Kelly enlisted into the U.S.Navy in part because he liked
the uniforms he has said! He was issued his first uniform shortly after being
inducted on October 13, 1942.
After basic training Kelly was assigned to the U.S.S .Chicago.
During the battle for the island of Guadalcanal, the Chicago was hit by several
Japanese torpedoes and subsequently sunk. Kelly was luckily rescued at sea by
the WWI era destroyer, U.S.S. Sands.
Kelly was taken to the island of New Caledonia where for a
time where he was a translator in English to French for his superiors.
Later in the war, Kelly was transferred to the U.S.S. San Francisco.
He then participated in action off the Aleutian Islands, Gilberts, Marshall’s,
Saipan, Truk and Wake islands.
Kelly and the San Francisco were off the island of Iwo Jima
when the Marines raised the American flag during the battle to take the island
from the fanatical Japanese.
Kelly was discharged from the navy on December 8, 1945 with
the rank of Seaman 1st Class and had received seven battle stars and
a presidential unit citation.
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