PT Boat 109
Early in the Pacific War John F. Kennedy commanded one of the many PT boats patrolling the waters. Pt boats were 80 feet long torpedo boats. Kennedy's boat along with 14 others was sent to intercept the Tokyo Express, a convoy of destroyers. After a small sea battle, PT-109 remained to patrol the area. Engine idling the crew only had seconds warning before a Japanese destroyer rammed their boat. With their ship split in two and sinking they chose to swim 4 hours to the small Plum Pudding Island. All the way Kennedy towed McMahon who was badly burned. An experienced swimmer, Kennedy swam to near by islands in search of food. The men survived on Olasana Island on coconuts. Biuku Gasa and Eroni Kumana, islanders, were sent to look for possible survivors. They found the men and JFK carved a message into a coconut because the islander only had a two man canoe. All the men were saved and their story would later be made into movies and books. The ship wreck of the PT-109 was found in 2002 by Dr. Robert Ballard.