I wish the alternative history of the Lindberg model kit cover was true.
Looks like the 109, at full speed, gets missed. Also, apparently there’s some kind of air raid going on.
Kennedy leaned pretty heavily on the PT-109 mythos. Without it, he’s just some guy that 4F’d out of active duty. Maybe it’d be enough to sink him into obscurity, or maybe peak out as some government bureaucrat like his old man.
“some government bureaucrat like his old man.”
Joseph Kennedy was a lot more than “some government bureaucrat.”
He worked hand in hand with the mob his whole life.
Sam Giancona said, “Joe Kennedy was the biggest crook I ever dealt with.”
New York mobster Frank Costello said, “I made Joe Kennedy his money.” [They worked in the illegal liquor bussiness during prohibition.]
There are many reasons to dislike Mr. Kennedy, his wartime service was not one. The Solomon Islands were a tough area to fight in, (i wrote my Master's thesis on Operation CARTWHEEL to include Solomons operations) either on land or sea. The PT Boats (most without radar) were tasked that night to be pickets during a dark and foggy night to identify and engage Japanese destroyer traffic.
Murphy's law struck when he was unlucky enough to be idling in the path of a speeding destroyer. He lost one crewman, got the rest to safety, with a badly injured back. He did well to get them back, and credibly commanded a second boat after getting out of the hospital. His was one of 99 PT Boats lost in the war, 8 of whom were rammed.
I am not a fan him, or his Presidency, but his wartime service was credible.