A graduate of West Point, 25-year-old Capt. Colin P. Kelly Jr. became the first American hero of World War II when he bombed a Japanese cruiser three days after the attacks in Pearl Harbor.
On December 10, 1941, Kelly and his crew were ordered to fly out of Clark Air Field and attack targets on Formosa (now Taiwan). He was forced to take off the B-17 with only three 600-pound bombs on board and with the plane partly fueled. On the way to Formosa, they saw a huge Japanese landing party with accompanying destroyers. Kelly ordered the attack on the Japanese fleet despite receiving no clear permission from base to engage the enemy.
The crew dropped the bombs from 20, 000 feet. One bomb directly hit the target while the other two impacted the flank. With no bombs left, Kelly maneuvered the plane to go back to Clark Air Field.
Unfortunately, the plane was almost back to its home airfield when two enemy planes attacked it. Kelly ordered his crew of six to bail out while he remained in the plane until it exploded.
After his death, it was discovered that Kelly’s bomber had actually hit a light Japanese cruiser named Ashiraga, not the battleship Haruna as what earlier reports had suggested. For this reason, Gen. Douglas MacArthur lowered the recommendation to the Distinguished Service Cross. To honor his heroism, a post office and a highway in his hometown in Florida were named after him.
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