A WEEK and he finds it?? Man that's fast!
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
As for knowing nothing about the Navy, there's where you are totally wrong. I have studied every history of the Naval operations in the Pacific in detail for years. Have you? As for Bush avoiding active service, his unit was not called up, but he would have gone. Denigrating the National Guard is foolish too. They have served in every war to date and done so with honor.
I wouldn't say that at all, in fact I didn't. That is known as a strawman. Make up a comment or idea and attribute it to someone else, and then knock it down.
I said, "Nah, it's not his fault that he grew up with idiots who couldn't speak english."
That means precisely what it says. It wasn't his fault, he grew up with idiots, and they couldn't speak english. None of those things address intelligence as it pertains to language usage.
Additionally, the word "Cuba" has no "R" in it. It is improper to pronounce it with an "R" in it. Also the word "Nah" is a slang usage of the word "no", and is quite acceptable when trying to convey a certain feeling to the writing style of the author.
Now, we can talk about reading comprehension as a possible indication of intelligence. :-)
As far as your reading suggestions, I have found out that if you look hard enough, somebody somewhere will write or has written something that will agree with just about any point of view. There have been as many positive books about the Kennedy's as there have been negative. I tend to believe that the truth, as in all things lay somewhere in between.
No matter who he was, prince or pauper, John Kennedy's actions after the sinking of the 109 were truly heroic. They were not a result of his money or his political affiliation or his family. When the 109 went down, not a bit of that mattered. What does matter is that it is an example of courage under fire that many today could only hope to aspire to. Therefore, the discovery of the 109 is a significant historical find.
As far as naval history goes. The past two generations of my family have about 80 years of combined service. I have been a student of Naval history since I was a child.
Mary Jo's remains were interred in a remote cemetary on a mountainside in Laurel Run, PA.
The cemetary had long been popular for moonlight trysts. After Mary Jo was put down, it was impossible to walk within 50 feet of the place, without the local constables showing up.
Rumor had it, that the Kennedy's had paid for motion detectors, etc.
That region is one of the most liberal in the country. That was why I called them idiots. I rest my case. :-)
"Cuber" isn't english. If people don't sound exactly like me, they don't speak english well, it's as simple as that.
As to your background in language, "if the only tool you have is a hammer, every problem looks like a nail".
Hmmm, how did they explain that the boat was "intact" and was "beached" on an island right near the beachfront Bar and Grill?
Please explain the reference.
ROTFLMAO!!!!
Yes, especially considering he could not find a battleship in these same waters, nor a single one of four 700+ foot long aircraft carriers off Midway Island a few years back.
Take your pick
Guess it really helps to have your father as an ambassador.
Very recently heard Robert Caro on his latest LBJ bio. Congressman Johnson went on a single bombing
mission as an observer, in combat for about 10minutes, and surprise, got the Silver Star.
(And he constantly wore the ribbon)
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