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Posted on 05/29/2002 1:15:23 AM PDT by kattracks
SYDNEY, Australia, May 29, 2002 (AP Online via COMTEX) -- Shipwreck hunter Robert Ballard said Wednesday he has found the World War II patrol boat commanded by John F. Kennedy in the Pacific Ocean off the Solomon Islands.
The remains of the wooden boat, PT 109, were lying on the seabed in the Blanket Strait near Gizo in the New Georgia group of islands, Ballard told Solomon Islands Broadcasting Corp. radio.
Gizo is 235 miles northwest of the capital of the Solomons, Honiara.
Ballard, who led a team that found the Titanic shipwreck in 1985, said he located the wreckage of Kennedy's boat last week after searching for about a week. He did not provide further details of the discovery, citing contractual obligations over film and magazine rights to the search.
The radio report said a National Geographic documentary will be released in November. Members of the National Geographic team in the Solomon Islands did not immediately return calls seeking comment.
The PT 109 sank in August 1943 after it was hit by a Japanese warship.
It is unknown how much of the boat remains besides the engines. Water is expected to have caused extensive damage to the hull.
Ballard, who found the wreck of the Titanic and other historic ships, had planned to use remote cameras to search for the boat.
The late president's brother, Sen. Edward M. Kennedy, a Massachusetts Democrat, and daughter, Caroline Kennedy, agreed to the expedition after being assured that the site would not be disturbed. Two members of Kennedy's crew died when the boat was hit.
In a 1999 interview, Ballard said PT 109 is "not lost, just misplaced." But he added searching for the vessel in an area full of unexploded ordnance would be "no fun."
Kennedy was commanding a patrol in August 2, 1943, when the boat was hit and cut in two by a Japanese destroyer.
Kennedy and 10 other survivors swam 15 hours to reach a nearby island. He towed one injured survivor, engineer Patrick Henry McMahon, by swimming with a strap from McMahon's lifejacket in his teeth.
They later swam to another island where there were coconuts to eat. Kennedy carved a message into one coconut and gave it to a native islander to take to rescuers.
Patrol torpedo boats, such as the PT109, had mahogany hulls. Plywood was used for the internal structures, chart houses and gun turrets. They were 80 feet long and powered by 12-cylinder gasoline engines.
The boats were used primarily to attack surface ships, but they also were used to lay mines and smoke screens, to rescue downed aviators and to carry out intelligence operations.
Copyright 2002 Associated Press, All rights reserved
From what I recall, the crew of PT-109 installed a vastly oversized gun on the bow. At the time it seemed like a good idea. The problem was, it made the boat fairly unmaneuverable. Before they could get it removed and replaced with the standard navy issue gun, the boat was sent on a mission & sunk.
Walter Mondale did the same thing and I believe I once heard Jimmy Carter (a nucular engineer) use the term as well. It's an affectation some politicians use to show they are down to earth, just one of the people. They know the correct pronunciation but choose to say it wrong.
That's a bit of an understatement.
But it gets you closer than, say, simply being a keyboard-cowboy.
And I must add that I too observe Bush (and all government actions) with a skeptical eye.
I just despise the Kennedys and everyone who worships at the shrine of Saint Jack.
But they are notorious lady-killers.
Besides I was being sarcastic. Jeez, folks lighten up. I didn't mean to blaspheme your idol.
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If he hadn't acted heroically after his ship was cut in half, he would have been court-martialled. In fact he thought he was going to be, but Old Joe started frantically pulling strings and we ended up with a hero.
JFK had originally been sent to the Pacific after Joe pulled strings to stop him from being court-martialled over the Nazi spy Jack was slagging in D.C.
And does anybody who has swam over fifty yards believe for one second that Saint Jack swam fifteen miles towing a guy in his teeth, when this incident is where Jack suffered the back injury that plagued him for the rest of his life? Puleeze!
The whole Camelot (Come-a-lot) Myth is simply propaganda bought and paid for by Joe. Even JFK called reporters and the press "pocket people".
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