He accepted a commission as a second lieutenant in the United States Army Reserve on 25 October 1951 and was ordered to active duty—the customary career path for a Medical Service Corps Officer at the time.

Since the countryside then was dry and dusty, helicopter pickups in the fields often blew dust, dirt, blankets, and shelter halves all over the men on the ground.

"[20] An example of the poor quality of VNAF medical evacuation occurred in late October 1963, when the ARVN 2d Battalion, 14th Regiment, conducted Operation LONG HUU II near O Lac in the Delta.

[20] Detachment A in Soc Trang lived in crude "Southeast Asia" huts with sandbags and bunkers for protection against enemy mortar and ground attack.

[20] Kelly faced one big problem when he arrived: the helicopters that the 57th had received the year before were showing signs of age and use, and Brigadier General Joseph Stilwell Jr., the Support Group commander, could find no new aircraft for the detachment.

Flying west to the site, they radioed the Air Force radar controller, who guided them to the landing zone and warned them of Viet Cong antiaircraft guns.

As the Dustoff ship drew near the landing zone, which was plainly marked by the burning A1-E, the pilot of another nearby Al-E radioed that he had already knocked out the Viet Cong machine guns.

While Brady's Dustoff ship circled out of range of enemy ground fire, the transport helicopters landed and the troops moved out into a wooded area heavily defended by the Viet Cong.

In Phan Thiet, while he was assessing the damage to his aircraft, an American adviser asked him if he would take ammunition back to the embattled ARVN unit when he returned for the next load of wounded.

When Support Command began to pressure the 57th to place removable red crosses on the aircraft and begin accepting general purpose missions, Kelly stepped up unit operations.

Knowing that removable red crosses had already been placed on transport and assault helicopters in the north, Kelly told his men that the 57th must prove its worth-and by implication the value of dedicated medical helicopters-beyond any shadow of doubt.

As dusk came, he and his crew would depart Soc Trang and head southwest for the marshes and Bac Lieu, home of a team from the 73d Aviation Company and detachments from two signal units, then further south to Ca Mau, an old haunt of the Viet Minh, whom the French had never been able to dislodge from its forested swamps.

The Viet Cong showed their indifference to the red crosses on the aircraft by trying to destroy it with small arms, automatic weapons, and mortars, even while the medical corpsman and crew chief loaded the patients.

In the spring of 1964 the Aviation Branch tried to have new Medical Service Corps pilots assigned to nonmedical helicopter units in Vietnam, assuming that they would benefit more from combat training than from Dustoff flying.

Because of the shortage of Army aviators and the priority of armed combat support, the Medical Service Corps did not have enough pilots to staff another Dustoff unit in Vietnam.

The following day, an officer tossed the bullet on his desk in front of Kelly's successor, Captain Patrick Henry Brady, and asked if they were going to stop flying so aggressively.

[28] One of them, future Pulitzer Prize winning journalist Peter Arnett had made friends with Kelly and his crews in Soc Trang, figuring that Dustoff would make a good story for his employer, the Associated Press.

Major Kelly demonstrated exceptional courage, strong determination, and complete disregard for his own personal safety while participating in an aerial medical mission to evacuate wounded soldiers from an area under heavy attack by hostile forces.

With unique professional skill and full knowledge of the intense ground fire and the immediate proximity of the enemy, he landed the unarmed helicopter ambulance close to the wounded men in the exposed area.

[33]Citation: The President of the United States of America, authorized by Act of Congress July 9, 1918 (amended by an act of July 25, 1963), takes pride in presenting the Silver Star (Posthumously) to Major (Medical Corps) Charles L. Kelly (ASN: 0-70399), United States Army, for gallantry in action in connection with military operations involving conflict with an armed hostile force in the Republic of Vietnam, while serving as an Aircraft Commander of the 57th Medical Detachment, on 19 June 1964.

Major Kelly displayed professional skill, fortitude, and determination while participating in an aerial medical mission to evacuate several critically wounded Vietnamese troops.

As the small arms, automatic weapons fire, and mortar rounds fell near the aircraft, he exposed himself to the danger while assisting the wounded men on board the helicopter ambulance.

Major Kelly's conspicuous gallantry is in the highest traditions of the United States Army and reflects great credit upon himself and the military service.

Heavy fire was received during the approach and while on the ground, but Major Kelly never wavered in his efforts and determination to save the downed crew from possible death and almost certain capture.

Major Kelly's actions were in keeping with the highest traditions of the military service and reflect great credit upon himself and the United States Army.

[35]Citation The President of the United States of America, authorized by Act of Congress, July 2, 1926, takes pride in presenting a Bronze Oak Leaf Cluster in lieu of a Second Award of the Distinguished Flying Cross (Posthumously) to Major (Medical Corps) Charles L. Kelly (ASN: 0-70399), United States Army, for heroism while participating in aerial flight in action against a hostile force on 9 April 1964 in the Republic of Vietnam.

Major Kelly's actions were in keeping with the highest traditions of the military service and reflect great credit upon himself and the United States Army.

On this date, Major Kelly was serving as the pilot of a UH-1B medical helicopter involved in the evacuation of two wounded Vietnamese soldiers who were located on Co To Mountain in An Giang Province.

Despite these extreme hazards, and in total disregard of his own personal safety, Major Kelly brought his aircraft into the landing zone through intense hostile fire.

Major Kelly's dauntless courage, professional skill, and devotion to his comrades in arms have added to the highest traditions of the United States Army and reflect great credit upon himself and the military service.