Arthur Graham Kelly

Technical Sergeant Arthur Graham Kelly Jr was killed in action on May 25, 1942 in a bombing mission near Lae, New Guinea during World War I. He was 24 years old.

Arthur Graham Kelly Jr was born on January 7, 1918 in Vance County, North Carolina, the son of William A. Kelly and Harriet Lewis Bartholomew Kelly.  He was married to Virginia Waldron Kelly of Shreveport, Louisiana and had a son who was seven months old at the time of his death.

TSgt Kelly enlisted in the U.S. Army on August 1, 1935 and received training as a bombardier pilot at Barksdale Air Field in Bossier City, Louisiana in 1938.  He deployed to the Pacific Theater of War on January 31, 1942 arriving at Brisbane, Australia on February 25, 1942 where he served as a Bombardier in the Army Air Force, 89th Bombardment Squadron, 3d Bombardment Group, Far East Air Force.

While on a bombing raid over an enemy base near Lae, New Guinea on May 25, 1942, the formation in which Technical Sergeant Kelly was Bombardier was attacked by about twenty enemy fighters as it made the bombing run. TSgt Kelly placed his bombs on the target. As the formation completed the bombing run, it broke up due to the loss of the leading airplane in each of the elements and TSgt Kelly's plane was left in an exposed position. He then manned the nose gun of the airplane and succeeded in destroying two enemy fighters before his own plane was shot down. He continued to fire even as the airplane was approaching the water for a crash landing and as a result was unable to extricate himself from his position before the airplane sank. His body was never recovered. He was posthumously awarded the Distinguished Service Cross for his heroism in action.

There is a cenotaph in memory of Technical Sergeant Arthur Graham Kelly Jr in Centuries Memorial Park, Shreveport, Louisiana. 

Last edited: 30 May 2026