PT-109 was a US Navy patrol torpedo boat commanded by
Lieutenant (junior grade) John F. Kennedy during World War
II in the Solomon Islands.

His actions in rescuing his crew after the sinking earned him
a Navy and  Marine Corps Medal and contributed to his later
political career.             
         
        
   
     
       
         
     
       
        
       

PT-109, a film dramatizing this story, starring Cliff
Robertson as Kennedy, opened in 1963.

LONDON (AP) — When a schoolboy going for a run found the
ribs of a wooden ship poking through the dunes of a remote
Scottish beach, it sparked a hunt by archaeologists, scientists
and local historians to uncover its story.

Through a mix of high-tech science and community research,
they have an answer. Researchers announced Wednesday that
the vessel is very likely the Earl of Chatham, an 18th-century
warship that saw action in the American War of Independence
before a second life hunting whales in the Arctic — and then a
stormy demise.

“I would regard it as a lucky ship, which is a strange thing to
say about a ship that’s wrecked,” said Ben Saunders, senior
marine archaeologist at Wessex Archaeology, a charity that
helped community researchers conduct the investigation.

Saunders said “I think if it had been found in many other
places, it wouldn’t necessarily have had that community
drive, that desire to recover and study that material, and
also the community spirit to do it.”
 

On July 17, 1944, the Port Chicago Naval Magazine near San
Francisco experienced a catastrophic explosion when two
ammunition ships, the SS E.A. Bryan and the SS Quinault
Victory, detonated while loading munitions for Pacific troops.

On June 7, 1942, the Battle of Midway—one of the most
decisive U.S. victories in its war against Japan—came to
an end. In the four-day sea and air battle, the outnumbered
U.S. Pacific Fleet succeeded in destroying four Japanese
aircraft carriers with the loss of only one of its own, the
Yorktown, thus reversing the tide against the previously
invincible Japanese navy.

USS Portland CA-33 Heavy Cruiser passing under the
St Johns Bridge. The ship was named after the City of
Portland, Maine.

Multnomah County officials announced this years Portland Fleet
Week  kicks off Tuesday, and Portlanders can expect several
bridge lifts as ships arrive along the Willamette River.     

The Steel, Broadway, and Burnside bridges will be raising and
lowering to accommodate the vessels. The lifts will be longer
than normal, in some cases lasting up to 45 minutes.

• On Tuesday, three ships will be arriving with bridge lifts
  happening between 3 and 6 p.m.
• On Wednesday, four ships are arriving with bridge lifts
  between 4 and 8 p.m.

All of the ships will leave the following Monday, June 9.

“Expect frequent bridge lifts and traffic delays during ship
departures that morning.”

1954