Colin Kelly Colin Purdie Kelly , Jr . ( ; July 11 , 1915 – December 10 , 1941 ) was a World War II B - 17 Flying Fortress pilot who flew bombing runs against the Japanese navy in the first days after the Pearl Harbor attack . He is remembered as one of the first heroes of the war for sacrificing his own life to save his crew when his plane became the first American B - 17 to be shot down in combat . Life . Kelly was born in Madison , Florida in 1915 and graduated from high school there in 1932 . He went on to West Point in 1933 , graduated in the Class of 1937 , and was assigned to a B - 17 bomber group . He was the first Army officer to fly the Boeing Flying Fortress in the Far East . Death . On December 10 , 1941 , Kelly ' s B - 17C , USAAF " 40 - 2045 " , ( 19th BG / 30th BS ) , took off from Clark Field in the Philippines . During its bombing run , Kelly ' s plane hit the Japanese cruiser " Natori " . On its return flight , the bomber came under attack by Zeros from the Tainan Air Group , one of which was piloted by famed Japanese flying ace Saburo Sakai . Kelly stayed at the controls of the badly - damaged aircraft so that the surviving crew members could bail out . Just as he and his co - pilot attempted to escape , the plane exploded , ejecting both men . Kelly ' s co - pilot , Lieutenant Donald Robins , was able to open his parachute in time . Kelly hit the ground , parachute unopened . Early reports misidentified the Japanese heavy cruiser " Ashigara " , which was present , as the battleship " Haruna " , which was not , and also mistakenly reported that Kelly had crashed his plane into the smokestack of " Haruna " , becoming the first suicide pilot of the war . Many highly reputable sources , including " Webster ' s New Biographical Dictionary " , still continue to report , though , that Kelly bombed and sank the Japanese battleship " Haruna " and not the cruiser " Natori " or the " Ashigara " and that the date of the sinking was December 9 , 1941 and not December 10 , 1941 . Honors . For his extraordinary heroism and selfless bravery , Kelly was posthumously awarded the Distinguished Service Cross . Kelly had earlier in peace time also been awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross . Aviation artist Robert Taylor painted a picture entitled " The Legend of Colin Kelly . " President Franklin D . Roosevelt wrote a letter , " To the President of the United States of America in 1956 " asking for an appointment for Kelly ' s infant son . In 1959 , President Dwight D . Eisenhower honored the request appointed Colin P . Kelly , III graduated in 1963 from West Point . Colin P . Kelly Jr . Street in San Francisco , near AT & T Park , is named in his honor in 1942 . The street had previously been named Japan Street . Colin Kelly Dr . in Dayton , OH is one of many streets near Wright Patterson Air Force Base named to honor Air Force heroes . Colin Kelly Drive in Forest Acres , SC is also named in his honor . The patriotic song " There ' s a Star - Spangled Banner Waving Somewhere " by Paul Roberts and Shelby Darnell ( recorded by Gene Autry ) places Colin Kelly alongside other legendary Americans in the line " I ' ll see Lincoln , Custer , Washington and Perry , / Nathan Hale and Colin Kelly too " . The " Four Freedoms Monument " and Colin Kelly Highway , both in Madison , Florida , are dedicated in his honor . Colin Kelly Middle School in Eugene , Oregon was named in his honor in 1945 by the school ' s first students , who preferred an " ordinary Joe " as a namesake , rather than prestigious military or political figures . The school colors are kelly green and white , and the nickname is " Bombers . "