Gerald J. Kelly Jr

Date of Birth: 06/12/1945
Neighborhood: Logan
High School: Cardinal Dougherty High School
Street: N. Marvine Street
Branch of Service: Army
Rank: CAPT
Date of Casualty: 05/14/1969
Province of Casualty: Hua Nghia
Philadelphia Memorial Panel: Panel 16
Panel Row: 7

Click on the memorial panel below for a printable photo of the serviceman on this page.



Times spent with Jerry were always an adventure- you never were quite sure what was going to happen but you knew whatever it was it would be fun," recalls of friend who named her oldest son after him. Another friend remembers "playing Army" with Kelly as youngsters, and Kelly's lifelong preoccupation with becoming a soldier. An Army captain, be graduated from Cardinal Dougherty High School in 1963. He worked for Acme Supermarkets during his high school years, and for part of the four years he attended La Salle College. He was a member of the Alpha Epsilon Honor Society and the Delta Sigma P1 Fraternity at La Salle, where he earned a degree in accounting. He played clarinet in the ROTC band. Kelly entered the Army in June 1967 and, after serving a year in Germany, volunteered for duty in Vietnam. A forward observer, Kelly arrived in Southeast Asia on Christmas Eve 1968 and was assigned to Headquarters and Headquarters Battery of the 1st Battalion, 8th Artillery, 25th Infantry Division. He was 23 years old when he died on May 14, 1969. He was survived by his parents and a sister. Six weeks after receiving notice of his son's death, Kelly's father died. "Tommy" Keogh never held back his laughter. He reveled in card—playing and slapstick routines, and would repeat anything funny he heard on television to anyone who would listen. He enlisted in the Army in 1954 at the age of 17 and spent a year and a half in Germany. Three tours of duty in Vietnam followed for the aircraft maintenance repairman, the last with the 146th Aviation Company of the 224th Aviation Battalion. Keogh died in a truck accident on July 7, 1972. The 24-year-old staff sergeant died before he could see his newborn daughter. He was survived by his wife, two daughters, mother, a brother who served with the Special Forces in Vietnam, and two sisters.

Philadelphia Vietnam Veterans Memorial