President John F. Kennedy, Earned His Reputation As a War Hero

• Chaim Benjamin The dramatic story of how future president John F. Kennedy, earned his reputation as a war hero PT-109When asked to explain how he had come to be a hero, the young former naval commander, by then an aspiring politician, replied laconically, “It was involuntary. They sank my boat.” The aspiring politician was none other than the future President of the United States, John F. Kennedy. The story of his heroism is miraculous to the point of almost being superhuman. Through his numerous escapes from sure death, one can see in retrospect why many people believe he was always destined for great things. 42 | ZMAN • November 2014 ZMAN • Cheshvan 5775 | 43 t was dark—deeply, unrelievedly dark. Even for experienced sailors, the moon- PT boat squadrons were nicknamed “the Iless, starless night on the ocean was avoid being spotted and hit by gunfire. The disorienting. In this profound darkness, “devil boats.” PT-109 stood at her station in Blackett Strait mosquitoPT-109 fleet.”was one The of Japaneseseveral PTs called on patrolthem in the Solomon Islands, a vast, scattered and the night of August 1, 1943, to disrupt the largely isolated string of islands that covers “Tokyo Express,” the name that Americans 350,000 square miles and the scene of what that delivered personnel, supplies and called the nightly Japanese naval convoys most bitterly fought naval campaign. August 1942. US Marines approach the Japanese would“PT” be is theshort Pacific for “Patrolwar’s lengthiestTorpedo” and and around the Solomon Islands. (Americans occupied Guadalcanal in the Solomon Islands. View of a PT fleet docked at an American island base in the Solomons. refers to fast attack craft used by the controlledequipment theto Japaneseairspace forcesover the operating Solomons, in United States Navy in World War II to strike at larger warships, using relatively high resupplying their forces.) That night the 109… and cut her right in two, crunching the He splashed hard to keep a little island of patrolforcing locatedthe Japanese the Tokyo to work Express—three at night in hullThen diagonally the Japanese across shipwith crasheda racking into noise. the waterHe broke around the surfacehim. and was in fire again. enemy while relying on their small size to speed to get close and fire torpedoes at the with a fourth serving as escort – and the the destroyer. been asleep on deck when the collision came. Japanese destroyers acting as transports TheKennedy PT’s plywood was thrown hull hardly hard evento the delayed left in It liftedWilliam him Johnston, and dropped another him engineer, overboard. had 30 torpedoes with no effect. encounterBoats that had had not used gone up well. their The complement PTs fired was actually thrown from it), and he thought, moment. Then a huge propeller pounded by of torpedoes were ordered home. The few “Thisthe cockpit is how (his it feels radioman, to be killed.” John E. Maguire, nearHe saw him the and flame the awfuland the turbulence destroyer of for the a that still had torpedoes remained in the Before he had time to think further, he found himself on his back on the deck, look- over and over, held him down, shook him and F. Kennedy, was one of the boats left behind. ing up at the destroyer as it passed through drubbeddestroyer’s on wakehis ribs. took He him hung down, on and turned came him up Hestrait. rendezvoused PT-109, captained with two by Lieutenantother PTs Johnand his boat. Its peculiar, raked inverted-Y stack in water that was like a river rapids. the three boats spread out to make a picket stood out in the brilliant light and, later, in line across the strait. At about 2:30 in the morning, a shape There was only one man below deck at watertightMeanwhile, compartments. Kennedy’s Hehalf watched of the thePT loomed abruptly out of the darkness 300 theKennedy’s moment memory. of collision. That was Patrick destroyerhad stayed rush afloat off thanksinto the to dark. its undamaged There was an awful quiet. Only the sound of gasoline had happened. One moment he was reaching burning. yards off PT-109’s bow. Visibility was so forwardMcMahon, to an wrench engineer. the He starboard had no idea engine what holdingpoor that binoculars they first and thought staring it wasout intoanother the into gear when suddenly a ship came into his Feeble answers came from four men still void.PT. George Kennedy Ross, was anat the officer wheel. on Suddenly, deck, was he engine room. “Who’s aboard?” Kennedy shouted. saw Ross turn and point into the darkness. He was lifted from the narrow passage A sailor in the forward machine-gun turret between two of the engines and thrown A PT boat built for speed and stealth could fire torpedoes painfully against the bulkhead, landing in a at much larger ships. The Americans called them the Before Kennedy could turn his ship, “mosquito fleet.” The Japanese called them “devil boats.” heshouted, saw a “Ship shape at quickly two o’clock!” take form. It was a came back at him, where some of the gas tanksseated were. position. He Aput tremendous his hands burstover hisof flame face, Amagiri), moving fast and heading straight drew his legs up tight, and waited to die. Japanese destroyer (later identified as the But then he felt something wet hit him. The 13 men on the PT hardly had time He was being sucked downward into the tofor bracethem! themselves. Those who saw the sea as his half of the PT sank. He began to struggle upward through the water. He curious way: they could move their hands had held his breath since the impact, so his Japanese ship were paralyzed by fear in a but not their feet. The urge to bolt and dive lungs were tight and they hurt. He looked up Beached Japanese cargo ship, part of the over the side was powerful, but still no one through the water. Over his head he saw a “Tokyo Express” convoys supplying Japanese A PT boat firing its torpedoes. was able to move. yellow glow—gasoline burning on the water. forces in the Solomon Islands. November 1943. 44 | ZMAN • November 2014 ZMAN • Cheshvan 5775 | 45.

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