Page 44 - Sun Rays May 2013

44 | SUNRAYS MAY 2013 ONLINE: SCTXCA.ORG
The morning was overcast; a few slight
raindrops fell, hitting the red bricks with
ominous plops. After two years of plan-
ning and construction, the big day was
turning out to be wetter than expected,
and, frankly, much wetter than hoped.
But, this event was going to happen―rain
or shine.
About two years earlier, in 2001,
Bob Kelety was driving to Killeen
for his monthly excursion to Ft.
Hood ― he planned to drop by the PX
and the commissary, maybe visit “Mom”
(a woman who met with soldiers on base
and was revered by the troops).
About halfway down Highway 195 to-
ward Killeen, he noticed, while at a
stop light, that Florence had erected a
small veterans’ memorial about halfway
through town.
He thought to himself, “Gee, a little town
like Florence has one, and a great big
town like Georgetown doesn’t.”
So, he decided he’d do some investigat-
ing, and, maybe, work on a way to honor
the veterans in Georgetown—he was a
Navy man, after all, and knew how to
get a job done.
THE BEGINNING
Bob had been living in Sun City Texas
since 1997, after retiring as an engineer
in Tulsa, Oklahoma. He grew up in New
York and had a brief stint in World War
II, having joined the New York State
Guard at age 17. After the war ended,
he went to the Maritime Academy in
New York and, once graduated, began
sailing with the Merchant Marines as
an engineer.
He then joined the Navy and sailed on
the aircraft carrier, U.S.S. Yorktown,
during the Korean War. After his time
with the Navy, Bob worked as an engi-
neer for a company that manufactured
heavy machinery and, later, as a consul-
tant for oil refineries.
Following his inspirational drive through
Florence, Bob went to friend and fellow
Sun City Texas resident Doug Kienitz.
They were (and are still) members of
the Georgetown chapter of Men of World
Wars (MOWW), which, coincidentally,
Bob also founded in Georgetown.
In Honor
Tremendous
thanks to those
who serve
By Maggi Jones
Retired Naval Commander Bob
Kelety, who first had the idea of
erecting a Veterans Memorial plaza
in Sun City Texas.