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Lieutenant John Fitzgerald Kennedy, the future president of the United States who was assassinated in Dallas, was aboard a PT-109 patrol boat during World War II, which was sunk in the Pacific in 1943 by a Japanese destroyer in shark-infested waters.
The crew’s rescue, recounted in a New Yorker article by novelist John Hersey, helped build J.F.K.’s image as a war hero. What Kennedy did after the rescue has remained, until now, a mystery.
After the sinking of PT-109, Kennedy continued his wartime service as a PT-59 commander. He attacked Japanese barges and shore batteries and rescued 10 marines stranded in the Solomon Islands septu- trional, one of whom died in Kennedy’s bunk. When the war ended, J.F.K.’s second patrol boat was decommissioned and sold as a charter boat for weekend fishermen.
What happened to it? For decades, boaters passed North Cove, a small indentation along the Manhattan side of the Harlem River, unaware that a piece of presidential history was embedded in the muddy bottom.
This historical relic has finally come to light. A crane pulled up pieces of what is believed to be the PT-59 commanded by John F. Kennedy, which will be transported to the Battleship Cove Maritime Museum in Fall River, Mass.
The Navy career of John F. Kennedy, pictured below, during World War II was well publicized and became part of the president’s legend.
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Welcome to the special section “BAM 35 Years.” We are presenting “cult” articles from the Motor Boats archive, starting in 1990. A journey through time among stories unobtainable today, even in the great sea of the internet! A dive into
Welcome to the special section “BAM 35 Years.” We are presenting “cult” articles from the Motor Boats archive, starting in 1990. A journey through time among stories unobtainable today, even in the great sea of the internet! A dive into
Mark it in your diary: the fourth edition of the National Summit on the Sea Economy “Blue Forum,” entitled “Creating Value – the Sea in the Year of Jubilee, “ is scheduled to take place in Rome July 9-11, 2025.
At sea with top technology. Did you know that there is an American company that has eliminated the problem of tanks on board? With a buoyant system and a simple hose you can dive up to 5 or 10 meters
Send us your sea photos and enter history with us! Your pictures will be featured on our “bulletin board” immediately.
