JFK FAILS IN ATTEMPT TO FLAG DOWN RESCUE SHIP
Solomon Islands (JFK+50) On August 3, 1943, the survivors of PT 109 waited for rescue after having been struck by the Japanese destroyer Amagiri in the early morning hours of August 2nd.
Australian coast watcher Reginald Evans reported sighting the sinking of PT109 and there was little hope that any of the crew were still alive.
Having failed in an attempt to flag down a rescue ship, 109's commander, Lt. j.g. John F. Kennedy, swam back to the island where his surviving crew waited.
When JFK arrived...
"he looked skinny, bedraggled and exhausted. He had a beard. His hair was matted over his forehead. His circled eyes were bloodshot."
SOURCE
"PT109, JFK in WWII," by Robert J. Donovan*, McGraw-Hill, 1961.
*Bob Donovan was with President and Mrs. Kennedy in Dallas on Nov. 22, 1963 covering the trip as a political story. Ironically, he had previously written a book on presidential assassins.
Solomon Islands (JFK+50) On August 3, 1943, the survivors of PT 109 waited for rescue after having been struck by the Japanese destroyer Amagiri in the early morning hours of August 2nd.
Australian coast watcher Reginald Evans reported sighting the sinking of PT109 and there was little hope that any of the crew were still alive.
Having failed in an attempt to flag down a rescue ship, 109's commander, Lt. j.g. John F. Kennedy, swam back to the island where his surviving crew waited.
When JFK arrived...
"he looked skinny, bedraggled and exhausted. He had a beard. His hair was matted over his forehead. His circled eyes were bloodshot."
SOURCE
"PT109, JFK in WWII," by Robert J. Donovan*, McGraw-Hill, 1961.
*Bob Donovan was with President and Mrs. Kennedy in Dallas on Nov. 22, 1963 covering the trip as a political story. Ironically, he had previously written a book on presidential assassins.
PT Officers 1943
Jim Reed, JFK, Barney Ross, Red Fay
JFK Library Photo
