One, 1st Lt. Robert Michael Kelly, 29, was killed in Afghanistan in 2010 while leading … One, 1st Lt. Robert Michael Kelly, 29, was killed in Afghanistan in 2010 while leading a patrol in Sangin, at the time a hotly contested piece of terrain in Helmand province.At a time when the divide between the military and civilian world has never been greater, the words of Marine Gen. John Kelly have helped bridge the gap. The last three British battle groups that operated in Sangin each had 17, 30 and 22 killed over each of their six-month deployments.John Kelly served as the top Marine commander in Iraq in 2008 when he commanded the Marine force based in Anbar province. Gen. Eric Smith, who has served with Kelly. He was commissioned as an officer in late 2008.

We don't want your sympathy at all.

"I realized the question was not mine to ask or to answer," he said. Nov 9 2010. He was commissioned in the Marine Corps … Kelly's brother, John, is also a Marine officer who has served in Iraq.Sangin has always been known as a tough fight for units based there. The nation he served has honored us with promoting him posthumously to First Lieutenant of Marines. ""If anyone thinks you can somehow thank them for their service and not support the cause for which they fight –- America's survival -- then these people are lying to themselves and rationalizing away something in their own lives, but more importantly they are slighting our warriors and mocking their commitment to this nation," Kelly said.Since then, the elder Kelly has resisted media efforts to make the story about him or his loss. Michael Hardegree died in Iraq, Kelly's ability to make a major speech so soon after learning of his son's death was an inspiration.Kelly said he struggled with the question of whether any cause was noble enough to justify losing a son.A former enlisted infantryman, Kelly rose to a four-star rank over a nearly 40-year career leading Marines, including many months in combat. "It "would become one of the most memorable moments in the lives of everyone in the room," according to the organization's website.His words have resonated, touching on themes that rarely get a wide airing. Lieutenant General John F. Kelly, USMC delivered an extraordinary speech four days after his son, First Lieutenant Robert Michael Kelly, was killed in action in Sangin, Afghanistan.

We will likely have a memorial receiving at a yet to be designated funeral home on 21 Nov. It's our war and we can't run away from it." He was on his third combat tour, but his first as a U.S. Marine Corps infantry officer with Lima Company, 3rd Battalion, 5th Marines. "For most of us it would be years before we could do that," she said.In the speech, Kelly addressed a familiar theme: How only 1% of the nation has shouldered most of the burden of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan.Only days after he learned of his son's death, Kelly kept a commitment to give a speech to the Semper Fi Society of St. Louis in November 2010. 1stLt Robert Michael Kelly 5 September , 1981 – 8 November , 2010 Friends may visit the family at Arlington Funeral Home, 3901 North Fairfax Drive Arlington, Va 22203 (703) 522-1441 on Sunday, November 14, 2010 from 1400-1600. Robert Kelly, 29, was serving with the 3rd Battalion, 5th Marine Regiment, which has seen 14 of its troops killed during its short five- to six-week combat deployment in Afghanistan.

His talks have gone viral, earning him a broad following. 1st Lt. Robert M. Kelly, 29, of Tallahassee, Fla., died Nov. 9 while conducting combat operations in Helmand province, Afghanistan. Instead of running when it raced toward them, the Marines opened fire, saving 150 of their American and Iraqi colleagues inside a base.But he went on to say voicing support for the troops alone is insufficient, suggesting that those sentiments can sometimes bleed into condescension.Added Kelly: "It's not Bush's war. Robert Michael. "For Cindy Kruger, whose son Sgt. We will bury our son, now 1stLt Robert Michael Kelly USMC, in Arlington National Cemetery on 22 Nov. Services will commence at 1245 at Fort Myers. The answer was his to give. "We who have served and are serving refuse their sympathy.