Charles L. Kelly is a name you may not know. But you should.
He was a United States helicopter pilot during the war in Vietnam.
Specifically, he was a med-evac pilot.
His job was to fly in and pick up injured soldiers and bring them back to safety.
He earned himself the name "Crazy Kelly" for his willingness to fly into hostile situations to retrieve his fallen brothers in arms.
On July 1, 1964 when warned to return to base because the area he was trying to land in was too "hot", Kelly bravely uttered his last words:
"When I have your wounded."
A bullet entered through an open cargo door and pierced Kelly's heart.
When asked if the med-evac pilots were to continue to fly so aggressively, CPT. Patrick Henry Brady replied, "...we are going to keep flying exactly the way Kelly taught us to fly, without hesitation, anytime, anywhere."
Kelly's last words have been immortalized as the motto for the Army Aviation Med-evac teams.
Kelly lived by this motto:
“No compromise. No rationalization. No Hesitation. Fly the mission. Now!"
We can often times can get discouraged if we look at this life as a battle of good versus evil. Sometimes I watch the news and it feels like the evil side is winning. But this isn't a war of good versus evil necessarily. We already know which side is going to win in the end.
The war is, as Durrel A. Woolsey said, "...for the souls of men"
I want to be like Charles Kelly in this war for the souls of men. I want to have that same attitude of no hesitation. No compromise. No fear. And his sense of urgency.
With the change in the missionary program it has been so inspiring to see kids I used to babysit, boldly proclaim their faith in Jesus Christ on Facebook or their personal blogs. They have entered this war head on, with the same spirit that Kelly did in Vietnam. But as church members we can't leave it up to them. We have a responsibility to have that same fire inside us as well!
Elder M. Russel Ballard, when talking about the essential role of member missionaries, said, "...as we raise the level of expectation for the performance of our missionaries, we must also raise the level of expectation for the performance of all of the members of the Church in fulfilling our missionary duties." (Source)
One easy way is to create your own profile on Mormon.org!
You log in using your lds.org sign in and follow the steps to set up your profile!
It's that easy!
There are so many ways to share your profile as well.
I'm going to challenge myself to have a more Charles Kelly attitude when if comes to missionary work! It's important and I need to be better!
With the change in the missionary program it has been so inspiring to see kids I used to babysit, boldly proclaim their faith in Jesus Christ on Facebook or their personal blogs. They have entered this war head on, with the same spirit that Kelly did in Vietnam. But as church members we can't leave it up to them. We have a responsibility to have that same fire inside us as well!
Elder M. Russel Ballard, when talking about the essential role of member missionaries, said, "...as we raise the level of expectation for the performance of our missionaries, we must also raise the level of expectation for the performance of all of the members of the Church in fulfilling our missionary duties." (Source)
One easy way is to create your own profile on Mormon.org!
You log in using your lds.org sign in and follow the steps to set up your profile!
It's that easy!
There are so many ways to share your profile as well.
I'm going to challenge myself to have a more Charles Kelly attitude when if comes to missionary work! It's important and I need to be better!
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