Met with a 101st Airborne vet today Earl Kelly 502 PIR

[Mark C.]

Met this true American hero today,and it didnt disappoint.Mr Kelly enlisted in the Army in 1942 at age 18 ,cant remember wher he was assigned but volunteered for Airborne because in his words it was $50 dollars extra pat!Just like the commentary in BOB.Anyway he was there for The jump into Normandy and fought at Caretaan and St Lo and jumped in Market Garden and fought in the Bulge.I was invited back anytime he said and he was a gracious host.A few of the things he told me that stood out were.when i asked him what he thought of the FJ and SS comparatively he said the FJ was a much more forminable opponent and didnt have the same feeling about the SS as a fighting unit!!I said was the Holland celabration as fun as it looked in BOB and it must have been a nice but short lived break after all they had already been through,I said those people looked like they loved you guys and he gave me a nudge and said Hell yeah they loved us and we loved them back!!! We both laughed and he said Im serious and I said i believe you it just struck me as funny the way you put it.I will go back and add to this story.It was a honor and privilege to met this man.He will be 90 in Feb and is in great shape with a suprisingly firm handshake.Without sounding too wierd,I cant quite put my finger on it but he is like no other man I have talked to albeit for the 1 1/2 hour I spoke with him.The way he spoke and carried himself was with a confidence that was unmistakable but not cocky or full of bravado.Mr. Kelly is a humble man and once again a hero in my eyes,and I cant wait to talk to him again.

[Mark C.]

forgot to mention this,he also said he sent many things back among them a one armed General surrendered his sword to I think his C.O and he wound up with it and he drove Eva Brauns car and carved his initials in the glove box!!!.Also said he brought back a bag full of helmets,sadly all were given away thru the years ,still has some things and i will try to get pics when I go back.Jump jacket is a replacement,left the original in the basement and "it fell apart".All the medals,patches and jump wings with 3 stars are the real deal.

[Matt M]

Its great when you get to meet these guys
Looks pretty good too, you meant he is about to be 80 right?

Matt

Met this true American hero today,and it didnt disappoint.Mr Kelly enlisted in the Army in 1942 at age 18 ,cant remember wher he was assigned but volunteered for Airborne because in his words it was $50 dollars extra pat!Just like the commentary in BOB.Anyway he was there for The jump into Normandy and fought at Caretaan and St Lo and jumped in Market Garden and fought in the Bulge.I was invited back anytime he said and he was a gracious host.A few of the things he told me that stood out were.when i asked him what he thought of the FJ and SS comparatively he said the FJ was a much more forminable opponent and didnt have the same feeling about the SS as a fighting unit!!I said was the Holland celabration as fun as it looked in BOB and it must have been a nice but short lived break after all they had already been through,I said those people looked like they loved you guys and he gave me a nudge and said Hell yeah they loved us and we loved them back!!! We both laughed and he said Im serious and I said i believe you it just struck me as funny the way you put it.I will go back and add to this story.It was a honor and privilege to met this man.He will be 90 in Feb and is in great shape with a suprisingly firm handshake.Without sounding too wierd,I cant quite put my finger on it but he is like no other man I have talked to albeit for the 1 1/2 hour I spoke with him.The way he spoke and carried himself was with a confidence that was unmistakable but not cocky or full of bravado.Mr. Kelly is a humble man and once again a hero in my eyes,and I cant wait to talk to him again.

[Mark C.]

Its great when you get to meet these guys
Looks pretty good too, you meant he is about to be 80 right?

Matt

No ,he said he will be 90 in Feb,when i showed up his sister in law said he was on his daily 1 mile walk.Maybe I'll start doing that now.

[Don D.]

Looking forward to hearing more from him. Thanks for posting.

[Bryant U.]

What a great experience that must have been. Thanks for sharing.

-Bryant

[Paul R.]

Wow! thanks for sharing you photo and his story.

[The Jackal]

Great story, thank you for sharing.

Jac

PS: greatings from Holland

[3cavman]

True american hero

[Mark C.]

True american hero

no doubt about it

[tampalam]

Outstanding trooper! Airborne!

[tampalam]

If you can get Mr. Kelly to let you copy a period photo of him in uniform or in theater, it woud be fantastic. What an incredible opportunity to touch living history. Thank Mr. Kelly on our behalf for his incredible service to our nation.

[Mark C.]

will do,and I will try to get some pics with some of his war trophies also.

[Mark C.]

Hey guys this is really cool ,check it out.This is Earl the guy I wrote about in this post.He was interviewed by our local news.The Para helmet they show in the segment I gave to him about 3 weeks before this was shot.I had a couple WW 2 shells with korean liners that I bought a while ago and painted his units insignia on it and gave it to him to put in his room.We talked for abpout an hour and I also broght some of my guns and helmets to share with him.This was very interesting also I brought 2 Bando books and he really got a kick out of them,he was naming guys off left and right and gave me some insight into them that wasn't in the books btw he is mentionesd by name in them also.We went back tio the room you see in the inteview and he pulled out a 48 star flag folded up and handed it to me and said I want you to have this.he told me he bought it in the States before he deployed and they flew it in Normandy ,Holland and the Bulge.I really wanted it but I refused.Didn't want him to think I gave him the helmet to get something in return.My time with him was reward enough I told him and the small gift I gave him was out of respect and appreciation for what he did.Here is the link to the storyhttp://www.foxbaltimore.com/newsroom/features/cover_story/videos/vid_547.shtml#.Tge9NtxcdpI.email

[Mark C.]

Can't get this to link if anyone can assist,I did a Google search on Fox 45 Baltimore D Day to find this,thanks