John Fitzgerald Kennedy (May 29, 1917 – November 22, 1963)
In the early hours of August 2, 1943, a Japanese destroyer
rammed an American PT (patrol torpedo) boat, No. 109,
slicing it in two. The destruction is so massive other
American PT boats in the area assume the crew is dead.
Two crewmen were, in fact, killed, but 11 survived, including
Lt. John F. Kennedy.
Kennedy’s actions in saving his surviving crew after PT-109
was rammed and sunk by a Japanese destroyer earned him
several commendations and made him a war hero.
A torpedo from John F. Kennedy’s PT-109 rests some 1,200
feet (360 meters) underwater in the Solomon Islands. Key
details from the torpedo and its nearby launching tube
helped identify this wreck site as that of the World War II
boat.
