Today is the anniversary of the ramming and sinking of John F. Kennedy’s PT-109 in 1943. A PT (patrol torpedo) boat was a wooden, speedy boat used against enemy shipping. Their attacks on Japanese warships were close to suicidal. What follows was my examination of the accuracy of the movie “PT-109”.
Kennedy’s father pulled strings to get him into the Navy. His son suffered from a bad back, ulcers, and asthma. And then he convinced Lt. Commander John Bulkeley (of “They Were Expendable” fame) to take him into PT boats. He did well, in spite of his health problems. Next, a senator used his influence to get JFK transferred to combat in the Solomons. On the transport on the way over, an attack by a number of Japanese planes killed the captain. Kennedy helped pass shells to an anti-aircraft gun. When he arrived at Tulagi, he was given PT-109, but it was not a bad boat. It had been in combat for several months and the crew was veteran. Kennedy did help with routine repairs. There was a big attack on the base. The incident involving the rescue of the Marines actually happened a few months after the sinking of PT-109 when Kennedy was captain of the PT-59. The boat did run out of gas and had to be towed, but the Japanese firing on it was probably Hollywood. The mission when the ramming occurred involved more than a dozen boats attempting to intercept four Japanese destroyers. Although numerous torpedoes were fired, none hit. PT-109 did not fire any. The ramming occurred as the Japanese were leaving. The official version is Kennedy attempted to evade the warship, but the boat did not maneuver quickly enough. This could have been slow response from Kennedy or possibly a mess-up by a crewman that Kennedy took responsibility for. The Amagiri probably did not even know it had sliced through the little boat. PT-109 was cut in two and two crewmen were killed instantly. They swam four hours to a nearby island with Kennedy towing a badly wounded man. Unfortunately, the island was devoid of food or water. The next night, Kennedy swam into the passage to try to contact another PT boat. Two nights later, the crew swam to another island where they found coconuts, but still no water. Then JFK and George Ross swam to a third island where they encountered two natives. Unlike in the movie, the natives were not typical. They worked with a coast watcher who had been searching for Kennedy’s crew since he had seen the explosion of the boat. Kennedy sent a note carved on a coconut shell by way of the natives and a PT was sent to pick them up. 
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