Austin West Kelly was born in 1921 to Mr. and Mrs. Austin W. Kelly of Westfield, N.J. He attended Trinity Grammar School in Westfield, Saint Peter’s Prep in Jersey City and Saint Peter’s College, where he was active in the Glee Club and Gannon Debate Society. Upon graduating in spring 1942, he married Helen Stanton Duggan of Plainfield, N.J. He enrolled as a naval aviation cadet and took basic training at Floyd Bennett Field, Long Island. Kelly received further training at Jacksonville, Florida, and was commissioned with his wings in the United States Naval Reserve on December 22, 1942. After an operations course at Fort Lauderdale, he was shifted to San Diego and was assigned to duty in the Southwest Pacific in early April 1943. He was a member of the Navy Torpedo Squadron 27 (VT-27) aboard the USS Suwannee in the Pacific area.

As a naval aviator, Kelly flew a TBF Avenger, which was the Navy’s primary torpedo bomber from 1942 through the end of the war. He was a member of the Navy Torpedo Squadron 27 (VT 27) aboard the USS Suwannee in the Pacific area. On Friday, May 21, 1943, Kelly was killed when his TBF-7 crashed into the sea during glide bombing practice. He was 21 years old and one of four brothers in the U.S. Armed Forces. The casualty report shows “Dead, Plane Crash, Non-Battle Line of Duty May 21, 1943.”

Ensign Kelly was on a practice glide bombing run from 7,000-feet at a fairly steep angle. He attempted to pull out at 3,000-feet, but was unable to and crashed into the ocean. The record shows that his body was not recovered. Kelly was awarded the American Campaign Medal, the Asiatic-Pacific Campaign Medal and the WWII Victory Medal.

On September 7, 1943, Kelly’s widow delivered twins, a boy and a girl. They were christened Austin West Kelly III and Helen Duggan Kelly. Their godparents were Mr. and Mrs. James C.G. Conniff in accordance with the expressed wishes of Kelly.

Fervent tribute was paid to Ensign Kelly by Conniff, his lifelong friend and fellow alumnus from Saint Peter’s College, in the Catholic Digest, condensed from the Victorian in Lackawanna, New York. Conniff calls Kelly “one of the best friends God blessed me with, one of the finest men I ever knew.” Conniff remembers him as “Moose Kelly” from College and recalls the chapel where they prayed.

Conniff concludes, “Bravely, gloriously, in the full power of his youth, he gave away his life in the performance of his duty and in the service of his country…He is gone as he would have preferred to have gone, with his boots on. Though my worldly salute to him must end, though with rue my heart is laden, he shall not altogether die, nor shall our friendship pass. For in his Lord he lives forever, in his friends until they rejoin him.”