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.
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".