Betsy Tara Ross In his book Killing Kennedy, O'REILLY writes it up like JFK could have been court martialed as easily as he was awarded medals. The Kennedy magic Ted would enjoy in the wake of Chappaquiddick!
Betsy Tara Ross In his book Killing Kennedy, O'REILLY writes it up like JFK could have been court martialed as easily as he was awarded medals. The Kennedy magic Ted would enjoy in the wake of Chappaquiddick!
Many questions come to mind concerning this incident. Were other PT's running on one engine? If so was it a consensus among the other PT commanding officers? What was the situation of the Japanese destroyer? Did they have radar? Why ram a PT boat risking injury to the destroyer rather than shoot or torpedo the PT Boat. doesn't seem very honorable by Japanese standards. Gonna have to read the book.
Without a doubt his efforts subsequent to the collision were heroic. I haven't read O'Reilly's book but assume there were factors that MAY have warranted a court martial (e.g., running on one engine in enemy waters, failure to detect the oncoming destroyer, etc..). Not certain as to his whether or not his family relationship had anything to do with the decision to forego punishment; however, JFK's leadership in the successful effort to save his crew renders any question of his deserving recognition a moot point. IMHO.
I believe that Kennedy deserved some kind of commendation for saving McMahon's life. But this story only goes to show that all kinds of things can go wrong in war. For this reason, I am hesitant to pass judgment on Kennedy's actions or decisions. But one decision he made was clearly the correct one: not to surrender to the Japanese. Historians now know how terribly the Japanese treated POWs.
Kennedy's actions and decisions can only be evaluated based upon the information available to him at the time. What was the status of fuel vs expected time loitering in place? That would determine if the single engine running was per SOP or not. Why were the radar equipped boats ordered back? If it was equipment or power plant issues, good decision. If it was fuel status, a fuel transfer from one of the other boats would have been a better decision, if SOP did not dictate sending the boats back. I view his actions after the PT-109 was rammed as separate and distinct from the earlier events, and believe his actions were absolutely deserving of the Navy and Marine Medal.
It is impossible to know what if anything that happened the night that PT 109 was rammed could be blamed on the skipper. However, the heroic actions of a young John F Kennedy can't be denied. He saved lives during that incident and he became larger than life to the American people.
John Kennedy was in inspirational man and whether a person agreed with his politics or not, he inspired the nation with his bold and forward thinking. His assassination cemented his name as a hero to America.
Thank you Tara.
PS: This format may work well to alert your readers on Facebook to follow you to your website. What are the disadvantages?
I think the main disadvantage is that the FB algorithm sees a link and doesn't want to promote it. (I am clearly taking people off the FB site and onto another site.) I don't even blame them for that, really.
Thank youTara. I am very sorry to see some of your dedicated efforts become obstructed or diluted because of the #$%# algorithms. Again, I will follow you wherever and I hope that most of your readers will as well.
I never knew “the rest of the story.” Thank you again for adding details. I love learning.
Betsy Tara Ross In his book Killing Kennedy, O'REILLY writes it up like JFK could have been court martialed as easily as he was awarded medals. The Kennedy magic Ted would enjoy in the wake of Chappaquiddick!
Betsy Tara Ross In his book Killing Kennedy, O'REILLY writes it up like JFK could have been court martialed as easily as he was awarded medals. The Kennedy magic Ted would enjoy in the wake of Chappaquiddick!
Many questions come to mind concerning this incident. Were other PT's running on one engine? If so was it a consensus among the other PT commanding officers? What was the situation of the Japanese destroyer? Did they have radar? Why ram a PT boat risking injury to the destroyer rather than shoot or torpedo the PT Boat. doesn't seem very honorable by Japanese standards. Gonna have to read the book.
Without a doubt his efforts subsequent to the collision were heroic. I haven't read O'Reilly's book but assume there were factors that MAY have warranted a court martial (e.g., running on one engine in enemy waters, failure to detect the oncoming destroyer, etc..). Not certain as to his whether or not his family relationship had anything to do with the decision to forego punishment; however, JFK's leadership in the successful effort to save his crew renders any question of his deserving recognition a moot point. IMHO.
I believe that Kennedy deserved some kind of commendation for saving McMahon's life. But this story only goes to show that all kinds of things can go wrong in war. For this reason, I am hesitant to pass judgment on Kennedy's actions or decisions. But one decision he made was clearly the correct one: not to surrender to the Japanese. Historians now know how terribly the Japanese treated POWs.
Thank you, Tara.
Kennedy's actions and decisions can only be evaluated based upon the information available to him at the time. What was the status of fuel vs expected time loitering in place? That would determine if the single engine running was per SOP or not. Why were the radar equipped boats ordered back? If it was equipment or power plant issues, good decision. If it was fuel status, a fuel transfer from one of the other boats would have been a better decision, if SOP did not dictate sending the boats back. I view his actions after the PT-109 was rammed as separate and distinct from the earlier events, and believe his actions were absolutely deserving of the Navy and Marine Medal.
Hero
A Hero for Sure!
It is impossible to know what if anything that happened the night that PT 109 was rammed could be blamed on the skipper. However, the heroic actions of a young John F Kennedy can't be denied. He saved lives during that incident and he became larger than life to the American people.
John Kennedy was in inspirational man and whether a person agreed with his politics or not, he inspired the nation with his bold and forward thinking. His assassination cemented his name as a hero to America.
Thank you Tara.
PS: This format may work well to alert your readers on Facebook to follow you to your website. What are the disadvantages?
Wally Firkins a minute ago
I think the main disadvantage is that the FB algorithm sees a link and doesn't want to promote it. (I am clearly taking people off the FB site and onto another site.) I don't even blame them for that, really.
Thank youTara. I am very sorry to see some of your dedicated efforts become obstructed or diluted because of the #$%# algorithms. Again, I will follow you wherever and I hope that most of your readers will as well.
I saw the movie 60 or so years ago but I can’t find it on YouTube, yet!
Thank you, again, Tara for another great story of what our military went through to defend Liberty!
Me, either. Just the trailer. :)
Glad you enjoyed the story!