Thomas G Kelley
Thomas was born on the 13th of May 1939, in Boston, Massachusetts, and his father was a teacher and school principal. Thomas graduated from Boston College High School in 1956 and from College of the Holy Cross in 1960, and soon after joined the US Navy through their Officer Candidate School program. After three assignments aboard ships, he volunteered to deploy to the Republic of Vietnam and it was his actions on the 15th of June 1969, that would later earn him the Medal of Honor. The citation reads:
For conspicuous gallantry and intrepidity at the risk of his life above and beyond the call of duty in the afternoon while serving as commander of River Assault Division 152 during combat operations against enemy aggressor forces. Lt. Comdr. (then Lt.) Kelley was in charge of a column of eight river assault craft which were extracting one company of U.S. Army infantry troops on the east bank of the Ong Muong Canal in Kien Hoa Province, when one of the armored troop carriers reported a mechanical failure of a loading ramp. At approximately the same time, Viet Cong forces opened fire from the opposite bank of the canal. After issuing orders for the crippled troop carrier to raise its ramp manually, and for the remaining boats to form a protective cordon around the disabled craft, Lt. Comdr. Kelley, realizing the extreme danger to his column and its inability to clear the ambush site until the crippled unit was repaired, boldly maneuvered the monitor in which he was embarked to the exposed side of the protective cordon in direct line with the enemy's fire, and ordered the monitor to commence firing. Suddenly, an enemy rocket scored a direct hit on the coxswain's flat, the shell penetrating the thick armor plate, and the explosion spraying shrapnel in all directions. Sustaining serious head wounds from the blast, which hurled him to the deck of the monitor, Lt. Comdr. Kelley disregarded his severe injuries and attempted to continue directing the other boats. Although unable to move from the deck or to speak clearly into the radio, he succeeded in relaying his commands through one of his men until the enemy attack was silenced and the boats were able to move to an area of safety. Lt. Comdr. Kelley's brilliant leadership, bold initiative, and resolute determination served to inspire his men and provide the impetus needed to carry out the mission after he was medically evacuated by helicopter. His extraordinary courage under fire and his selfless devotion to duty sustain and enhance the finest traditions of the U.S. Naval Service.
One of the serious head wounds mentioned in the citation was the loss of Thomas’s right eye. The Navy deemed him unfit for service, but he fought to remain on active duty, which he did. Thomas received the Medal of Honor from President Nixon in a ceremony at the White House on the 14th of May 1970. He went on to serve as the executive officer of the USS Sample and then as the commanding officer of the USS Lang. In 1990, Thomas retired from the Navy after 30 years of service, including serving as chief of staff for the commander of US Naval Forces in Korea and as the director of legislation in the Bureau of Naval Personnel.
Thomas continued to serve the military and veteran community as a civilian, working for the Department of Defense and then as the commission of the Massachusetts Department of Veterans’ Services. Once appointed secretary of the department in 2003, he created programs for the new GWOT veterans returning with traumatic brain injuries. He officially retired from public service in January of 2011, but still found ways to give back. He served as the president of the Medal of Honor Society, spoke at schools, provided meals at s homeless shelter, ran a veterans’ ministry at church, mentored at Boston College High School, and served on the Army’s Arlington National Cemetery Advisory Committee.
In 2016, Thomas and his wife Joan (a former Navy Commander) published a joint memoir about their lives and how they met called, “The Siren’s Call and Second Chances”. In January of 2023 it was announced that destroyer, that has not yet been finished being built, will be named in Thomas’s honor. Thomas Gunner Kelley is 84 years old as of this recording.
