Any hero's yourself? Always good to hear who inspires and motivates.
I've never really been into millitary history, but I always admired a namesake of mine.
Birth: Jul. 11, 1915
Madison
Madison County
Florida, USA
Death: Dec. 10, 1941
Bomber Pilot World War II. Pearl Harbor was still smoldering when the Japanese turned their attention to sneak attacks on Clark Field in the Philippines. Captain Colin Kelly and his crew managed to assume flight in their B-17C, only partially loaded with bombs, during a bombing raid on the airfield by Japanese Zero fighters. An invasion fleet was spotted off the coast of Luzon. The bombardier dropped the load on the largest of the Japanese ships with one hit igniting a huge blaze on the target. On returning to Clark Field, the bomber was attacked by a number of Japanese fighters led by their Ace Saburo Sakai. The plane was hit many times and set afire. The waist gunner was hit and killed. Kelly ordered the rest of the crew to jump as he remained at the controls to steady the craft. As the 6th and final crew member exited the plane, it would crash land a few miles from the runway at Clark Field. Captain Colin Kelly perished. The rest of his crew survived the attack, even though some were captured by the Japanese and spent the rest of the war as POW's. Colin's remains were hastily interred at Clark Field and then returned after the War with great fanfare to his hometown of Madison and re buried in the town cemetery with full military honors. The heroic story of the exploits of Kelly and his crew electrified the nation. Due to his selfless acts of courage, he was awarded the Distinguished Service Cross on December 10, 1941, the second highest award for heroism in the nation, by General Douglas MacArthur.