943, Lieutenant John F. Kennedy was put in command ofa PT 109, a fast, light, attack craft in the Solomon Islands in the SouthPacific. Kennedy saw action in the form of night patrols and participated inenemy bombings. On August 1, 1943, during a routine night patrol, aJapenese destroyer collided in the darkness with Kennedy’s craft and the PT109 was sunk. Through superhuman effort, the injured Kennedy heroicallyswam back and forth rescuing his wounded crew. Two were killed in thecrash. The injury had once again aggravted his back. Still, Kennedy pushedon swimming from island to island in the South Pacific hoping for a patrol tocome by. The lieutenant had no idea he had been in the water for eighthours. Finally, an island was spotted that could provide cover from Japeneseplanes. With no edible plants or water, Kennedy realized that he and thecrew must move on.The next day, he once again attempted to search for rescue. Aftertreading water for hours, the lieutenant was forced to admit no patrol boatswere coming. He turned back for the island but was swept away by apowerful current. Kennedy collapsed on an island and slept. He recoveredenough energy to return to the island and gathered the crew to move toanother island in search of food. JFK was now desperate enough to seekhelp from natives on a Japenese controlled island. After making contact withthe natives, Kennedy persuaded the natives to deliver a message written onthe back of a coconut shell to allied forces. The coconut fell into the hands ofallied scouts and a patroll was sent. The coconut would appear again on thedesk of an American President.The crew of the PT 109 were given a hero’s welcome when theyreturned to base, but Kennedy would have none of it. He refused homeleave and was given another boat. In constant pain from the back injury,JFK soon contracted malaria, became very ill, and lost 25 pounds. He wasforced to give up command and was sent h...
