On August 2, 1943, a patrol boat commanded by a young John F. Kennedy was rammed by a Japanese destroyer in the waters of the Solomon Islands. Despite his own injuries, the 26-year old Kennedy spent the next week attempting to get himself and the surviving crew to safety. He even used a life jacket strap clenched between his teeth to tow an injured crewman in the water for more than five hours. This is the story of John F. Kennedy and PT 109. Sources https://www.jfklibrary.org/learn/about-jfk/jfk-in-history/john-f-kennedy-and-pt-109 https://www.archives.gov/publications/prologue/2003/summer/pt109.html https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Patrol_torpedo_boat_PT-109 https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_F._Kennedy https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/PT_boat Image: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Lt._John_F._Kennedy_skipper_aboard_the_PT-109.jpg History Dispatches is part of the Airwave Media Network: www.airwavemedia.com Interested in advertising on History Dispatches? Email us at
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