Daniel Martin Kelley

  Killed In Action - Body Not Recovered    

SUMMARY

Name: Daniel Martin Kelley Rank/Branch: E4/US Army Unit: Company D, 5th Btn, 7th Cavalry, 1st Cavalry Division Date of Birth:  22 June 1947 Home City of Record: Dorchester MA Date of Loss: 25 April 1968 Country of Loss: South Vietnam Loss Coordinates: 162133N 1070641E Status (in 1973): Killed/Body Not Recovered Category: 2 Aircraft/Vehicle/Ground: Ground Other Personnel in Incident: Hubia J. Guillory; David L. Scott (missing) REMARKS: KIA AMBUSH - REMAINS LEFT BEHIND

SYNOPSIS

SYNOPSIS: On April 28, 1968, SP4 Kelley, PFC Guillory and SP4 Scott were on a search and clear mission in the vicinity of Thua Thien Province, South Vietnam.  They were riflemen in Company D, 5th Battalion, 7th Cavalry, 1st Cavalry Division.   The unit was ambushed by an enemy force. Kelley was shot in the neck and died.   Scott was shot in the chest, and Guillory was shot and then hand grenades were thrown within 3-4 feet of him.  The three were observed for a minimum of two hours, and no signs of life were detected.   Because of heavy fire, the unit broke into small groups in order to escape and evade, and had to leave their casualties behind.   A search of the area was attempted three times, but could not be completed because of hostile action. In 1985, a private citizen obtained a lengthy document describing in great detail a prison camp near Hue, South Vietnam, and identified a number of Americans he had seen held their by their photographs.   Some of them he positively identified, and another list he considered "possible".   A number of the Americans he identified had already been released from Vietnam in 1973.  Daniel Martin Kelley was one of the names on the "possible" list. Guillory, Kelley and Scott are listed with honor among the missing because no remains were recovered.   Despite the possible identification of the Vietnamese source of Kelley's photo, their cases seem quite clear.   For others who are listed missing, resolution is not as simple.   Thousands of reports such as the one received in 1985 have surfaced since the end of the war, convincing many authorities that hundreds of Americans were left behind alive.   There can be no "Peace With Honor" as long as our men are held in enemy hands.