lest we forget

KELLY, JOHN FRANKLIN

Rank / Branch:

  • CORPORAL (POSTHUMOUS), U.S. ARMY

Date Of Birth:

  • 1947-02-15

Country Of Loss:

  • SOUTH VIETNAM

Status:

  • HOSTILE, MUTIPLE FRAGMENT WOUNDS

Aircraft/Vehicle/Ground:​

  • GROUND

Other:

  • NOT MARRIED

Unit:

  • 101ST AIRBORNE DIVISION

Date Of Loss:

  • 1968-09-06

Loss Coordinates:

  • HUA NGHIA

Catagory:

  • BODY RETURNED

Awards & Decorations:

  • SEE BIO

VETERAN HAGI0GRAPHY

  • KELLY, JOHN PAUL, CORPORAL, U.S. ARMY, MIDLAND, MIDLAND COUNTY TEXAS

AWARDS AND DECORATIONS

  • Combat Medic's Badge, BRONZE STAR, PURPLE HEART, NATIONAL DEFENSE SERVICE MEDAL, VIETNAM SERVICE MEDA, VIETNAM CROSS OF GALLANTRY WITH PALM, VIETNAM CAMPAIGN MEDAL

BIOGRAPHY

  • Born February 15, 1947, in Houston, Texas to Jimmy Elizabeth Hood and Edward Fagan Kelly. His family moved to Midland when John was 10 and then back to Houston when his father was transferred which was before John's Senior year in high school in 1964. He was one of the best golfers ever to play for the Rebels. He later attended Texas Tech for two years. Nicknamed "Munko" and "Johanna", he is recalled as having the ability to make others laugh.
  • He enlisted in the Army from Houston, Texas in January 1968. He completed basic training at Fort Polk, Louisiana and Medic Training at Fort Sam Houston, Texas. John began his tour in Vietnam on July 16, 1968. He was assigned as a medic to Headquarter and Headquarters Company, 3rd Battalion, 187th Infantry Regiment, 101st Airborne Division. Medics are then detailed to serve with an infantry company within the battalion. John was assigned to Company A, 3rd Battalion. On September 5, 1968, a battle began in a village of Ap Trang Dau which was about nine miles northeast of the headquarters of the 25th Infantry Division and a South Vietnam Army Ranger Training facility at Cu Chi. The battle was initiated when an enemy defector reported to U.S. Military Intelligence that there was a buildup of North Vietnam and Viet Cong near and around that village with the intent of overrunning the base camp of the 25th. At one point, there were element of 13 Army units from the 101st and the 25 Infantry were called in to deal with this threat.
  • There was an estimate of 1,500 U.S military personnel brought in to place a cordon around this village the immediate area. At one point, the North Vietnamese and Viet Cong were using women and children to act as human shields as the enemy advanced behind them. There were three different attempts by the enemy to breakout of the cordon. In the early stages of the battle an Army unit was almost overrun, and an Army radio operator's voice was heard to say, "They are coming, they are coming" and the radio went dead. The enemy came out of the rice paddy's arm and arm and shoulder to shoulder, firing assault rifles, mortars and rifle grenades as they ran toward the Americans. Finally with darkness the enemy withdrew into the night on the evening of the 6th of September.
  • John's unit came by helicopter to act as a blocking force and it was reported that as he stepped from the helicopter, he was cut down by small arms fire and explosive devices. In the final accounts, the U.S. had 31 Americans killed in action, 41 wounded with serious enough wounds requiring medevac, The enemy left 103 killed in action and six wounded in the field It is estimated that they hauled off 38 using bamboo poles to act as stretchers. The U.S. used artillery and jet aircraft to bomb and strafe the field. Three Air Force Spooky's were also brought for additional support.
  • He was buried with full military honors in the Quanah Memorial Park Cemetery in Quanah, Texas. A relative wrote of him, "The world has been a sadder place ever since (his death). I guess I will never get over his death. The Permian Basin Vietnam Veterans Memorial will keep his name alive; his personality and his laughter is my job."
  • MIDLAND LEE HIGH SCHOOL GOLF TEAM 1963
  • QUANAH, MEMORIAL PARK CEMETERY, QUANHA, TEXAS