EDWIN G. KELLY, LTJG, USN

Edwin Kelly '30

Date of birth: February 17, 1908

Date of death: March 27, 1935

Age: 27

Lucky Bag

From the 1930 Lucky Bag:

EDWIN GREEN KELLY

Texarkana, Texas

"Jocko" "Ned" "Tex" "Squat"

TEX hails from the "Lone Star" State but from first appearances one wouldn't believe it. His small stature is not typical of the big, bronze, Texan cowboy, and affords an excuse for one of his sobriquets. But, after talking to him, you can't mistake his Southern origin. Although four years have helped a lot to rid him of his dialect, he still persists to his pre-admission traits. You ought to hear him speak about Bal-ti-moah. Any study hour you can find him busily boning some kind of literature, non-academic. With it all he succeeds and that is a mark of the real savoir—to say nothing of his versatile "Dago."

Tex thinks he'd like to be an aviator—horses are too slow for him. To see him herd a drove of cattle in an airplane would be revolutionary

As for non-academics, Tex played at the backstop position on the varsity baseball squad his last two years. He's good at stopping 'em.

Slow and undisturbed, non-irritable and easy-going, Tex never seems to lose sight of the end in view—and now his ends in view are in the clouds. It is our fervent hope that he may some day attain them.

Class Baseball 3; Varsity Baseball Squad 2; 1 P.O.

EDWIN GREEN KELLY

Texarkana, Texas

"Jocko" "Ned" "Tex" "Squat"

TEX hails from the "Lone Star" State but from first appearances one wouldn't believe it. His small stature is not typical of the big, bronze, Texan cowboy, and affords an excuse for one of his sobriquets. But, after talking to him, you can't mistake his Southern origin. Although four years have helped a lot to rid him of his dialect, he still persists to his pre-admission traits. You ought to hear him speak about Bal-ti-moah. Any study hour you can find him busily boning some kind of literature, non-academic. With it all he succeeds and that is a mark of the real savoir—to say nothing of his versatile "Dago."

Tex thinks he'd like to be an aviator—horses are too slow for him. To see him herd a drove of cattle in an airplane would be revolutionary

As for non-academics, Tex played at the backstop position on the varsity baseball squad his last two years. He's good at stopping 'em.

Slow and undisturbed, non-irritable and easy-going, Tex never seems to lose sight of the end in view—and now his ends in view are in the clouds. It is our fervent hope that he may some day attain them.

Class Baseball 3; Varsity Baseball Squad 2; 1 P.O.

Loss

From Naval History and Heritage Command:

Lt. (jg) Edwin G. Kelly and Aviation Machinist's Mate 1 class Raymond Carrillo lost their lives when BM-2 from USS Lexington (CV-2) crashed during night bombing practice off La Jolla, Calif. 27 March 1935.

The 1934 Navy Directory lists him as a member of Bombing Squadron (VB) 1B.

Other Information

From researcher Kathy Franz:

Born in Longview, Edwin attended public schools in Marshall, Texas, and graduated from Texarkana High School. In Texarkana, the family lived on Hazel Street, one block from the Texas-Arkansas border. He attended Rice Institute in Houston for one year.
He married Virginia Love of San Diego. In 1940, she was in Honolulu with their son Edwin and her second husband Ensign Raymond Smith.
Edwin’s father Frank was a master mechanic of the Texas and Pacific Railway, mother Ada Crick (Green) and brothers Francis Stephen, Jr., and Jack.

Edwin’s brother, Jack, was a graduate of Texas A&M and was captured in the Philippines on the Batan peninsula. He survived the POW camps but was lost when the ship he was on, Oryoku Maru, was bombed by US Navy planes in December 1945.

He has a memory marker in Texas; he was survived by his wife and unborn son, Edwin Harrison.

Remembrances

From Steven Kelly, Edwin's eldest grandson, via email on February 13, 2019:

My grandfather's wife, Virginia, my grandmother, was five months pregnant with my father when my grandfather was killed night flight bomber training while stationed on the USS LEXINGTON (CV-2) 16 miles off of La Jolla. My father, Edwin Harrison Kelly was born 5 months after the crash on July 24, 1935. The only thing recovered from the crash was the tail wheel of the Martin BM-2.
My grandmother remarried 3 years later to another Navy Aviator, Raymond Lee Smith and then along came WWII... my father attended 13 different schools while Commander Smith finished his Navy career in the 1950's.
I have one brother named Michael Edwin Kelly.
My grandmother used to say that my grandfather, “Jock”/Edwin Green Kelly, was a very nice man, very quiet and smart. Unfortunately their relationship was prematurely cut short because of the night flight dive bomber training accident. She also used to say that they only knew each other for such a short time and that it was painful for her to talk about her first husband.
I am unable to tell any stories about him. I am so sorry that I cannot tell you anything more about my grandfather. If it’s any help my grandmother used to say that I reminded her of him at times... but not really if that makes sense. Both my father and apparently my grandfather Edwin Green Kelly were quiet men, introverts complemented with high intellect.
Once I was old enough to understand my grandmothers pain associated with my real grandfathers death I quit asking about my real grandfather.
My father was in the NROTC at USC. He went on to attain a commission in the Navy. Once deployed at sea he would become deathly sea sick. He had to be medevaced multiple times from sea to shore and that pretty much closed the book on my father's Navy career.
I wish I could tell you stories about my grandfather. My father never talked about his father, probably because he did not know any stories. Either that or he just kept them to himself because it hurt him.

Navy Directories & Officer Registers

The "Register of Commissioned and Warrant Officers of the United States Navy and Marine Corps" was published annually from 1815 through at least the 1970s; it provided rank, command or station, and occasionally billet until the beginning of World War II when command/station was no longer included. Scanned copies were reviewed and data entered from the mid-1840s through 1922, when more-frequent Navy Directories were available.

The Navy Directory was a publication that provided information on the command, billet, and rank of every active and retired naval officer. Single editions have been found online from January 1915 and March 1918, and then from three to six editions per year from 1923 through 1940; the final edition is from April 1941.

The entries in both series of documents are sometimes cryptic and confusing. They are often inconsistent, even within an edition, with the name of commands; this is especially true for aviation squadrons in the 1920s and early 1930s.

Alumni listed at the same command may or may not have had significant interactions; they could have shared a stateroom or workspace, stood many hours of watch together… or, especially at the larger commands, they might not have known each other at all. The information provides the opportunity to draw connections that are otherwise invisible, though, and gives a fuller view of the professional experiences of these alumni in Memorial Hall.

October 1930

Ensign, USS Oklahoma

Others at this command:

ENS Russell Ross '30

ENS Philip Smith, Jr. '30

ENS Volckert Douw '30

January 1931

Ensign, USS Oklahoma

Others at this command:

ENS Russell Ross '30

ENS Philip Smith, Jr. '30

ENS Volckert Douw '30

October 1931

Ensign, under instruction, Naval Air Station Pensacola, Florida

Others at this command:

October 1932

Ensign, Torpedo Squadron (VT) 1B, USS Lexington

Others at or embarked at USS Lexington:

LCDR Henry Mullinnix '16 (Aircraft Squadrons)
LT William Sample '19 (Aircraft Squadrons)
LT Harry Brandenburger '21 (USS Lexington)
LT Edwin Crouch '21 (USS Lexington)
LT John Jones '21 (Aircraft Squadrons)
LT William Ault '22 (Torpedo and Bombing Squadron (VT) 1S)
LTjg Eugene Lindsey '27 (USS Lexington)
LTjg Henry Twohy '29 (Fighting Plane Squadron (VF) 5S)

ENS John Yoho '29 (Scouting Plane Squadron (VS) 3S)
ENS Lance Massey '30 (Scouting Plane Squadron (VS) 3S)
ENS Walter Bailey '31 (USS Lexington)
ENS Eugene Lytle, Jr. '31 (USS Lexington)
ENS John Fairbanks, Jr. '32 (USS Lexington)
ENS Daniel Gothie '32 (USS Lexington)
ENS Albert Major, Jr. '32 (USS Lexington)
ENS William Thorn '32 (USS Lexington)

January 1933

Ensign, Torpedo Squadron (VT) 1B, USS Lexington

Others at or embarked at USS Lexington:

LCDR Henry Mullinnix '16 (Aircraft Squadrons)
LT William Sample '19 (Aircraft Squadrons)
LT Harry Brandenburger '21 (USS Lexington)
LT Edwin Crouch '21 (USS Lexington)
LT John Jones '21 (Aircraft Squadrons)
LT William Ault '22 (Torpedo and Bombing Squadron (VT) 1S)
LTjg Eugene Lindsey '27 (USS Lexington)
LTjg Henry Twohy '29 (Fighting Plane Squadron (VF) 5S)
ENS John Yoho '29 (Scouting Plane Squadron (VS) 3S)

ENS Victor Gaulin '30 (Scouting Plane Squadron (VS) 3S)
ENS Lance Massey '30 (Scouting Plane Squadron (VS) 3S)
ENS Walter Bailey '31 (USS Lexington)
ENS Eugene Lytle, Jr. '31 (USS Lexington)
ENS John Fairbanks, Jr. '32 (USS Lexington)
ENS Daniel Gothie '32 (USS Lexington)
ENS Albert Major, Jr. '32 (USS Lexington)
ENS William Thorn '32 (USS Lexington)

April 1933

Ensign, Torpedo Squadron (VT) 1B, USS Lexington

Others at or embarked at USS Lexington:

CDR Henry Cecil '10 (USS Lexington)
LT Harry Brandenburger '21 (USS Lexington)
LT Edwin Crouch '21 (USS Lexington)
LT William Ault '22 (Torpedo and Bombing Squadron (VT) 1S)
LTjg Arthur Farrell '25 (Fighting Plane Squadron (VF) 5B)
LTjg Eugene Lindsey '27 (USS Lexington)
LTjg Henry Twohy '29 (Fighting Plane Squadron (VF) 5B)
ENS John Yoho '29 (Scouting Plane Squadron (VS) 3B)

ENS Victor Gaulin '30 (Scouting Plane Squadron (VS) 3B)
ENS Lance Massey '30 (Scouting Plane Squadron (VS) 3B)
ENS Walter Bailey '31 (USS Lexington)
ENS John Fairbanks, Jr. '32 (USS Lexington)
ENS Daniel Gothie '32 (USS Lexington)
ENS Albert Major, Jr. '32 (USS Lexington)
ENS William Thorn '32 (USS Lexington)

July 1933

Ensign, Torpedo Squadron (VT) 1B, USS Lexington

Others at or embarked at USS Lexington:

LCDR Ryland Tisdale '15 (USS Lexington)
LTjg James McDonough '24 (Fighting Plane Squadron (VF) 5B)
LTjg Arthur Farrell '25 (Fighting Plane Squadron (VF) 5B)
LTjg Henry Twohy '29 (Fighting Plane Squadron (VF) 5B)
ENS John Yoho '29 (Scouting Plane Squadron (VS) 3B)
ENS Victor Gaulin '30 (Scouting Plane Squadron (VS) 3B)

ENS Lance Massey '30 (Scouting Plane Squadron (VS) 3B)
LTjg Charles Ostrom '30 (Scouting Plane Squadron (VS) 3B)
ENS John Fairbanks, Jr. '32 (USS Lexington)
ENS Daniel Gothie '32 (USS Lexington)
ENS William Thorn '32 (USS Lexington)

October 1933

Ensign, Torpedo Squadron (VT) 1B, USS Lexington

Others at or embarked at USS Lexington:

LCDR Ryland Tisdale '15 (USS Lexington)
LTjg James McDonough '24 (Fighting Plane Squadron (VF) 5B)
LTjg Arthur Farrell '25 (Fighting Plane Squadron (VF) 5B)
LTjg Henry Twohy '29 (Fighting Plane Squadron (VF) 5B)
LTjg John Yoho '29 (Scouting Plane Squadron (VS) 3B)
ENS Victor Gaulin '30 (Scouting Plane Squadron (VS) 3B)

ENS Lance Massey '30 (Scouting Plane Squadron (VS) 3B)
LTjg Charles Ostrom '30 (Scouting Plane Squadron (VS) 3B)
ENS John Fairbanks, Jr. '32 (USS Lexington)
ENS Daniel Gothie '32 (USS Lexington)
ENS William Thorn '32 (USS Lexington)

April 1934

Ensign, Torpedo Squadron (VT) 1B, USS Lexington

Others at or embarked at USS Lexington:

LCDR Ryland Tisdale '15 (USS Lexington)
LTjg James McDonough '24 (Fighting Plane Squadron (VF) 5B)
LTjg Arthur Farrell '25 (Fighting Plane Squadron (VF) 5B)
LTjg Henry Twohy '29 (Fighting Plane Squadron (VF) 5B)
LTjg John Yoho '29 (Scouting Plane Squadron (VS) 3B)

LTjg Victor Gaulin '30 (Scouting Plane Squadron (VS) 3B)
ENS Lance Massey '30 (Scouting Plane Squadron (VS) 3B)
ENS Daniel Gothie '32 (USS Lexington)
ENS William Thorn '32 (USS Lexington)

July 1934

Lieutenant (j.g.), Bombing Plane Squadron (VB) 1B, USS Lexington

Others at or embarked at USS Lexington:

LCDR Ryland Tisdale '15 (USS Lexington)
LCDR William Sample '19 (Fighting Plane Squadron (VF) 5B)
LT James Carney '21 (USS Lexington)
LTjg Walter Dey '24 (Fighting Plane Squadron (VF) 5B)
LTjg James McDonough '24 (Fighting Plane Squadron (VF) 5B)

LTjg Arthur Farrell '25 (Fighting Plane Squadron (VF) 5B)
LTjg Victor Gaulin '30 (Scouting Plane Squadron (VS) 3B)
LTjg Lance Massey '30 (USS Lexington)
ENS Daniel Gothie '32 (USS Lexington)
ENS Edward Worthington '34 (USS Lexington)

October 1934

Lieutenant (j.g.), Bombing Plane Squadron (VB) 1B, USS Lexington

Others at this command:

LTjg Baylies Clark '30

Others at or embarked at USS Lexington:

LCDR Ryland Tisdale '15 (USS Lexington)
LCDR William Sample '19 (Fighting Plane Squadron (VF) 5B)
LT James Carney '21 (USS Lexington)
LTjg Walter Dey '24 (Fighting Plane Squadron (VF) 5B)
LTjg James McDonough '24 (Fighting Plane Squadron (VF) 5B)
LTjg Arthur Farrell '25 (Fighting Plane Squadron (VF) 5B)

LTjg Victor Gaulin '30 (Scouting Plane Squadron (VS) 3B)
LTjg Lance Massey '30 (USS Lexington)
ENS Philip Ashworth '31 (Scouting Plane Squadron (VS) 3B)
LTjg Eugene Lytle, Jr. '31 (Fighting Plane Squadron (VF) 5B)
ENS Daniel Gothie '32 (USS Lexington)
ENS Edward Worthington '34 (USS Lexington)

January 1935

Lieutenant (j.g.), Bombing Plane Squadron (VB) 1B, USS Lexington

Others at this command:

LTjg Baylies Clark '30

Others at or embarked at USS Lexington:

LCDR William Sample '19 (Fighting Plane Squadron (VF) 5B)
LT William Eaton '21 (USS Lexington)
LT James Carney '21 (USS Lexington)
LTjg Walter Dey '24 (Fighting Plane Squadron (VF) 5B)
LTjg James McDonough '24 (Fighting Plane Squadron (VF) 5B)
LTjg Arthur Farrell '25 (Fighting Plane Squadron (VF) 5B)

LTjg Victor Gaulin '30 (Scouting Plane Squadron (VS) 3B)
LTjg Lance Massey '30 (USS Lexington)
ENS Philip Ashworth '31 (Scouting Plane Squadron (VS) 3B)
LTjg Eugene Lytle, Jr. '31 (Fighting Plane Squadron (VF) 5B)
ENS Daniel Gothie '32 (USS Lexington)
ENS Edward Worthington '34 (USS Lexington)

Class of 1930

Edwin is one of 42 members of the Class of 1930 on Virtual Memorial Hall.

← John Burgess '30

Robert Coates '30 →

The "category" links below lead to lists of related Honorees; use them to explore further the service and sacrifice of alumni in Memorial Hall.

EDWIN G. KELLY, LTJG, USN

Edwin Kelly '30

Lucky Bag

EDWIN GREEN KELLY

EDWIN GREEN KELLY

Loss

Other Information

Remembrances

Navy Directories & Officer Registers

October 1930

January 1931

April 1931

July 1931

October 1931

January 1932

April 1932

October 1932

January 1933

April 1933

July 1933

October 1933

April 1934

July 1934

October 1934

January 1935