Kennedys - Can’t Drive, Can’t Fly, Can’t Ski, Can’t Skipper a Boat....but they know what’s best for us.
After almost killing his crew, he gets a medal, what the Army calls the Soldier’s medal.
I think most people are not clear which medal he won, his powerful dad tried to get him a Medal of Honor, after all LBJ got a Silver Star.
I think “collided” while maybe technically true, is the wrong word.
The Japanese Destroyer saw him and rammed the PT-109 cutting it in half.
I once knew another Captain in Kennedy’s squadron. I asked him a lot of questions. Basically he said Kennedy was well liked but getting rammed was the worst thing which could happen to a PT boat. They were the fastest things on the ocean.
The world’s most dangerous pastime - riding in a vehicle driven by a Kennedy.
If John had been killed or had died on that island, then the old man would have used Robert to fulfill his presidential ambitions. Oh wait, Robert wasn’t a war hero, so perhaps he wouldn’t have even been electable to congress.
Since it had been six days, and there wasn't time to ferment any coconut juice, Kennedy was sober.
I once read an account by a crew member that they told the two natives where to go to get a rescue party and the natives understood and were ready to go. Then JFK said wait and grabbed a coconut and started hacking on it while everyone waited patiently. He finally gave them the unnecessary message on the coconut and off they went. The crew member was surprised to see the coconut displayed on the Oval Office desk years later. That’s forward thinking.