"OLDER BROTHER OF FUTURE PRESIDENT KENNEDY"

JOSEPH P. KENNEDY JR. BORN IN HULL, MASSACHUSETTS

Hull, Massachusetts (JFK+50) Joseph Patrick Kennedy, Jr.*, older brother of future POTUS John F. Kennedy, was born in Hull, Massachusetts on July 25, 1915. the first child of Joseph Patrick Kennedy, Sr. and Rose Fitzgerald Kennedy.

Joe Junior was delivered in a rented cottage on Atlantic Avenue in Nantasket by Kennedy family physician Dr. Frederick L. Good.

JFK+50 NOTE

It was Joe Junior who was expected to enter politics as an adult and become the first Catholic POTUS.  He was an accomplished student and star athlete in prep school & college.

His untimely death in 1944, led to the family expectations for Joe Jr. to be transferred to JFK.  Jack wrote a book in honor of his older brother titled "We Remember Joe".

*Joseph Patrick Kennedy, Jr. (1915-1944) graduated from Harvard University in 1938 & studied at the London School of Economics.  JPK Jr. was a delegate to the 1940 Democratic National Convention & joined the U.S. Navy in WWII.  He was killed during a dangerous top secret mission.

SOURCE

"Kennedys Announce Birth Of First Child, July 25, 1915," JFK+50, July 25, 2011, www.jfk50.blogspot.com/

 

 

Lt. Joseph P. Kennedy, Jr.

U.S. Navy

JFK Library & Museum

PD

JACK IS PERFECTLY CAPABLE TO DO EVERYTHING

JFK+50:  Volume 7, No. 2381

JOE JUNIOR WAS AMBASSADOR KENNEDY'S FIRST CHOICE

Hull, Massachusetts (JFK+50) 102 years ago today, July 25, 1915, the first child of Mr. and Mrs. Joseph P. Kennedy was born in Nantasket, Massachusetts.  The Kennedys were spending the summer in a rented cottage on Atlantic Avenue.

The baby boy, delivered by Dr. Frederick Good, was named Joseph Patrick Kennedy, Jr.*  Will Swift writes in "The Kennedys, Amidst the Gathering Storm,"

"It was Joe Jr. who his father had anointed to become president.  He would spend a year in London as his father's political aide at the embassy and would go on fact-finding trips throughout Europe."

All the hopes for his first son were dashed on August 12, 1944 when Joe Jr. was killed when his Liberator exploded over the English Channel.   After an extended period of mourning, the Ambassador transferred his hopes for the presidency to his second son, John F. Kennedy.

Ironically, Joe Jr. had written in a letter to his father...

"As far as the family is concerned, it seems that Jack is perfectly capable to do everything, if by chance anything happened to me."

In 1945, As We Remember Joe**, a book of remembrances for Kennedy family, friends and associates, was published.  The book included a forward by brother Jack along with his essay titled "My Brother Joe."

*Joseph P. Kennedy, Jr. (1915-1944) graduated from Harvard in 1938.  He studied at the London School of Economics and was a delegate to the 1940 Democratic Convention.  Joe joined the US Navy earning his wings as a naval aviator in May 1942.  He completed 25 combat missions before volunteering for the one that took his life.

**As We Remember Joe (1945) is described at www.buddenbrooks.com/ as "scarce and one of the most difficult to obtain JFK related books."  It is estimated that there were a total of 360 copies printed.  The price is $1850. 

SOURCES

"Joseph P. Kennedy, Jr.," John F. Kennedy Presidential Library and Museum.

"The Kennedys:  Amidst The Gathering Storm, A Thousand Days in London 1938-1940," by Will Swift, Smithsonian Books, 2008.

As We Remember Joe

University Press

Cambridge, MA (1945)

www.buddenbrooks.com

      

AS WE REMEMBER JOE

JFK+50:  Volume 6, No. 2020

THE FAMILY HONORS JOSEPH P. KENNEDY, JR.

Cambridge, Massachusetts (JFK+50) Today, July 25, 2016, is the 101st anniversary of the birth of Joseph Patrick Kennedy, Jr.*  Joe Junior was the first child of Mr. and Mrs. Joseph P. Kennedy, Sr., and the older brother of President John F. Kennedy.

Joe Junior was delivered by Kennedy family doctor Frederick L. Good in a rented cottage, where the Kennedys were spending the summer, located on Atlantic Avenue in Nantasket.

Joe Jr., stationed in England during WWII, became "one of the most experienced pilots in the  navy."  Joe was part of Operation Aphrodite.  The target was to be a German vengeance weapon bombing site located  in northern France.  Before he took off on the mission, Joe told a friend, "If I don't come back, tell my Dad I love him very much."

On August 12, 1944, Joe's B-24 Liberator, loaded with 21,150 pounds of explosives, was in position at 2000 feet when it exploded before Joe and his navigator could parachute to safety as planned.  The remains were never found and the wreckage of the B-24 was scattered over an area 3 miles x 2 miles. After his death, Joseph P. Kennedy, Jr. was awarded the Air Medal and Navy Cross for heroism.  

In 1945, As We Remember Joe**, a book of remembrances for Kennedy family, friends and associates, was published.  The book included a forward by brother Jack along with his essay titled "My Brother Joe."


*Joseph P. Kennedy, Jr. (1915-1944) graduated from Harvard in 1938.  He studied at the London School of Economics and was a delegate to the 1940 Democratic Convention.  Joe joined the US Navy earning his wings as a naval aviator in May 1942.  He completed 25 combat missions before volunteering for the one that took his life.

**As We Remember Joe (1945) is described at www.buddenbrooks.com/ as "scarce and one of the most difficult to obtain JFK related books."  It is estimated that there were a total of 360 copies printed.  The price is $1850. http://www.buddenbrooks.com/pages/books/22913/john-f-kennedy/as-we-remember-joe

As We Remember Joe

University Press

Cambridge, MA (1945)

www.buddenbrooks.com

SOURCES

"Joseph P. Kennedy, Jr., Pilot (1915-1944)," Bio., www.biography.com/

"Joseph P. Kennedy, Jr.," John F. Kennedy Presidential Library and Museum, www.jfklibrary.org/

"Lt. Joe Kennedy," by Trevor Jermy, edited by Lester Curtis, Norfolk and Suffolk Aviation Museum, www.aviationmuseum.net/Joe_Kennedy.htm

"Top Secret Drone Mission That Killed Joseph Kennedy, Jr." by Ed Grabianowski, February 21, 2013, www.i09.com/

"What if Joseph Kennedy, Jr. had not died on WWII mission?," by Jagdtigerl, www.ww2f.com/

      

CENTENNIAL OF JOE KENNEDY JR'S BIRTH

JOSEPH P. KENNEDY, JR. BORN A CENTURY AGO TODAY

Hull, Massachusetts (JFK+50) One hundred years ago today, July 25, 1915, Mr. and Mrs. Joseph P. Kennedy announced the birth of their first child, Joseph Patrick Kennedy, Jr.*

Joe Junior was delivered by Kennedy family doctor Frederick L. Good in a rented cottage, where the Kennedys were spending the summer, located on Atlantic Avenue in Nantasket**.

Joe attended Choate School and the London School of Economics before attending Harvard where he graduated cum laude in 1938.  He joined the United States Navy in June 1941 and was awarded his aviator wings in May 1942.

Joseph P. Kennedy, Jr. became "one of the most experienced pilots in the  navy."  Twice he was scheduled to return to the States but volunteered to stay to run additional bombing missions, some of them coinciding with the Normandy invasion.

On the second occasion that Joe was scheduled to return home, he told his crew to do so, but he remained.   Joe volunteered for a special assignment known as Operation Aphrodite.  The target was to be a German vengeance weapon bombing site located  in northern France.  

Before he took off on the mission, Joe told a friend, "If I don't come back, tell my Dad I love him very much."

On August 12, 1944, Joe's B-24 Liberator, loaded with 21,150 pounds of explosives, was in position at 2000 feet when it exploded before Joe and his navigator could parachute to safety as planned.

The remains were never found and the wreckage of the B-24 was scattered over an area 3 miles x 2 miles. After his death, Joseph P. Kennedy, Jr. was awarded the Air Medal and Navy Cross for heroism.  

In 1945, As We Remember Joe***, a book of remembrances for Kennedy family, friends and associates, was published.  The book included a forward by brother Jack along with his essay titled "My Brother Joe."


*Joseph P. Kennedy, Jr. (1915-1944) graduated from Harvard in 1938.  He studied at the London School of Economics and was a delegate to the 1940 Democratic Convention.  Joe joined the US Navy earning his wings as a naval aviator in May 1942.  He completed 25 combat missions before volunteering for the one that took his life.

**Nantasket Beach, located in Hull, Massachusetts, is one of the busiest beaches in the Boston area.  Its name is derived from the Wampanoag word meaning "where the tides meet." 

***As We Remember Joe (1945) is described at www.buddenbrooks.com/ as "scarce and one of the most difficult to obtain JFK related books."  It is estimated that there were a total of 360 copies printed.  The price is $1850. http://www.buddenbrooks.com/pages/books/22913/john-f-kennedy/as-we-remember-joe

SOURCES

"Joseph P. Kennedy, Jr., Pilot (1915-1944)," Bio., www.biography.com/

"Joseph P. Kennedy, Jr.," John F. Kennedy Presidential Library and Museum, www.jfklibrary.org/

"Lt. Joe Kennedy," by Trevor Jermy, edited by Lester Curtis, Norfolk and Suffolk Aviation Museum, www.aviationmuseum.net/Joe_Kennedy.htm

"Top Secret Drone Mission That Killed Joseph Kennedy, Jr." by Ed Grabianowski, February 21, 2013, www.i09.com/

"What if Joseph Kennedy, Jr. had not died on WWII mission?," by Jagdtigerl, www.ww2f.com/

Lt. Joseph P. Kennedy, Jr.

John F. Kennedy Library Photo