Fireman E3 Kelly served aboard the destroyer radar picket USS Chevalier (DDR-805) in Korean waters. He was listed as Missing in Action on 18 August 1950 and presumed dead on 12 March 1954. His remains were not recovered. His name is inscribed on the Courts of the Missing at the Honolulu Memorial.

Kelly was awarded the Purple Heart, the Combat Action Ribbon, the Korean Service Medal, the United Nations Service Medal, the National Defense Service Medal, the Korean Presidential Unit Citation and the Republic of Korea War Service Medal.