THE INDEPENDENT: May 29, 2025 by Ruth Roberts Livermore High Graduate Receives Full Military Honors After Eight Decades LIVERMORE — On March 11, 1944, U.S. Army 2nd Lt. Thomas V. Kelly Jr., a 22-year-old Livermore resident and World War II bombardier, was shot down over Hansa Bay, Papua New Guinea. He and 10 other crew members […]
Author: montevistamemorialgardens
A Memorial Day homecoming decades in the making
NBC NIGHTLY NEWS: May 26, 2025 by Aaron Gilchrist On this Memorial Day, a homecoming for one of America’s fallen heroes more than 80 years in the making. Link to Broadcast
WWII bomber crash left 11 dead and ‘non-recoverable.’ 4 are finally coming home
AP – US NEWS: May 26, 2025 BY MICHAEL HILL WAPPINGERS FALLS, N.Y. (AP) — As the World War II bomber Heaven Can Wait was hit by enemy fire off the Pacific island of New Guinea on March 11, 1944, the co-pilot managed a final salute to flyers in an adjacent plane before crashing into […]
81 years after he died in World War II, a young aviator comes home
Washington Post: RetropolisBy Michael E. Ruane: Updated May 26, 2025 2nd Lt. Thomas V. Kelly Jr. was buried beside his parents and sister in the California town he left in1943. For many years after 2nd Lt. Thomas V. Kelly Jr. was killed in World War II, his parents kept his empty bedroom like a shrine […]
Cherished flag thought lost returns to extended family of Livermore WWII airman shot down
CBS NEWS – EAST BAY NEWS: By Brian Hackney, Molly McCrea Updated on: May 25, 2025 / 3:44 PM PDT / CBS San Francisco More than 81 years after his plane was shot down during WWII, and proclaimed lost forever, the remains of San Francisco Bay Area native 2nd Lt. Thomas Kelly were found, positively identified, and are now finally […]
WWII airman’s remains returned home to Livermore, 81 years later
FOX 2 – KTVU: May 26, 2025 By John KrinjakPublished May 25, 2025 8:18pm PDT The Brief Full Story
Family welcomes home Livermore World War II vet who died 81 years ago: ‘This is where you belong’
ABC 7 NEWS – SOCIETY: May 24, 2025 LIVERMORE, Calif. (KGO) — He served in WWII. And on Friday, 81 years later, he finally returned home. “When there is an MIA, Missing In Action, there is no body coming home to bury. It caused our family to believe he was dead. But then there was bit […]
WWII Repatriation—–2nd Lt. Thomas Kelly, US Army Air Forces
Honoring Our Fallen: YouTube May 23, 2025 U.S. Army Air Forces 2nd Lt. Thomas V. Kelly Jr., 21, of Livermore, California, killed during World War II, was accounted for on Sept. 25, 2024. In March 1944, Kelly was assigned to the 320th Bombardment Squadron, 90th Bombardment Group, 5th Air Force, and deployed in present day […]
New Jewish cemetery opens in Livermore after a decade of hurdles
BY DAN PINE | MARCH 13, 2025 Ron Kahn is a patient man. It took more than a decade of bureaucratic mishegas to realize his vision of providing a vital service to the Jewish community where he lives. But Magen David, touted as the first new Jewish cemetery in Alameda County in 100 years, is finally open. Magen David’s […]
Lt. Thomas V. Kelly Jr. Returns Home to Livermore, CA After 81 Years
Livermore, California — This Memorial Day weekend, Livermore will honor 2nd Lt. Thomas V. Kelly Jr., a native son and WWII bombardier missing since 1944. Born in 1923, baptized at St. Michael Catholic Church, and a Livermore High School graduate, Kelly served in the 90th Bombardment Group. His B-24 was shot down over Papua New Guinea […]