ourpresidents: Late in the night of August 1, 1943, Lieutenant John F. Kennedy’s Patrol Torpedo boat, the PT-109, was attacked by a Japanese destroyer in the South Pacific. The destroyer struck PT-109 in the darkness of the moonless night, ripping away the starboard side of the boat. The impact tossed Kennedy around the cockpit. Most of the crew were knocked into the water. The one man below decks, engineer Patrick McMahon, miraculously escaped, although he was badly burned by exploding fuel. From the wreckage, Kennedy ordered the men with him, to identify the locations of their crewmates in the water. Kennedy swam out to McMahon and Charles Harris. Kennedy towed the injured McMahon by a life-vest strap, and alternately cajoled and berated the exhausted Harris to get him through the difficult swim. Floating on and around the hulk, the crew took stock. After a discussion of options, the men abandoned the remains of PT-109 and struck out for an islet three and a half miles away. Kennedy had been on the swim team at Harvard; even towing McMahon by a belt clamped in his teeth, he was undaunted by the distance. Some of the other men were also good swimmers, but several were not; two, Johnston and Mauer, could not swim at all. These last two were lashed to a plank that the other seven men pulled and pushed as they could. Read more
Zoom Info
ourpresidents: Late in the night of August 1, 1943, Lieutenant John F. Kennedy’s Patrol Torpedo boat, the PT-109, was attacked by a Japanese destroyer in the South Pacific. The destroyer struck PT-109 in the darkness of the moonless night, ripping away the starboard side of the boat. The impact tossed Kennedy around the cockpit. Most of the crew were knocked into the water. The one man below decks, engineer Patrick McMahon, miraculously escaped, although he was badly burned by exploding fuel. From the wreckage, Kennedy ordered the men with him, to identify the locations of their crewmates in the water. Kennedy swam out to McMahon and Charles Harris. Kennedy towed the injured McMahon by a life-vest strap, and alternately cajoled and berated the exhausted Harris to get him through the difficult swim. Floating on and around the hulk, the crew took stock. After a discussion of options, the men abandoned the remains of PT-109 and struck out for an islet three and a half miles away. Kennedy had been on the swim team at Harvard; even towing McMahon by a belt clamped in his teeth, he was undaunted by the distance. Some of the other men were also good swimmers, but several were not; two, Johnston and Mauer, could not swim at all. These last two were lashed to a plank that the other seven men pulled and pushed as they could. Read more
Zoom Info
ourpresidents: Late in the night of August 1, 1943, Lieutenant John F. Kennedy’s Patrol Torpedo boat, the PT-109, was attacked by a Japanese destroyer in the South Pacific. The destroyer struck PT-109 in the darkness of the moonless night, ripping away the starboard side of the boat. The impact tossed Kennedy around the cockpit. Most of the crew were knocked into the water. The one man below decks, engineer Patrick McMahon, miraculously escaped, although he was badly burned by exploding fuel. From the wreckage, Kennedy ordered the men with him, to identify the locations of their crewmates in the water. Kennedy swam out to McMahon and Charles Harris. Kennedy towed the injured McMahon by a life-vest strap, and alternately cajoled and berated the exhausted Harris to get him through the difficult swim. Floating on and around the hulk, the crew took stock. After a discussion of options, the men abandoned the remains of PT-109 and struck out for an islet three and a half miles away. Kennedy had been on the swim team at Harvard; even towing McMahon by a belt clamped in his teeth, he was undaunted by the distance. Some of the other men were also good swimmers, but several were not; two, Johnston and Mauer, could not swim at all. These last two were lashed to a plank that the other seven men pulled and pushed as they could. Read more
Zoom Info
ourpresidents: Late in the night of August 1, 1943, Lieutenant John F. Kennedy’s Patrol Torpedo boat, the PT-109, was attacked by a Japanese destroyer in the South Pacific. The destroyer struck PT-109 in the darkness of the moonless night, ripping away the starboard side of the boat. The impact tossed Kennedy around the cockpit. Most of the crew were knocked into the water. The one man below decks, engineer Patrick McMahon, miraculously escaped, although he was badly burned by exploding fuel. From the wreckage, Kennedy ordered the men with him, to identify the locations of their crewmates in the water. Kennedy swam out to McMahon and Charles Harris. Kennedy towed the injured McMahon by a life-vest strap, and alternately cajoled and berated the exhausted Harris to get him through the difficult swim. Floating on and around the hulk, the crew took stock. After a discussion of options, the men abandoned the remains of PT-109 and struck out for an islet three and a half miles away. Kennedy had been on the swim team at Harvard; even towing McMahon by a belt clamped in his teeth, he was undaunted by the distance. Some of the other men were also good swimmers, but several were not; two, Johnston and Mauer, could not swim at all. These last two were lashed to a plank that the other seven men pulled and pushed as they could. Read more
Zoom Info

ourpresidents:

Late in the night of August 1, 1943, Lieutenant John F. Kennedy’s Patrol Torpedo boat, the PT-109, was attacked by a Japanese destroyer in the South Pacific.

The destroyer struck PT-109 in the darkness of the moonless night, ripping away the starboard side of the boat. The impact tossed Kennedy around the cockpit. Most of the crew were knocked into the water. The one man below decks, engineer Patrick McMahon, miraculously escaped, although he was badly burned by exploding fuel.

From the wreckage, Kennedy ordered the men with him, to identify the locations of their crewmates in the water.

Kennedy swam out to McMahon and Charles Harris. Kennedy towed the injured McMahon by a life-vest strap, and alternately cajoled and berated the exhausted Harris to get him through the difficult swim. Floating on and around the hulk, the crew took stock.

After a discussion of options, the men abandoned the remains of PT-109 and struck out for an islet three and a half miles away.

Kennedy had been on the swim team at Harvard; even towing McMahon by a belt clamped in his teeth, he was undaunted by the distance. Some of the other men were also good swimmers, but several were not; two, Johnston and Mauer, could not swim at all. These last two were lashed to a plank that the other seven men pulled and pushed as they could. Read more

193 Notes/ Hide

  1. deannaswan reblogged this from ourpresidents
  2. shitskittles reblogged this from ourpresidents
  3. ibarradas21 reblogged this from jfklibrary
  4. statueofliverty reblogged this from ourpresidents
  5. lovelylittlesailor reblogged this from miezkatze
  6. miezkatze reblogged this from ourpresidents
  7. ravenbleu17 reblogged this from jfklibrary
  8. christopher212 reblogged this from ourpresidents
  9. bvit reblogged this from greatestgeneration
  10. nxmeral reblogged this from ourpresidents
  11. billionsofdirectioners reblogged this from ourpresidents
  12. stationarysailor reblogged this from ourpresidents and added:
    even funny how much I love JFK
  13. hairtrending reblogged this from truth-has-a-liberal-bias
  14. boss-of-the-plains reblogged this from politicalattire
  15. senslessnamehere reblogged this from ourpresidents
  16. politicalattire reblogged this from truth-has-a-liberal-bias
  17. vivalajackieee reblogged this from josephduong
  18. sleepyblacksheep reblogged this from truth-has-a-liberal-bias
  19. sweetspicypepper reblogged this from greatestgeneration
  20. justaghostinthemachinemd reblogged this from truth-has-a-liberal-bias
  21. asiacojp reblogged this from markcoatney
  22. celithemis-amanda reblogged this from truth-has-a-liberal-bias
  23. ryanisasian reblogged this from scootingtofreedom
  24. eclecticismatitsworst reblogged this from truth-has-a-liberal-bias
  25. juliebutlr reblogged this from pbsthisdayinhistory and added:
    I’ve been reading this book on JFK and I’ve learned all about how successful he was with swimming even though his dad...
  26. rosskely reblogged this from truth-has-a-liberal-bias