My Uncle Albert "John" Kelley was born May 15, 1920 at 162 Chelsea Place Cincinnati, Ohio (Sayler Park). John's parents were William E. Kelley and Elsie B. Kelley. Elsie's Great Grandfather was from Germany. John had two brothers William E. Kelley, Jr. who was 6 years older than John and James Robert Kelley who was only 2 years older.

John followed his two brothers to Sayler Park School and his brother Jim Kelley to Western Hills High School in Western Hills (Cincinnati) His brother William went to a High school down town Cincinnati. John was not married.

When John was 19-20 years old he learned to Parachute at a small airfield Bridgetown, Ohio, which is know part of Cincinnati.

John enlisted January 8, 1942 and went to Fort Bragg, NC. After being assigned to the Signal Corps, John decided to sign up for the Paratroopers ... In 1943, After training the outfit moved to Europe and arrived in North Ireland in December, 1943. The 507th was attached to the 82nd Airborne along with the 508th Parachute Infantry Regiment. The troops were stationed at Tollerton Hall a rather attractive minor stately home next to the ancient church of St. Peters in Tollerton Village. Still under the command of Colonel George V. Millett Jr, the 507th moved to Nottingham, England in March, 1944 to prepare for the Allied invasion of Europe.

While the troops were at Tollerton Hall, John met a young lady in the village of Plumtree, England, which was just about one mile from Tollerton. Her name was Joyce Richmond and at the time she worked at the Telephone Company. Her parents ran the Post Office in Plumtree. The men in his unit would take his place while he went to visit Joyce; he would also take her family real butter and her father boots. Her family had to hide the butter so that the authorities would not find it. The troops at Tollerton would take John's place on guard duty so that John was able to visit Joyce Richmond in Plumtree.

While the 504th was detached, the remainder of the 82nd had been pulled out of Italy in December 1943 and moved to the United Kingdom to prepare for the liberation of Europe. With two combat jumps under its belt, the 82nd Airborne Division was now ready for the most ambitious airborne operation of the war, Operation Neptune -the airborne invasion of Normandy. The operation was part of Operation OVERLORD, the amphibious assault on the northern coast of Nazi-occupied France.

In preparation for the operation, the division was reorganized. Two new parachute infantry regiments, John's 507th and the 508th, joined the division. However, due to its depleted state following the fighting in Italy, the 504th Parachute Infantry Regiment did not take part in the invasion.

The 507th PIR first saw combat during the Normandy invasion - 6 June 1944. The 507th and the 508th PIRs were to be dropped near the west bank of the Merderet River. The objectives of both regiments was to establish defensive positions in those areas and prepare to attack westward sealing off the Cotentin Peninsula.

In the predawn hours of D-Day the sporadic jump patterns of the 507th and 508th PIRs left troopers spread out over a twenty mile area. Some who overshot the Drop Zone (DZ) dropped into the Merderet River and its adjoining marshes. Many troopers who jumped with heavy equipment were unable to swim free and drowned. Others roamed the countryside until they encountered other units and joined their effort.

Throughout the confusion the indomitable spirit of the paratroopers in the days and weeks following D-Day enabled the 82nd Airborne to seize La Fiere bridge and push westward to cut off the Cotentin Penninsula. After 33 days of continuous combat the 82nd and 101st Airborne Divisions returned to England aboard LST's. John wasn't part of that group anymore ... He was resting in the temporary cemetery in Sainte-Mère-Eglise ... had been killed in action on June 15, 1944 in the small French Village La Bonneville, West of Sainte-Mère-Eglise. John's regiment suffered 192 casualties in combat on June 14th and 15th ... John Kelley was buried at Sainte-Mère-Eglise, May 17, 1944 Number 1 Carentan Plot E Row 2 Grave 33.

After having heard what happened to him John's girlfriend Joyce and John's parents exchanged letters ... This one is dated September 4, 1944 ... John's mother Elsie wrote to Joyce about her feelings and what happened to John ...

In November 1948 John's remains were shipped to his parents, accompanied by military escort by train. The train arrived in Cincinnati, Ohio at 11:20 am. Seifert Funeral Home picked up John's remains at the train station Cincinnati, Ohio. The funeral service was held on November 18, 1948 at 11:00 AM ... PVT Albert "John" Kelley was buried in Cleves, Ohio Maple Grove Cemetery with full military honors. Besides the awards mentioned above, John also received the Honorable Service Lapel Button, the WWII Victory Medal and the European African Middle Eastern Campaign Medal.