Motor Torpedo Boat

PT-109

PT-109 was a PT boat (patrol torpedo

boat) last commanded by Lieutenant,
junior grade John F. Kennedy (future U.S.
President), in the Pacific Theater during
World War II. Kennedy's actions to save his
surviving crew after the sinking of PT-109
made him a war hero. PT-109's collision
contributed to Kennedy's long-term back
problems and required months of
hospitalization at Chelsea Naval hospital.
Kennedy's post-war campaigns for elected
office referred to his service on the PT-109.
 LTJG Kennedy (standing at right) on PT-109 in
1943. For other photos see[1]

History

Name: PT-109

Ordered: 1942

Builder: Elco, Bayonne, New

Jersey

Laid down: 4 March 1942

Launched: 20 June 1942

Completed: 19 July 1942

Identification: Hull symbol: PT-109

Motto: They were expendable.

Fate: Sunk by Japanese
destroyer Amagiri, 2
August 1943

General characteristics
Displacement: 56 long tons (57 t) (full
load)

Length: 80 ft (24 m) overall

Beam: 20 ft 8 in (6.30 m)

Draft: 3 ft 6 in (1.07 m)

maximum (aft)

Installed power: 4,500 horsepower

(3,400 kW)

Propulsion: 3 × 12-cylinder
Packard W-14
M2500 gasoline
engines
 3 × shafts
Speed: 41 knots (76 km/h;
47 mph) maximum
(trials)

Endurance: 12 hours, 6 hours at top

speed

Complement: 3 officers, 14 enlisted

men (design)

Armament: 4 × 21-inch (533 mm)

torpedo tubes (four
Mark 8 torpedoes)
1 × 20-millimeter
(0.79 in) cannon aft
2 × twin .50-inch
(12.7 mm) Browning
M2 machine guns
 1 × 37-millimeter
(1.5 in) cannon
mounted forward (a

Armor: field modification)

gunboat deck house
protected against rifle
bullets and splinter,
some crews fitted
armor plate to
refrigerators

Specifications
PT-109 belonged to the PT-103 class,
hundreds of which were completed
between 1942 and 1945, by Elco, in
Bayonne, New Jersey. The ship's keel was
laid 4 March 1942, as the seventh Motor
Torpedo Boat (MTB) of the 80-foot-long
(24 m)-class built by Elco, and was
launched on 20 June. She was delivered to
the Navy on 10 July 1942, and fitted out in
the New York Naval Shipyard in Brooklyn.

The Elco boats were the largest PT boats

operated by the U.S. Navy during World
War II. At 80 feet (24 m) and 40 tons, they
had strong wooden hulls, constructed of
two layers of 1-inch (2.5 cm) mahogany
planking, excellent for speed, but offering
very limited protection in a firefight or
torpedo attack. Powered by three 12-
cylinder 1,500 horsepower (1,100 kW)
Packard gasoline engines (one per
propeller shaft), their designed top speed
was 41 knots (76 km/h; 47 mph).[2]

PT-109 design with forward and aft guns, two twin

(double-barrelled) 50s near center by cockpit on
circular mounts, note 4 torpedo tubes, two on each
side on deck edge, August 1943

To conserve space and improve weight

distribution, the outboard or wing engines
were mounted with their output ends
facing forward, with power transmitted
through Vee-drive gearboxes to the
propeller shafts. The center engine was
mounted with the output flange facing
away from the boat or aft, and power was
transmitted directly to the propeller
shaft.[3]

The engines were fitted with mufflers on

the transom (extreme rear of boat) to
direct the exhaust under water, which had
to be bypassed for anything other than idle
speed. The mufflers were both to mask the
engines' noise from the enemy, and to
improve the crew's chance of hearing
enemy aircraft so defensive strikes or
evasive maneuvers could be made sooner.
Without the mufflers, the enemy aircraft
might be detected only after they fired
their cannons, machine guns or dropped
their bombs.[4]

Armament

Seen in PT 109's design diagram at left,

the boat had a single 20 mm Oerlikon anti-
aircraft mount at the rear with "109"
painted on the mounting base, two open
circular rotating turrets (designed by the
same firm that produced the Tucker
automobile), each with twin M2 .50 caliber
(12.7 mm) anti-aircraft machine guns at
opposite corners of the open cockpit, and
a smoke generator on her transom (stern,
or extreme rear in diagram). The M2's
could be effective against attacking
aircraft. The smoke generator was
essential when operating close to enemy
vessels, for protection at close range.

The day before her final mission, PT-109's

crew lashed a U.S. Army 37 mm antitank
gun to the foredeck (front), replacing a
small, two-man life raft. Timbers used to
secure the weapon to the deck later
helped save their lives when used as a
float – although given the events that
occurred, the original life raft would have
been more useful, conserving the energy
of injured crew members, and providing
both flares and food, essential for
survival.[5][6]

Issues with Mark 8 torpedoes

and radar sets

PT-109 could accommodate a crew of

three officers and 14 enlisted, with the
typical crew size between 12 and 14. Fully
loaded, PT-109 displaced 56 tons. The
principal offensive weapon was her
torpedoes. She was fitted with four 21-inch
(53 cm) torpedo tubes containing Mark 8
torpedoes. They weighed 3,150 pounds
(1,430 kg) each, with 386-pound (175 kg)
warheads and gave the tiny boats a punch
believed at the time to be effective even
against armored ships. The Mark 8
torpedo, however, was both inaccurate and
ineffective until their detonators were
recalibrated by the Navy at the end of the
war, greatly limiting the Patrol Torpedo
boat's ability to defend herself from larger
craft or at long range. A major issue was
that even in the unlikely instance they hit
their target, they rarely detonated. In
contrast, the Japanese type 93 destroyer
torpedoes, later called the "long lance",
were faster at 45 knots, capable of an
accurate 20,000 yard range, far more
powerful with 1000 pounds of high
explosives, and unlike the Mark 8, their
detonators usually worked when they hit
their target.[7]

One naval officer explained that 90% of the

time, when the button was pushed on the
torpedo tube to launch a torpedo, nothing
happened or occasionally the motor spun
the propeller until the torpedo motor
exploded in the tube sending metal
fragments to the deck. For safety, a
torpedo mate was frequently required to
hit the torpedo's firing pin with a hammer
to get one to launch. Kennedy and
contemporary writers noted that torpedo
mates and other PT crew were
inadequately trained in aiming, and firing
the Mark 8 torpedoes, and were never
informed of their ineffectiveness and low
rate of detonation.[8]

Compounding the problems of ineffective

and unlaunchable torpedoes, the PT boats
had only experimental and primitive radar
sets through 1943, which were at best
unreliable and frequently failed to work. PT
crews sometimes abandoned their radar
sets, if they were issued them at all,
leaving the Patrol motor boat with little
advanced warning of an approaching
enemy craft, particularly at night or in fog
conditions.[9]
Issues with speed parity with
Japanese destroyers and
cruisers, limited gun range, and
fuel flammability

Their typical speed of 36 knots (67 km/h;

41 mph) was effective against shipping,
but because of rapid marine growth
buildup on their hulls in the South Pacific
and austere maintenance facilities in
forward areas, PT boats ended up being
slower than the top speed of the Japanese
destroyers and cruisers they were
assigned to attack in the Solomons.
Torpedoes were also useless against
shallow-draft barges, their most common
targets. With their machine guns and
20 mm cannon, the PTs could not return
the large-caliber gunfire carried by
destroyers, which had a much longer
effective range. The PT's guns, however,
were usually effective against aircraft and
ground targets.

Because they were fueled with aviation

gasoline, a direct hit to a PT boat's engine
compartment usually resulted in a total
loss of boat and crew, or severe burns and
injuries to those few who survived. In order
to have a chance of hitting their target, PT
boats had to close to within 2 miles
(3.2 km) for a shot, well within the gun
range of destroyers. At this distance, a
target could easily maneuver to avoid
being hit. The PTs approached in
darkness, fired their torpedoes, which
often gave away their positions, but did no
damage. They were then forced to flee
behind the cover of their smoke screens
from the fire of enemy craft.[10]

PT tankroom below deck, looking forward, shows

exposed fuel tank on left.
Sometimes retreat was hampered by
seaplanes dropping flares to render the
boats visible in darkness. They would then
attack the PTs with bombs and machine
gun fire. The firing of the boats' torpedoes
imposed an additional risk of detection.
The Elco launch tubes used 3-inch
(76 mm) black powder charges to expel
the torpedoes. Firing of the charge could
sometimes ignite the grease with which
the torpedoes were coated to facilitate
their release from the tubes. The resultant
flash could give away the position of the
boat, particularly since PT warfare took
place almost exclusively at night. Crews of
PT boats were forced to rely on their
smaller size, speed, maneuverability, and
darkness, to survive.[11]

Ahead of the torpedoes on PT-109 were

two depth charges, omitted on most PTs,
one on each side, about the same
diameter and directly in front of the
torpedoes. Though designed to be used
against submarines, they were sometimes
used to confuse and discourage pursuing
destroyers. With Kennedy's squadron
commander, Lt. Alvin Cluster, at the wheel
in storm conditions, PT-109's port Mark 6
depth charge was knocked through the
foredeck unexpectedly by an inadvertent
launch of the port forward torpedo. Cluster
had asked Kennedy for a turn at PT 109's
wheel, as he had only had experience with
the older, Elco 77-foot PTs. The torpedo
stayed in the tube, half in and half out on a
hot run, its propellers spinning, until
Kennedy's executive officer Ensign
Leonard Thom deactivated it. PT 109
returned to Tulagi for repairs to the
foredeck and the replacement of the depth
charge.

Early operations
PT-109 was transported from the Norfolk
Navy Yard to the South Pacific in August
1942 on board the liberty ship SS Joseph
Stanton. It is believed PT-109 was painted
a flat, dark green at Nouméa, New
Caledonia after being off-loaded from
Joseph Stanton. PT-109 arrived in the
Solomon Islands in late 1942 and was
assigned to Motor Torpedo Boat Squadron
2 based on Tulagi island. PT-109
participated in combat operations around
Guadalcanal from 7 December 1942 to
2 February 1943, when the Japanese were
withdrawing from the island.

Under Kennedy's command

Despite having a chronically bad back and
a history of other illnesses, John F.
Kennedy used his father Joseph P.
Kennedy's influence to get into the war. In
1940, the U.S. Army's Officer Candidate
School had rejected him as 4-F, for his bad
back, ulcers and asthma. Kennedy's father
persuaded his old friend Captain Allan
Goodrich Kirk, head of the Office of Naval
Intelligence, to let a private Boston doctor
certify his son's good health.[12] Kennedy
started out in October 1941 prior to Pearl
Harbor as an ensign with a desk job for the
Office of Naval Intelligence. He was
reassigned to South Carolina in January
1942 because of his affair with Danish
journalist Inga Arvad.[13] On 27 July 1942,
Kennedy entered the Naval Reserve
Officers Training School in Chicago.

Lieutenant John D. Bulkeley 1941

After completing this training on

27 September, Kennedy voluntarily entered
the Motor Torpedo Boat Squadrons
Training Center in Melville, Rhode Island,
where he was promoted to lieutenant
(junior grade) (LTJG). In September 1942,
Joseph Kennedy had secured PT
Lieutenant Commander John Bulkeley's
help in placing his son in the PT boat's
service and enrolling him in their training
school, after meeting with Bulkeley in a
New York Plaza suite near his office at
Rockefeller Plaza.[14] Nonetheless,
Bulkeley would not have recommended
John Kennedy for PT training if he did not
believe he was qualified to be a PT
captain. In an interview with Kennedy,
Bulkeley was impressed with his
appearance, communication skills, grades
at Harvard, and awards received in small
boat competitions, particularly while a
member of Harvard's sailing team.
Exaggerated claims by Bulkeley about the
effectiveness of the PTs in combat against
larger craft allowed him to recruit top
talent, raise war bonds, and cause
overconfidence among squadron
commanders who continued to put PTs
against larger craft. But many in the Navy
knew the truth; his claims that PTs had
sunk a Japanese cruiser, a troopship, and
a plane tender in the Philippines were
false.[15][16] Kennedy completed his PT
training in Rhode Island on 2 December,
with very high marks and was asked to
stay for a brief period as an instructor. He
was then ordered to the training squadron,
Motor Torpedo Squadron 4, to take over
the command of motor torpedo boat PT-
101, a 78-foot Huckins PT boat.

In January 1943, PT-101 and four other

boats were ordered to Motor Torpedo Boat
Squadron 14 (RON 14), which was
assigned to patrol the Panama Canal.[17]
He detached from RON 14 in February
1943, while the squadron was in
Jacksonville, Florida, preparing for transfer
to the Panama Canal Zone. On his own
volition, Lieutenant Kennedy then
contacted family friend and crony
Massachusetts Senator David I. Walsh,
Chairman of the Naval Affairs Committee,
who diverted his assignment to Panama,
and had him sent to PT combat in the
Solomon Islands, granting Kennedy's
previous "change-of-assignment" request
to be sent to a squadron in the South
Pacific. His actions were against the
wishes of his father who had wanted a
safer assignment, but demonstrated
Kennedy's independence and undauntable
courage.[18]

LTJG John F. Kennedy aboard PT-109, 1943

The Allies had been in a campaign of
island hopping since securing Guadalcanal
in a bloody battle in early 1943. Kennedy
transferred on 23 February 1943, as a
replacement officer to Motor Torpedo Boat
Squadron 2, which was based at Tulagi
Island, immediately north of Guadalcanal
in the Solomon Islands. Traveling to the
Pacific on Rochambeau, Kennedy
witnessed a fierce air strike against his
ship that killed the captain, and found
Kennedy helping to hand shells to a supply
a large gun on board, giving him his first
taste of battle.[19] He arrived at Tulagi on
14 April and took command of PT-109 on
23 April. Considerable repairs were
required on the boat, and Kennedy pitched
in to help the crew get his ship seaworthy.
On 30 May, several PT boats, including PT-
109, were ordered to the Russell Islands in
preparation for the invasion of New
Georgia.[17]

After the capture of Rendova Island, the PT

boat operations were moved north to a
crude "bush" berth there on 16 June.[4] The
Rendova base held the potential for its
residents to contract a host of unpleasant
diseases like malaria, dengue, dysentery,
and elephantiasis. The Navy men
stationed there also contended with
cockroaches, rats, foot diseases, ear
fungus, and mild malnutrition from the
monotonous and mostly canned food. On
his first desk assignment with the Navy
after his return to the States, Kennedy
suffered from the aftereffects of malaria,
colitis, and back pain, all caused or
aggravated by his experiences in combat
or during his stay at the Rendova base.[20]

From their crude base on the northern tip

of Rendova Island, on a small spit of land
known as Lumbari, PT boats conducted
daring and dangerous nightly operations,
both to disturb the heavy Japanese barge
traffic that was resupplying the Japanese
garrisons in New Georgia, and to patrol the
Ferguson and Blackett Straits in order to
sight and to give warning when the
Japanese Tokyo Express warships came
into the straits to supply Japanese forces
in the New Georgia–Rendova area.[17]

On 1 August, an attack by 18 Japanese

bombers struck the base, wrecking PT-117
and sinking PT-164. Two torpedoes were
blown off PT-164 and ran erratically around
the bay until they ran ashore on the beach
without exploding.[21]

Crew on PT-109's last mission

John F. Kennedy, Lieutenant, junior
grade (LTJG), Commanding Officer
(Boston, Massachusetts).
Leonard J. Thom, Ensign (ENS), Ohio
State football athlete, and excellent
swimmer, Executive Officer (Sandusky,
Ohio).
George H. R. "Barney" Ross, Ensign
(ENS) On board as an observer after
losing his own boat. Attempted to
operate the 37 mm gun but suffered
from night blindness. (Highland Park,
Illinois).
Raymond Albert, Seaman 2/c, gunner.
Killed in action 8 October 1943 (Akron,
Ohio).[22]
Charles A. "Bucky" Harris, Gunner's
Mate 3/c (GM3) (Watertown,
Massachusetts).
William Johnston, Motor Machinist's
Mate 2/c (MM2) (Dorchester,
Massachusetts).
Andrew Jackson Kirksey, Torpedoman's
Mate 2/c (TM2) Killed in collision.
(Reynolds, Georgia).[23]
John E. Maguire, Radioman 2/c (RM2)
(Dobbs Ferry, New York).
Harold William Marney, Motor
Machinist's Mate 2/c (MM2) . Killed in
collision, manning turret closest to
impact point. (Springfield,
Massachusetts)[24]
Edman Edgar Mauer, Quartermaster,
cook, 3/c (QM3) (St. Louis, Missouri).
Patrick H. "Pappy" McMahon, Motor
Machinist's Mate 1/c (MM1) (Wyanet,
Illinois). Only man in engine room during
collision, was badly burned, but
recovered from his wounds. Only
member of the crew besides Kennedy
mentioned by name in the song.
Ray L. Starkey, Torpedoman's Mate 2/c
(TM2) (Garden Grove, California).
Gerard E. Zinser, Motor Machinist's
Mate 1/c (MM1) Erroneously called
 "Gerald" in many publications, Zinser
remained in the Navy for a career
following the end of World War II,
eventually retiring as a chief petty
officer. The last living survivor of PT-109,
he died in Florida in 2001. (Belleville,
Illinois).

Battle of Blackett Strait

Lt. JG Kennedy at the helm of PT-109

At the end of July 1943, intelligence
reports were received and decoded by
Naval authorities at Kennedy's PT base on
Tulagi's Rendova Island indicating that five
enemy destroyers were scheduled to run
the night of August 1-2. The destroyers
would cruise from the Solomon's
Bougainville Island through Blackett Strait
to supply provisions and bring troops to
the Japanese garrison on Vila Plantation,
on Kolombangara Island's southern tip.
America's sophisticated deciphering of the
Japanese naval codes had contributed to
the victory at the Battle of Midway, ten
months earlier, and the same technology
had been used to break their code and
provide the report of the Japanese
destroyers expected August 1-2. Despite
the recent loss of two boats and two
crewmen from a recent Japanese air
attack, the skippers of PT-109 and 14 other
boats met with Commander Thomas G.
Warfield to discuss the details of a
mission to head north through a cut in the
reefs known as Ferguson Passage, to
Blackett Strait between Gizo and
Kolombongara Islands to block or attack
the anticipated enemy destroyers. The
resulting skirmish, sometimes referred to
as the Battle of Blackett Strait, should not
be confused with an earlier battle there on
March 3, 1943. Commander Arleigh Burke
had been ordered to sit on the northern
approach to Kolombangara with seven
American destroyers to ensure the
Japanese were prevented from reinforcing
their garrison, though he was not on
station till 12:30 a.m. All four Japanese
destroyers would evade his grasp, as they
arrived one hour early, before Burke had
reached his post.[25][26] The resulting battle
would become the largest use of PT boats
in the war, and the results would not be
promising for the future use of PTs against
Japanese destroyers.[4][27]

Failure of eight PTs' torpedoes to

hit destroyers
On August 1, fifteen PT boats, PT-109
among them, motored from the PT base
on Rendova around 6:30 p.m. on strict but
cursory orders from Rendova's top brass,
Commander Thomas Warfield. The
combined PT task force, was divided into
four divisions of roughly four PTs each. PT-
109's "B" division included PTs 162, 159,
and 157, and were stationed the farthest
north of the PT divisions, nearly midway
up Kolombongara Island's western coast
and around 6 miles (9.7 km) to the west.
Most of the divisions reached their station
by 8:30 p.m. The fifteen PTs carried four
torpedo tubes each, for a total of
60 Mark 8 torpedoes, and roughly half of
these were fired at the four advancing
Japanese destroyers protected by
Japanese float planes.[28] The Navy's
official report of the incident listed 5-6
torpedo explosions reaching the destroyer
target, but none, in fact, were actual
torpedo hits. Of the twenty-four torpedoes
fired by PT boats from eight PTs, not a
single hit was scored against the
advancing destroyers. Though each
division of PTs was assigned a location
likely to intercept the destroyers, several of
those without radar cruised about
aimlessly in the fog and darkness unable
to locate the enemy ships.[29]
Separation of Kennedy's 109 from
her PT division

JFK, Lieutenant JG, official naval photo, 1942

Lieutenant Brantingham on PT-159, leader

of Kennedy's division, and originally
stationed near Kennedy, first saw radar
blips indicating the southbound destroyers
just arriving on the scene, and fired his
torpedoes from about a mile away. As he
advanced, he did not radio Kennedy's 109
to follow, leaving Kennedy and his crew
behind in the darkness. All of
Brantingham's torpedoes missed the
destroyers, and his torpedo tubes caused
a small fire, requiring Lieutenant
Liebenow's PT, also in Kennedy's division,
to swing in front of Brantingham's PT to
block the light emitting from his burning
torpedo tubes as they could have given
away their location to the destroyers.
Liebenow's 157 fired two more torpedoes
that failed to hit their target as well, then
both boats laid smoke from their smoke
generator and zigzagged away to avoid
detection. No signal of the destroyer's
presence was ever radioed or received by
Kennedy's 109, or the other boat in the
division, and skippers Brantingham and
Liebenow headed blindly west to Gizo
Island and away from the destroyers and
Kennedy's 109.[30]

Many of the torpedoes that were fired

exploded prematurely or ran at the wrong
depth. The odds that a Mark 8 torpedo that
made it to a destroyer would explode was
less than 50%, due to faulty calibration of
the detonators, a problem that was not
known nor corrected by the Navy until later
in the war. A few other PTs including the
leader of Division A to the south of
Kennedy, intercepted the destroyers on
their southbound route close to
Kolombangara, but were unable to hit any
with torpedoes. The boats were radioed by
Warfield to return when their torpedoes
were expended, but the four boats with
radar fired their torpedoes first and were
ordered to return to base. Commander
Warfield's concept of sending orders to the
PTs in darkness by radio from 40 miles
away and without a view of the battle, was
inefficient at best. The radar sets the four
boats carried were relatively primitive, and
sometimes malfunctioned. When the four
boats with radar left the scene of the
battle, the remaining boats, including PT-
109, were deprived of the ability to
determine the location or approach of the
oncoming destroyers, and were not
notified that other boats had already
engaged the enemy.

Late in the night, Kennedy's 109 and two

accompanying PTs became the last to
sight the Japanese destroyers returning on
their northern route to Rabaul, New Britain,
New Guinea, after they had completed
dropping their supplies and troops at 1:45
a.m. on the southern tip of
Kolombangara.[31] The official Navy
account of the incident listed radio
communications as good, but PT
commanders were also told to maintain
radio silence until informed of enemy
sightings, causing many commanders to
turn off their radios or not closely monitor
their radio traffic, including
Kennedy.[32][33][34]

Collision with the Amagiri

Destroyer Amagiri in 1930, 400 feet and heavily armed

By 2 a.m. on 2 August 1943, as the battle

neared its end, PT-109, PT-162, and PT-169
were ordered to continue patrolling the
area on orders previously radioed from
Commander Warfield.[35] The night was
cloudy and moonless, and fog had set
amidst the remaining PTs. Kennedy's boat
was idling on one engine to avoid the
detection of her phosphorescent wake by
Japanese aircraft when[36] the crew
realized they were in the path of the
Japanese destroyer Amagiri, which was
heading north to Rabaul from Vila
Plantation, Kolombangara, after offloading
supplies and 902 soldiers. Contemporary
accounts of the incident, particularly the
work of Mark Doyle, do not conclude that
the sole cause of the collision was the
initial lack of speed and maneuverability
caused by the idling engines of the 109.
Kennedy believed the firing he had heard
was from shore batteries on
Kolombangara, not destroyers, and that he
could avoid detection by idling his engines
and reducing his wake.[32][37]

Artist's depiction of PT-109 collision with destroyer

Amagiri
Kennedy said he attempted to turn PT-109
to fire a torpedo and have Ensign George
"Barney" Ross fire their newly installed 37
mm anti-tank gun from the bow at the
oncoming northbound destroyer Amagiri.
Ross lifted a shell but did not have time to
load it into the closed breech of the
powerful weapon that Kennedy hoped
might deter the oncoming vessel.[38]
Amagiri was traveling at a relatively high
speed of between 23 and 40 knots (43 and
74 km/h; 26 and 46 mph) in order to reach
harbor by dawn, when Allied air patrols
were likely to appear.[39][40]
Kennedy and his crew had less than ten
seconds to get the engines up to speed
and evade the oncoming destroyer, which
was advancing without running lights, but
the PT boat was run down and severed
between Kolombangara and Ghizo Island,
near 8°3′S 156°56′E.[41] Conflicting
statements have been made as to whether
the destroyer captain had spotted and
steered towards the 109. Most
contemporary authors write that Amagiri's
captain intentionally steered to collide with
the 109. Amagiri's captain, Lieutenant
Commander Kohei Hanami, later admitted
it himself and also stated that the 109 was
traveling at a steady pace in their
direction.[42]

When PT-109 was cut in two around 2:27

a.m.,[43] a fireball of exploding aviation fuel
100 feet high announced the collision, and
caused the sea surrounding the ship to
flame. Seamen Andrew Jackson Kirksey
and Harold W. Marney were killed instantly,
and two other members of the crew were
badly injured and burned when they were
thrown into the flaming sea surrounding
the boat. For such a catastrophic collision,
explosion, and fire, there were few men
lost when contrasted to the losses on
other PT boats hit by shell fire. PT-109 was
gravely damaged, with watertight
compartments keeping only the forward
hull afloat in a sea of flames.[44][45]

Map of the events of 2 August 1943, click map to view

scale and Olasana and Naru Islands[41]

PT-169, closest to Kennedy's craft,

launched two torpedoes that missed the
destroyer and PT-162's torpedoes failed to
fire at all. Both boats then turned away
from the scene of the action and returned
to base without checking for survivors
from PT-109. There had been no procedure
outlined by Commander Warfield of how to
search for survivors or what the PT flotilla
should do in case a ship was lost.[37] In the
words of Captain Robert Bulkley, naval
historian, "This was perhaps the most
confused and least effectively executed
action the PTs had been in. Eight PTs fired
30 torpedoes. The only confirmed results
were the loss of PT 109 and damage to the
Japanese destroyer Amagiri" [from striking
the 109].[46]

Survival, swim to Plum

Pudding Island
Kennedy was able to rescue MM1 Patrick
McMahon, the crew member with the
most severe wounds, which included
burns that covered 70 percent of his body,
and brought him to the floating bow.
Kennedy also rescued Starkey and Harris,
bringing them both to the bow.[47] On
instructions from Kennedy, the eleven
survivors thrown from the 109 first
regrouped, and then hoping for rescue,
clung to PT-109's bow section for 12 hours
as it drifted slowly south. By about
1 p.m.,[4] on August 2, it was apparent that
the hull was taking on water and would
soon sink, so the men decided to swim for
land, departing around 1:30 p.m.[48][49] As
there were Japanese camps on all the
nearby large islands including
Kolombangara, the closest, they chose the
tiny deserted Plum Pudding Island
southwest of where the wreck of PT-109
had drifted. They placed their lantern,
shoes, and non-swimmers on one of the
timbers that had been used as a gun
mount and began kicking together to
propel it. Kennedy, who had been on the
Harvard University swim team, used a life
jacket strap clenched between his teeth to
tow McMahon.[50] It took four hours to
swim to the island, 3.5 miles (5.6 km)
away, which they reached without
disturbing the resident sharks or
crocodiles.[51][52]

Additional swims, August 2, 4, and

5

Plum Pudding island was only 100 yards

(91 m) in diameter, with no food or water.
The exhausted crew dragged themselves
behind the tree line to hide from passing
Japanese barges. Kennedy made an
additional swim of 2 miles (3.2 km) the
night of August 2, 1943, to Ferguson
Passage to attempt to hail a passing
American PT boat to expedite his crew's
rescue. On August 4, he and Lenny Thom
assisted his injured and hungry crew on a
demanding swim 3.75 miles (6.04 km)
south to Olasana Island which was visible
to all from Plum Pudding Island. They
swam against a strong current, and once
again, Kennedy towed MacMahon by his
life vest. They were pleased to discover
Olasana had ripe coconut trees, though
there was still no fresh water.[53] On the
following day, August 5, Kennedy and
George Ross made the one hour swim to
Naru Island, visible, at an additional
distance of about .5 miles (0.80 km)
southeast, in search of help and food and
because it was closer to Ferguson
Passage where Kennedy might see or
swim to a passing PT boat on patrol.
Kennedy and Ross found a small canoe,
packages of crackers and candy, and a
fifty gallon drum of drinkable water left by
the Japanese, which Kennedy paddled
another .5 miles (0.80 km) back northwest
to Olasana in the acquired canoe to
provide his hungry crew. It was then that
Kennedy first spoke to native Melanesian
coastwatchers Biuku Gasa and Eroni
Kumana on Olasana Island. Months earlier,
Kennedy had learned a smattering of the
pidgin English used by the coastwatchers
by speaking with a native boy. The two
coastwatchers had finally been convinced
by Ensign Thom that the crew were from
the lost 109, when Thom asked Gasa if he
knew John Kari, and Gasa replied that he
worked with him.[54] Realizing they were
with Americans, the coastwatchers
brought a few yams, vegetables, and
cigarettes from their dugout canoe and
vowed to help the starving crew.[44][55] But
it would take two more days for a full
rescue.[56]

Rescue

The explosion and resulting fireball on the

early morning of 2 August was spotted by
an Australian coastwatcher, Sub-lieutenant
Arthur Reginald Evans, who manned a
secret observation post at the top of the
Mount Veve volcano on Kolombangara,
where more than 10,000 Japanese troops
were garrisoned below on the southeast
portion. The Navy and its squadron of PT
boats held a memorial service for the crew
of PT-109 after reports were made of the
large explosion, but Commander Warfield,
to his credit, ordered an aerial search by
New Zealand P-40 fighters that spotted a
few remains of the wreck, but not the crew
who had already swum to safety.[39]

Coastwatchers Gasa and Kumana

sent by Reginald Evans, August 5

Evans had been the first to dispatch

islander scouts, Gasa and Kumana, in a
dugout canoe late on August 5, to look for
possible survivors after decoding radio
broadcasts that the explosion he had
witnessed was from the lost PT-109. Gasa
and Kumana had been trained by the
British and Australians in search and
detection and were willing to sacrifice their
lives as part of their duty to the British and
American troops. Native coastwatchers
were used because they could avoid
detection by Japanese ships and aircraft
and, if spotted, would probably be taken
for native fishermen.

Before they were rescued by the scouts on

August 8, Kennedy and his men survived
for six days on Plum Pudding and then
Olasana Island. They had eaten only a few
ripe coconuts, rainwater caught on leaves,
and small amounts of fresh water and
Japanese cookies Kennedy had taken
from Naru Island. By chance Gasa and
Kumana stopped by Naru to investigate a
Japanese wreck, from which they
salvaged fuel and food. They first fled by
canoe from Kennedy, who with his
sunburn, beard, and disheveled clothing
appeared to them to be a Japanese
soldier. When they later arrived on
Olasana, they pointed their Tommy guns at
the rest of the crew, since the only light-
skinned people they expected to find were
Japanese with whom they could not
communicate.[37]

Thom's and Kennedy's rescue

messages

Kennedy's message scratched on a

coconut while he was on Naru, where he
had spent some time from August 4-7,
was not the only communication given to
the coastwatchers. A more detailed
message was written by the executive
officer of PT-109, Ensign Leonard Jay
Thom on August 6. Thom's message was
a "penciled note" written on paper, which
read:[57][58]
To: Commanding Officer--Oak O
From:Crew P.T. 109 (Oak 14)
Subject: Rescue of 11(eleven)
men lost since Sunday, August 1
in enemy action. Native knows
our position & will bring P.T.
Boat back to small islands of
Ferguson Passage off NURU IS.
A small boat (outboard or oars)
is needed to take men off as
some are seriously burned.
Signal at night three dashes (- -
-) Password--Roger---Answer---
Wilco If attempted at day time--
 advise air coverage or a PBY
could set down. Please work out
a suitable plan & act
immediately Help is urgent & in
sore need. Rely on native boys to
any extent
Thom
Ens. U.S.N.R
Exec. 109.[58]

[59]
The coconut with the carved message, cast in a
paperweight

Though the 1963 movie depicted Kennedy

offering a coconut inscribed with a
message as his idea and the sole form of
communication, it was Gasa who
suggested it and Kumana who climbed a
coconut tree to pick one. On the
instructions of Gasa, Kennedy
painstakingly scratched the following
message on the coconut husk with a
knife:[37]

NAURO ISL
COMMANDER... NATIVE
KNOWS POS'IT...
HE CAN PILOT... 11 ALIVE
NEED SMALL BOAT... KENNEDY

[60]

Gasa and Kumana's canoe trip to

the PT base on Rendova,
departing August 6
On August 6, native coastwatchers Biaku
Gasa and Eroni Kumana left Olasana and
headed east, carrying the penciled note
and Kennedy's coconut message ten
nautical miles to Wana Wana Island, south
of Kolombangara and 1/4 of the way to
Kennedy's PT Naval base on Rendova
Island.[61] There they took little time to rest
but linked up with Senior Scout Benjamin
Kevu who they told they had found the
crew of the 109. Ben Kevu sent another
scout to inform Reginald Evans, north on
Kolombangara Island, of the discovery.
Gasa and Kumana departed Wana Wana
with scout John Kari in a better canoe
given them by Kevu, carrying both Thom's
and Kennedy's messages to a military
outpost on Roviana Island, close to the PT
Rendova base in a total of fifteen hours by
paddling their canoe all night through
38 mi (61 km) of rough seas, and hostile
waters patrolled by the Japanese. From
the content of the messages, it is clear
both Thom and Kennedy trusted the
coastwatchers with their lives, as neither
message contained the exact coordinates
of their location, nor the name of Olasana
Island. Traveling in an arranged boat, Gasa
and Kumana were at last sent south to the
PT base at Rendova from Roviana Island, a
distance of only three miles from the
Rendova PT base, with Gasa still clutching
the coconut. Around August 6, after
speaking to Kevu about the eleven found
on Olasana, Evans sent a canoe with fresh
fish, yams, potatoes, corned beef hash,
and rice to Kennedy and his crew with a
message to return to him on
Kolumbangara's Gomu Island in the canoe
immediately. Kennedy followed this
request and was the only one of his crew
to go, since there were many Japanese
planes flying above and the coast
watcher's station was located on the
Japanese captivated island of Wana
Wana. Kennedy was instructed to lie
underneath palm fronds in the canoe so he
would not be spotted by Japanese
planes.[62] It was not until the morning of
August 7, that Evans was able to radio
Rendova to confirm the news that Kennedy
and his crew had been discovered.[63]

Battle of Vella Gulf, Admiral

Halsey, August 6-7

On the night of August 6-7, while Kennedy

still awaited rescue, Admiral William
Halsey, now convinced that PTs were
unsuitable against Japanese destroyers,
sent six American destroyers equipped
with more advanced radar to intercept the
"Tokyo Express", again on their frequent
run to Kolombangara Island. This time,
America succeeded and sank four
destroyers, two of which, the Arashi and
Hagikaze, had eluded Kennedy and the 14
PT crews on the night of August 1-2. This
action became known as the "Battle of
Vella Gulf".[64]

PT-157 makes final rescue,

August 8

On August 7, when the coastwatcher

scouts carrying the coconut and paper
message arrived at Rendova, PT
Commander Warfield was at first skeptical
of the messages and the trustworthiness
of the native scouts Gasa and Kumana.
After finally receiving Evans' radioed
message of the discovery of the 109 crew,
and facing overwhelming evidence that
Kennedy had returned from the dead, he
cautiously consented to risk two PTs to
rescue them. Warfield selected PT-157,
commanded by Kennedy's friend and
former tentmate Lieutenant William
Liebenow for the rescue, as he and his
crew were experienced and familiar with
the area. Liebenow later said that his crew
were chosen because they were "the best
boat crew in the South Pacific."[65] PT-171
would travel ahead and radio Liebenow of
any sightings of the enemy. Departing just
after sunset from Rendova at 7:00 p.m. on
August 8, Liebenow motored PT-157 to
Reginald Evans' base at Gomu Island, off
Kolombangara. To prevent making a wake,
Liebenow traveled at 10-15 knots, muffling
his engines, and zigzagging to prevent
being tracked by planes or shore batteries.
The arranged signal when Liebenow
picked up Kennedy on Gomu was four
shots, but since Kennedy only had three
bullets in his pistol, Evans gave him a
Japanese rifle for the fourth signal shot.
With Kennedy aboard, PT-157 rescued the
weak and hungry PT-109 crew members on
Olasana Island in the early morning of
August 8, after dispatching row boats to
pick them up. The 157 then motored the
full crew and the coastwatcher scouts
forty miles back to the Rendova PT base
where they could begin to receive medical
attention.[66]

Kennedy receiving the Navy and Marine Corps Medal

Aftermath

There were reporters aboard PT-157, when

they rescued Kennedy and his crew from
Olasana Island. After the rescue, the New
York Times announced, "KENNEDY'S SON
IS HERO IN PACIFIC AS DESTROYER
SPLITS HIS BOAT". Other papers wrote
"KENNEDY'S SON SAVES 10 IN PACIFIC",
and "SHOT FROM RUSTY JAP GUN
GUIDES KENNEDY RESCUERS". All
accounts of the PT-109 incident made
Kennedy the key player in rescuing all 11
crew members and made him a war
hero.[67] His father, Joseph Kennedy Sr.,
made sure that these articles were widely
distributed, and that it was known that his
son was a hero.[67] The articles focused on
Kennedy's role in the incident, omitting
most of the contributions of Thom, the
crew, and the coastwatchers.[68][69]
Thom, Ross, and Kennedy were each
awarded the Navy and Marine Corps
Medal, though senior officer Lieutenant
Commander Alvin Cluster had
recommended Kennedy for the Silver
Star.[70] Kennedy was also awarded the
Purple Heart for injuries he sustained in
the collision.[71][72] Following their rescue,
Thom was assigned as commander of PT-
587 and Kennedy was assigned as
commander of PT-59 (a.k.a. PTGB-1).[71]
Kennedy and Thom remained friends, and
when Thom died in a 1946 car accident,
Kennedy was one of his pallbearers.[71][52]
The PT-109 incident also contributed to
Kennedy's ongoing health issues. It
contributed to his back problems, and his
symptoms progressed to a point where
they were incapacitating.[73] The incident
also contributed to his gastrointestinal
problems.[67]

[60][39] The coconut shell came into the

possession of Ernest W. Gibson Jr., who
was serving in the South Pacific with the
43rd Infantry Division.[74] Gibson later
returned it to Kennedy.[75] Kennedy
preserved it in a glass paperweight on his
Oval Office desk during his presidency. It is
now on display at the John F. Kennedy
Library in Boston, Massachusetts.

Gasa and Kumana in later life

Both Solomon Islanders Biuku Gasa and
Eroni Kumana were alive when visited by
National Geographic in 2002.[76] They were
each presented with a gift from the
Kennedy family.

Kennedy invited both Gasa and Kumana to

his inauguration, but the island authorities
gave their trip to local officials instead.
Kumana and Gasa made it to the airport in
Honiara, but were turned back by Solomon
Island officials on the grounds that their
appearance and pidgin English would be
an embarrassment.[77] Gasa and Kumana
gained recognition, especially after being
mentioned and praised by National
Geographic, and the publication of William
Doyle's book on PT-109. Gasa died in late
August 2005, his passing noted only in a
single blog post by a relative.[78]

In 2007, the commanding officer of USS

Peleliu, Captain Ed Rhoades, presented
Kumana with gifts, including an American
flag for his actions more than 60 years
earlier.[79]
In 2008, Mark Roche visited Kumana and
discussed PT-109's incident. Kumana had
been a scout for the Coastwatchers
throughout the war, and besides rescuing
the crew of PT-109, he had rescued two
downed American pilots who parachuted
into the sea. Kumana noted that Kennedy
visited him several times while still
stationed at Rendova and always brought
trinkets to swap. Kumana lived atop a cliff
on his native island with his extended
family. His most prized possession was
his bust of President Kennedy, later given
him by the Kennedy family. Kumana gave
Roche a valuable family heirloom, a large
piece of Kustom Money, to place on the
President's grave. (Among other uses,
Kustom Money was used to pay tribute to
a chief, especially by placing it on the
chief's grave.) In November 2008, Roche
placed the tribute on the President's grave
in a private ceremony. The artifact was
then taken to the Kennedy Library and
placed on display beside the coconut with
the rescue message.[77]

Kumana died on 2 August 2014, exactly 71

years after PT-109's collision with Amagiri.
He was 93.[80]

Search for the remains of PT-

109
The wreckage of PT-109 was located in
May 2002, at a depth of 1,200 feet, when a
National Geographic Society expedition
headed by Robert Ballard found a torpedo
tube from wreckage matching the
description and location of Kennedy's
vessel.[81] The boat was identified by Dale
Ridder, a weapons and explosives expert
on the U.S. Marine Forensics Panel.[81]

The stern section was not found, but a

search using remote vehicles found the
forward section, which had drifted south
of the collision site. Much of the half-
buried wreckage and grave site was left
undisturbed in accordance with Navy
policy. Max Kennedy, JFK's nephew, who
joined Ballard on the expedition, presented
a bust of JFK to the islanders who had
found Kennedy and his crew.

This was the subject of the National

Geographic TV special The Search for
Kennedy's PT 109. A DVD and book were
also released.

Legacy
Effects of PT-109 incident on
American-Japanese relations,
and Kennedy's foreign policy
Nine years after the sinking of PT-109, U.S.
Representative John Kennedy, engaged in
a race for the Senate, instructed his staff
to locate Kohei Hanami, Commander of
the Amagiri, the Japanese destroyer that
had run down the 109. When they found
Captain Hanami, Kennedy wrote him a
heartfelt letter on September 15, 1952,
with wishes of good fortune for him and
for a long term peace between Japan and
the United States. The two became
friends, and Hanami subsequently went
into politics in 1954 being elected as
councilman of Shiokawa, and later as
Mayor in 1962. Hanami hoped to meet
Kennedy on his next visit to Japan, and
though the meeting never took place, the
United States and Japan remained close
allies. Years later, Caroline Kennedy
accepted the post of Ambassador to
Japan holding the office from November
2013 to January 18, 2017, extending the
positive relationship with Japan her father
had begun after the war.[82]

PT-109 in popular culture

President Kennedy presented PT-109 tie

clasps to his close friends and key staff
members. Replicas of the tie clasps are
still sold to the public by the John F.
Kennedy Presidential Library and Museum
in Boston, Massachusetts. The original
flag from PT-109 is now kept in the John F.
Kennedy Library and Museum. The story of
PT-109's sinking was featured in several
books and a 1963 movie, PT 109, starring
Cliff Robertson. Kennedy's father, Joe
Kennedy Sr., had a role in the production,
financing, casting, and writing.[83] As there
were only a few 80 foot Elco PT-103-class
hulls in existence by that time (none in
operable condition or resembling their
World War II appearance), United States
Air Force crash rescue boats were
modified to resemble PT-109 and other
Elco PTs in the movie. Instead of the dark
green paint used by PT boats in the
Western Pacific theater during World
War II, the film versions were painted the
same gray color as contemporary U.S.
naval vessels of the 1960s. A song titled
"PT-109" by Jimmy Dean reached No. 8 on
the pop music, and No. 3 on the country
music charts in 1962, making it one of
Dean's most successful recordings.[84]

Eroni Kumana named his son "John F.

Kennedy."[60] Plum Pudding Island was
later renamed Kennedy Island. A
controversy arose when the government
sold the land to a private investor who
charged admission to tourists.[84] PT-109
was also a subject of toy, plastic and radio
control model ships in the 1960s, familiar
to boys who grew up as baby boomers. It
was still a popular 1⁄72 scale Revell PT-109
(model) kit in the 21st century. Hasbro
also released a PT-109 edition John F.
Kennedy G.I. Joe action figure, dressed in
Navy khakis with a miniature version of the
famous coconut shell.

See also
Motor Torpedo Boat PT-59

Notes
1. Michael Pocock. "MaritimeQuest –
USS PT-109 p. 1" . Maritimequest.com.
Retrieved 22 February 2012.
2. PT Boat 127 Archived 18 January
2008 at the Wayback Machine.
3. American PT Boats in World War II by
Victor Chun
4. "PT-109" . Dictionary of American
Naval Fighting Ships (DANFS). USN
Naval History & Heritage Command.
13 September 2002. Retrieved
2 January 2012.
5. "Scalecraft history" . Scalecraft.com.
Retrieved 22 February 2012.
6. Doyle 2015, pp. 56-57
7. Doyle 2015, pp. 56–57.
8. Doyle 2015, pp. 32–172, 50–57.
9. Doyle 2015, pp. 32-172, 50-57.
10. Doyle 2015, pp. 63-174
11. Doyle 2015, pp. 56-57
12. Private doctor certified health in,
Fleming, Thomas, "War of Revenge",
Spring 2011, MHQ, The Quarterly
Journal of Military History, p. 16.
13. Dallek 2003, pp. 83–84.
14. Met at Rockefeller Plaza in Doyle 2015,
pp. 28-31
15. False claims in Fleming, Thomas, "War
of Revenge", Spring 2011, MHQ, The
Quarterly Journal of Military History, p.
17.
16. Bulkeley was involved in (Doyle 2015,
pp. 25-31)
17. Department of the Navy – Naval
History & Heritage Command:
Lieutenant John F. Kennedy, USN FAQ
Retrieved 19 June 2011
18. Walsh was involved in Doyle 2015,
pp. 33-34
19. Dallek 2003, pp. 90-91.
20. "Dick Keresey, "Farthest Forward" " .
American Heritage Magazine.
Retrieved 14 June 2018.
21. "Pacific Wrecks-PT-117" . Pacific
Wrecks, Inc. Retrieved 14 June 2018.
22. MaritimeQuest – Raymond Albert .
23. "Andrew Jackson Kirksey" . Find a
Grave.
24. "Harold William Marney" . Find a
Grave.
25. Hamilton 1992, p. 557.
26. Dallek 2003, p. 95.
27. Doyle 2015, p. 73.
28. Donovan 2001, pp. 95, 99.
29. Donovan 2001, p. 98.
30. Hamilton 1992, p. 558.
31. 1:45 am in Fleming, Thomas, "War of
Revenge", Spring 2011, MHQ, The
Quarterly Journal of Military History, p.
19.
32. Donovan 2001, pp. 96–99.
33. Doyle 2015, pp. 32–172, 72–176.
34. "PT-109 Loss Report" . Naval History
Command. Retrieved 28 June 2018.
35. Donovan 2001, pp. 99, 100.
36. Donovan 2001, pp. 60, 61, 73, 100.
37. Doyle 2015, pp. 72–176.
38. Donovan 2001, pp. 101, 102, 106, 107.
39. Doyle 2015, pp. 134–176.
40. Tried to fire the anti-tank gun in Doyle
2015, p. 94
41. "Map of PT-109 Wreck Site
(Kennedy)" . National Geographic
News. 2002. Archived from the
original on 28 April 2014. Retrieved
3 May 2014.
42. Doyle 2015, pp. 96-97, 72-176.
43. 2:27 a.m. in Doyle 2015, p. 95
44. Doyle 2015, pp. 72-176.
45. 100 foot high fireball in Doyle 2015,
pp. 96-97
46. Bulkley, Captain Robert J., Jr. (1962).
At Close Quarters PT Boats in the
United States Navy . Washington, D.C.
Part III Guadalcanal and Beyond -- The
Solomons Campaign. Retrieved
18 October 2017.
47. Renehan, Edward J. (2002). "Chapter
23". The Kennedys at War: 1937-1945.
Knopf Doubleday Publishing Group.
48. Fleming, Thomas (Spring 2011). "War
of Revenge". MHQ, The Quarterly
Journal of Military History.
49. Fleming 2011, p. 20.
50. Donovan 2001, pp. 7, 123–124.
51. Ballard, Robert. Collision with History:
The Search for John F. Kennedy's PT
109, p. 100.
52. Doyle 2015, pp. 134-176.
53. "JFK's epic Solomons swim" BBC
News 30 July 2003.
54. Doyle 2015, pp. 143–148.
55. Thom convinced the natives they were
Americans in (Doyle 2015, p. 146)
56. Hamilton, Nigel, JFK, Reckless Youth,
(1992) Random House, New York, NY,
pg. 141, ISBN 0-679-41216-6
57. Department of the Navy – Naval
History and Heritage Command,
Report on Loss of PT-109 , Retrieved
21 March 2014.
58. "Lenny Thom and PT 109" . The
Beacon. Schaffner Publications, Inc.
31 July 2013. Retrieved 21 March
2014.
59. Doyle 2015, pp. 134-176
60. Davenport. "The Man Who Rescued
JFK". Coastal Living. 17 (6): 70–77.
61. Hamilton 1992, p. 591.
62. Tregaskis, Richard (2016). John F
Kennedy and PT-109. New York, NY:
Open Road Media. pp. Chapter 10.
63. Doyle 2015, pp. 153, 173, 156, 134–
176.
64. Doyle 2015, p. 155.
65. Contrera, Jessica, "He saved JFK's life
with the help of a coconut," Chicago
Tribune Section 1, August 31, 2018.
Obituary for William Liebenow, with
quotation of WL by Contrera.
66. Doyle 2015, pp. 134-176, 164-5.
67. Giglio, James (October 2006).
"Growing Up Kennedy: The Role of
Medical Aliments in the Life of JFK,
 1920-1957". Journal of Family History.
31: 358–385.
68. Dallek 2003, p. 98.
69. Headlines in Hamilton 1992, p. 605
70. Thom, Ross, and Kennedy all
recommended for a medal in Doyle
2015, p. 192
71. Alcorn, William K. (25 May 2008). "Of
friendship and war" . The Vindicator.
Youngstown, Ohio. Retrieved 10 May
2014.
72. Siracusa, Joseph M. (7 September
2012). Encyclopedia of the Kennedys:
The People and Events That Shaped
 America . ABC-CLIO. ISBN 978-1-
59884-539-6.
73. Loughlin, Kevin (2002). "John F.
Kennedy and his Adrenal Disease".
Urology. 59: 165–169.
74. Associated Press, Troy Record,
Judge's Rites Today In Vermont , 7
November 1969
75. Sumner Augustus Davis, Barnabas
Davis (1599–1685) and His
Descendants , 1973, pp. 200–201.
76. Chamberlain, Ted (20 November
2002). "JFK's Island Rescuers Honored
at Emotional Reunion" . National
 Geographic News. Retrieved 2 January
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77. John F. Kennedy Library (3 August
2009). John F. Kennedy Press Release.
78. Doyle 2015, pp. 72-176
79. Francis, Mike (18 September 2007).
"Eroni Kumana gets his flag" . The
Oregonian. Retrieved 2 January 2012.
80. "Solomon Islanders mourn death of
Eroni Kumana who helped save life of
John F. Kennedy during WWII" .
Australia Network News. 4 August
2014. Archived from the original on 5
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2014.
81. Chamberlain, Ted. "JFK's PT-109
Found, U.S. Navy Confirms" . National
Geographic News. National
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2014.
82. Relationship with Hanami in Doyle
2015, pp. 212-16, 218-22, 241-42, 315-
17
83. Hinds, Joseph (February 2011). "JFK's
Other PT Boat Rescue". America in
WWII: 53–57.
84. Szetu, Robertson (10 March 2005).
"Kennedy Island sale to be challenged
in Solomons" . Pacific Islands Report.
Archived from the original on 8
 August 2014. Retrieved 6 August
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