Lisicki and the 2 million members of
the VFW of the United States and its Ladies Auxiliary,
acknowledged Kelly’s sacrifice at the dedication of the
memorial.
“In the
finest tradition of the American armed forces, Captain
Kelly sacrificed his life so that others may live. For
his heroism, he was posthumously awarded the
Distinguished Service Cross, the second-highest
decoration the US Army gives for extreme gallantry and
risk of life in actual combat with an armed enemy,”
Treadwell said.
“It is a
deeply moving and humbling experience for me to stand on
this historical spot and join our Filipino friends in
dedicating this memorial,” he added.
Kelly, a
B-17 “Flying Fortress” bomber pilot, was America’s first
recorded war hero in the Pacific War when he valiantly
saved his crew by allowing them to get off the burning
bomber attacked by Japanese Zero fighters.
The
formation of 10 Japanese Zero fighter planes, led by
legendary ace pilot Saburo Sakai, jumped on Kelly’s
aircraft on its return flight to Clark Field 66 years
ago. The attack killed Kelly’s flight engineer and
severely damaged the aircraft.
Kelly,
however, managed to save the crew and made a last-ditch
but futile effort to save the aircraft.
Kelly
made a belly landing in Bical, a sleepy sitio in
Mabalacat, but unfortunately died, becoming the
first-ever American hero of World War II in the
Asia-Pacific war theater.
Kelly’s
death came three days after the
Pearl Harbor attack on
December
7, 1941. Japanese pilots from Formosa (Taiwan), attacked
Clark Field, decimating the
US
air armada as the planes were refueling when the
Japanese came.
Prior to
Kelly’s return to
Clark, he managed
to unload three 60-pound bombs on the Japanese heavy
cruiser Ashigara, which took a direct hit and sunk off
the coast of Aparri. He then followed the flight with
destiny with Sakai’s group. Kelly did not reach Clark
but Bical, which is very near the Clark Field runway.
Copilot
Donald Robins was the last to escape the doomed B-17.
Robins tried to open the escape hatch when the “Flying
Fortress” exploded, throwing him out of the plane. Kelly
died at the controls.
A letter
by former Florida Gov. Spessard Holland sent to Kelly’s
parents on December 12, 1941, read: “Your son’s bravery
and achievement serves as an inspiration to every
patriotic American, especially the men and women
fighting for freedom around the world. His deed will
endure, indelibly inscribed on the pages of America’s
history.”
In
remembrance, a movie theater was named after him in the
former Clark Air Base while the post office in his
hometown had been dedicated in his honor. |
