<span style="font-family: 'Arial'">Second Lt. Robert Kelly, the son of Lt. Gen. John Kelly, was killed Tuesday in a roadside bomb blast during a foot patrol in Helmand Province.
Note that 2Lt Robert Kelly made two combat tours as an enlisted Marine and this was his first combat tour as an officer. In the words of Mitchner in "The Bridges of Toko Ri": "Where do we get such men?"
Our thoughts and prayers are with you and your family, <span style="font-weight: bold">MARINE.</span>
LtGen Kelly led the Marines in the initial invasion of Saddam Hussein's Iraq. A LA Times reporter asked him, in view of all the artillery, tanks and chemical weapons available to Saddam's army if he had considered defeat. He replied "Hell, these are Marines. They held Guadalcanal and took Iwo Jima. Baghdad ain't shit." He now oversees all reserve units in the Marine Corps as head of Marine Forces Reserve.
Robert Kelly, 29, was serving with the 3rd Battalion, 5th Marine Regiment, which has seen 14 of its troops killed during its short five- to six-week combat deployment in Afghanistan.
<span style="font-weight: bold">Gen Kelly sent the following message:</span>
<span style="font-size: 11pt">My Boy
Family and Friends,
As I think you all know by now our Robert was killed in action protecting our country, its people, and its values from a terrible and relentless enemy, on 9 Nov, in Sangin, Afghanistan. He was leading his Grunts on a dismounted patrol when he was taken. They are shaken, but will recover quickly and already back at it. He went quickly and thank God he did not suffer. In combat that is as good as it gets, and we are thankful. We are a broken hearted - but proud family. He was a wonderful and precious boy living a meaningful life. He was in exactly the place he wanted to be, doing exactly what he wanted to do, surrounded by the best men on this earth - his Marines and Navy Doc.
The nation he served has honored us with promoting him posthumously to First Lieutenant of Marines. We will bury our son, now 1stLt Robert Michael Kelly USMC, in Arlington National Cemetery on 22 Nov. Services will commence at 1245 at Fort Myers. We will likely have a memorial receiving at a yet to be designated funeral home on 21 Nov. The coffin will be closed. Our son Captain John Kelly USMC, himself a multi-tour combat veteran and the best big brother on this earth, will escort the body from Dover Air Force Base to Arlington. From the moment he was killed he has never been alone and will remain under the protection of a Marine to his final resting place.
Many have offered prayers for us and we thank you, but his wonderful wife Heather and the rest of the clan ask that you direct the majority of your prayers to his platoon of Marines, still in contact and in "harm's way," and at greater risk without his steady leadership.
Thank you all for the many kindnesses we could not get through this without you all. Thank you all for being there for us. The pain in unimaginable, and we could not do this without you.
Semper Fidelis
John Kelly</span></span>
Note that 2Lt Robert Kelly made two combat tours as an enlisted Marine and this was his first combat tour as an officer. In the words of Mitchner in "The Bridges of Toko Ri": "Where do we get such men?"
Our thoughts and prayers are with you and your family, <span style="font-weight: bold">MARINE.</span>
LtGen Kelly led the Marines in the initial invasion of Saddam Hussein's Iraq. A LA Times reporter asked him, in view of all the artillery, tanks and chemical weapons available to Saddam's army if he had considered defeat. He replied "Hell, these are Marines. They held Guadalcanal and took Iwo Jima. Baghdad ain't shit." He now oversees all reserve units in the Marine Corps as head of Marine Forces Reserve.
Robert Kelly, 29, was serving with the 3rd Battalion, 5th Marine Regiment, which has seen 14 of its troops killed during its short five- to six-week combat deployment in Afghanistan.
<span style="font-weight: bold">Gen Kelly sent the following message:</span>
<span style="font-size: 11pt">My Boy
Family and Friends,
As I think you all know by now our Robert was killed in action protecting our country, its people, and its values from a terrible and relentless enemy, on 9 Nov, in Sangin, Afghanistan. He was leading his Grunts on a dismounted patrol when he was taken. They are shaken, but will recover quickly and already back at it. He went quickly and thank God he did not suffer. In combat that is as good as it gets, and we are thankful. We are a broken hearted - but proud family. He was a wonderful and precious boy living a meaningful life. He was in exactly the place he wanted to be, doing exactly what he wanted to do, surrounded by the best men on this earth - his Marines and Navy Doc.
The nation he served has honored us with promoting him posthumously to First Lieutenant of Marines. We will bury our son, now 1stLt Robert Michael Kelly USMC, in Arlington National Cemetery on 22 Nov. Services will commence at 1245 at Fort Myers. We will likely have a memorial receiving at a yet to be designated funeral home on 21 Nov. The coffin will be closed. Our son Captain John Kelly USMC, himself a multi-tour combat veteran and the best big brother on this earth, will escort the body from Dover Air Force Base to Arlington. From the moment he was killed he has never been alone and will remain under the protection of a Marine to his final resting place.
Many have offered prayers for us and we thank you, but his wonderful wife Heather and the rest of the clan ask that you direct the majority of your prayers to his platoon of Marines, still in contact and in "harm's way," and at greater risk without his steady leadership.
Thank you all for the many kindnesses we could not get through this without you all. Thank you all for being there for us. The pain in unimaginable, and we could not do this without you.
Semper Fidelis
John Kelly</span></span>
