10/26/2025
Sergeant Willard Douglas Kelly
A Company, 2nd Battalion, 16th Infantry Regiment, 1st Infantry Division (“The Big Red One”)
Light Weapons Infantryman
Born: October 24, 1947 – New York City, New York County, New York
Died in Service: February 12, 1970 – Phuoc Tuy Province, South Vietnam
He was a New Yorker through and through — born in the heart of the city, raised with the energy and resilience that defined a generation coming of age during war and upheaval. Sergeant Willard Douglas Kelly answered the call when his country needed him most, drafted through the Selective Service and joining the U.S. Army during the height of the Vietnam War.
He began his Vietnam tour on June 19, 1969, assigned as a Light Weapons Infantryman with A Company, 2nd Battalion, 16th Infantry Regiment, part of the legendary 1st Infantry Division — “The Big Red One.” His unit operated deep in Phuoc Tuy Province, where soldiers lived each day under the weight of uncertainty, exhaustion, and unrelenting danger.
On February 12, 1970, tragedy struck. Sergeant Kelly lost his life in what was officially recorded as a non-hostile, accident involving a Claymore Mine — a reminder that not every casualty of war comes from the enemy’s hand. The pressures of combat, the isolation of jungle warfare, and the toll of months in the field claimed countless lives in ways that statistics never capture.
He was awarded the Air Medal, recognizing his participation in aerial combat operations and the hazardous missions that defined infantry life in the mobile, helicopter-driven war of Vietnam.
He rests at Long Island National Cemetery in East Farmingdale, New York, among thousands of fellow veterans who gave their youth and peace of mind in service to their country. His name is engraved on the Vietnam Veterans Memorial Wall, Panel 13W, Line 1, in Washington, D.C.
Though his death was recorded as accidental, his service and sacrifice were no less honorable. He was a soldier who stood where he was sent, who carried the burdens of a distant war, and who is remembered today not by the manner of his passing, but by the life he gave in uniform.
From the streets of New York to the jungles of Phuoc Tuy, his courage endures — quiet, steady, and not forgotten.
