United States fury over sale of Longford soldier's Congressional Medal of Honor by German auction house

The sale of a United States medal of honour, awarded to Longford man, Thomas Kelly, by a German auction house has sparked fury stateside.

Private Kelly was awarded the Medal of Honor for gallantry during the Spanish-American War and the medal was sold by Hermann Historica, a Munich-based auction house, for over $15,000 (close to $20,000 when commission is added).

The sale of the Congressional Medal of Honor is illegal in the US and there were attempts to prevent the auction of Private Kelly’s medal, one of only 3,525 in existence. However, it proceeded as it is legal in Germany to sell military decorations.

Republican Senator Ted Cruz, from Texas, wrote to the US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo asking that he intervene in the sale.

Senator Cruz said, “The sale harms the dignity and honor of all recipients of the Medal of Honor."

While Joe Daniels, President and CEO of the National Medal of Honor Museum, wrote to a number of US Federal government officials, including President Donald Trump to stop the sale.

Mr Daniels wrote, "The history of Private Kelly’s bravery, as well as the artefacts associated with it, must be preserved here in our land where they can be used to inspire future generations of American patriots."

In the Washington Times, last Sunday, Private Kelly’s great-granddaughter Kasey LeClercq, who lives in the Seattle area said, “Our family believes deeply that Thomas‘ medal belongs on US soil and with the American people he fought for. He was a proud Irish American and served most of his life protecting our country.”

According to the Washington Times, the medal was missing for decades before surfacing at auction and all the family has was a 1973 certificate from the Department of Defense acknowledging the award.

Ms LeClercq outlined that the family asked the auction house to forward their information to the collector, who paid $15,000 for Kelly’s Medal of Honor, and a spokesperson for Hermann Historica confirmed that they have forwarded the details of the Kelly family members to the buyer.

About Thomas Kelly
According to the OLD BASE Museum Campus - Plattsburgh, NY, Thomas Albert Kelly was born in Longford, to Bernard Kelly and Ann Gray.

He first enlisted in the 4th US Infantry at Fort Sherman, ID, April 11, 1894.

In 1907, he joined the 21st Infantry at the expiration of his first enlistment and was assigned to H Company of the 21st Infantry under command of Captain Cornman with headquarters at Plattsburgh Barracks.

During the Spanish-American War, Private Kelly served through the Cuban Campaign.

On July 1, 1898, during the battle to take San Juan and Kettle Hills outside Santiago, Cuba, he was one of the soldiers assisting in the rescue of wounded from the front lines.

When the 21st Infantry was advancing across a large area of open ground, he rushed to the rescue of the wounded under heavy enemy shell fire and snipers at the edges of the jungle.

For gallantry in the face of the enemy, he was awarded the Medal of Honor on June 22, 1899, and later achieved the rank of Sergeant First Class.

Returning to Plattsburgh Barracks in 1907, Thomas became a member of the 5th US Infantry, then garrisoned at the Post. He re-enlisted in the Quartermaster’s Corps in 1914 and was a Quartermaster Sergeant from 1917 until his retirement in 1920.

On November 12, 1908, he married his second wife, Julia Breshaw, of Middlebury, VT. They had three children.

Bernard, who was named after his father, died before he was less than a year old in 1918, and his father was buried beside him in 1920.

His daughter, Anna Mae, died in 2000 and is buried with her husband, a WWII veteran, in Arlington National Cemetery. His second son, Thomas Albert, served in WWII and was buried in Port Townsend, WA, when he died in 1994.

After Thomas’ death Julia married another soldier at Plattsburgh Barracks, Victor Brown, with whom she had twins. Victor died of a heart attack at the Barracks in January 1928, and was also buried in the Post Cemetery.