In WWII, JFK saved a shipmate by towing him with his teeth three miles through the water to an island.
John Fitzgerald Kennedy joined the US Navy in the early 1940’s. In 1941, Kennedy was appointed Ensign in the Naval Reserve, and in 1942 he was assigned to an ONI field office in Charleston, South Carolina. In 1943, he was assigned to Panama, and later that year he was moved to the Solomon Islands seeking combat duty. He was placed in charge of PT 109.
In early August 1943, fifteen boats, including PT 109, were sent out on patrol to intercept Japanese warships. Around 2 in the morning, a Japanese destroyer cut PT 109 in half in ten seconds. The Japanese destroyer, Amagiri, was so large and moving so fast that the crew didn’t even realize they had struck a vessel. JFK and ten other men survived. Kennedy swam to the aid of one man, Patrick Henry McMahon, who was badly burned.
Kennedy towed him through the ocean by his teeth for three hours to reach the remnant of the PT109, but upon reaching it, he realized it was starting to sink. Upon realizing this, Kennedy decided to swim all the way to an island on the south east, three miles away- all still while towing McMahon.
In early August 1943, fifteen boats, including PT 109, were sent out on patrol to intercept Japanese warships. Around 2 in the morning, a Japanese destroyer cut PT 109 in half in ten seconds. The Japanese destroyer, Amagiri, was so large and moving so fast that the crew didn’t even realize they had struck a vessel. JFK and ten other men survived. Kennedy swam to the aid of one man, Patrick Henry McMahon, who was badly burned.
Kennedy towed him through the ocean by his teeth for three hours to reach the remnant of the PT109, but upon reaching it, he realized it was starting to sink. Upon realizing this, Kennedy decided to swim all the way to an island on the south east, three miles away- all still while towing McMahon.
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