Robert Kelly (navy)
Encyclopedia
Captain Robert Boling Kelly (died 1989) was the executive officer of Motor Torpedo Boat Squadron 3 (RON 3) in World War 2, immortalized in the movie They Were Expendable
. Returned to the United States in May 1942. After three months in the hospital and a month at Melville
he was ordered to commission Motor Torpedo Boat Squadron Nine (RON 9). He spent the next eighteen months in Ceubal and front line action in the northern Solomon Islands
before returning to the US in May 1944. He was then assigned as the officer in charge of a PT shakedown in Miami. After six months there he was made the C.O. of a 2100 ton destroyer - USS Irwin - that was used in the Okinawa campaign and the occupation of Japan. USS Irwin returned to the US in November 1945 and was assigned to an inactive fleet. After three months of overhaul in Bremerton, Washington Kelly and the USS Irwin went to San Diego. After deactivating the USS Irwin, he was given an instructor position at the United States Naval Academy
(marine engineering). September of 46 he was on board the North Carolina as an instructor for the mid-shipman summer cruise.
RON 3 Squadron Executive Officer/PT 34 Skipper August 12, 1941-April 15, 1942
RON 9 Squadron Commander/PT 159 Skipper(only during pre deployment work ups ) November 10, 1942-January 12, 1944
MTB BASE GREEN ISLAND CO Jan-May(?) 1944
USS IRWIN (DD-794) Commanding Officer Jun 1945 - May 31, 1946
USS Atka (AGB-3) Commanding Officer 10 January 1950 - 1956 (Very strange history of this ship, Originally Commissioned as USCGC Southwind WAGB-280 15 July 1944 - 25 March 1945 .then Decommissioned Lend Lease 25 March 1945 - 10 January 1950 to Soviet Union as "Kaptian Belusov", then returned to USN commissioned as "USS Atka" on 1 October 1950, then transferred back to USCG as USCGC Southwind WAGB-280 again 1967-1974) .
USS Shenandoah (AD-26) Commanding Officer 3 September 1958 - 11 September 1959
He retired from the Navy as a Captain in 1961 and joined Martin Marietta's aerospace division. He later served as a counselor of vocational rehabilitation for the State of Maryland.
They Were Expendable
They Were Expendable is a 1945 American war film directed by John Ford and starring Robert Montgomery and John Wayne. The film is based on the book by William L. White, relating the story of the exploits of Motor Torpedo Boat Squadron Three, a PT boat unit defending the Philippines against Japanese...
. Returned to the United States in May 1942. After three months in the hospital and a month at Melville
Melville
-In Australia:*Melville, Western Australia - the suburb*City of Melville, Western Australia - the local government authority*Melville Island, Northern Territory in Australia-In Canada:*Melville, Saskatchewan*Melville, Ontario*Melville Peninsula, Nunavut...
he was ordered to commission Motor Torpedo Boat Squadron Nine (RON 9). He spent the next eighteen months in Ceubal and front line action in the northern Solomon Islands
Solomon Islands
Solomon Islands is a sovereign state in Oceania, east of Papua New Guinea, consisting of nearly one thousand islands. It covers a land mass of . The capital, Honiara, is located on the island of Guadalcanal...
before returning to the US in May 1944. He was then assigned as the officer in charge of a PT shakedown in Miami. After six months there he was made the C.O. of a 2100 ton destroyer - USS Irwin - that was used in the Okinawa campaign and the occupation of Japan. USS Irwin returned to the US in November 1945 and was assigned to an inactive fleet. After three months of overhaul in Bremerton, Washington Kelly and the USS Irwin went to San Diego. After deactivating the USS Irwin, he was given an instructor position at the United States Naval Academy
United States Naval Academy
The United States Naval Academy is a four-year coeducational federal service academy located in Annapolis, Maryland, United States...
(marine engineering). September of 46 he was on board the North Carolina as an instructor for the mid-shipman summer cruise.
Naval Service
PTC RON 1 Squadron Executive Officer/PTC 4 Skipper February 20-July 17, 1941RON 3 Squadron Executive Officer/PT 34 Skipper August 12, 1941-April 15, 1942
RON 9 Squadron Commander/PT 159 Skipper(only during pre deployment work ups ) November 10, 1942-January 12, 1944
MTB BASE GREEN ISLAND CO Jan-May(?) 1944
USS IRWIN (DD-794) Commanding Officer Jun 1945 - May 31, 1946
USS Atka (AGB-3) Commanding Officer 10 January 1950 - 1956 (Very strange history of this ship, Originally Commissioned as USCGC Southwind WAGB-280 15 July 1944 - 25 March 1945 .then Decommissioned Lend Lease 25 March 1945 - 10 January 1950 to Soviet Union as "Kaptian Belusov", then returned to USN commissioned as "USS Atka" on 1 October 1950, then transferred back to USCG as USCGC Southwind WAGB-280 again 1967-1974) .
USS Shenandoah (AD-26) Commanding Officer 3 September 1958 - 11 September 1959
He retired from the Navy as a Captain in 1961 and joined Martin Marietta's aerospace division. He later served as a counselor of vocational rehabilitation for the State of Maryland.