Motor Torpedo Boat PT-109 - Under Kennedy's Command

Under Kennedy's Command

Despite having a bad back, Kennedy used his family influence to get into the war. After starting out as an ensign with a desk job for the Office of Naval Intelligence in October 1941, on 27 July 1942 he entered the Naval Reserve Officers Training School in Chicago. After completing this training three months later, he entered the Motor Torpedo Boat Squadron Training Center in Melville, Rhode Island, where he was promoted to Lieutenant, junior grade before completing his training on 2 December. He was then ordered to the training squadron, Motor Torpedo Squadron 4, to take over the command of motor torpedo boat PT-101, a 78-foot Higgins PT boat. In January 1943, PT-101 and four other boats were ordered to Motor Torpedo Boat Squadron 14, which was assigned to Panama.

The Allies had been in a campaign of island hopping since securing Guadalcanal in a bloody battle in early 1943. Seeking combat duty, Kennedy transferred on 23 February 1943 as a replacement officer to Motor Torpedo Boat Squadron 2, which was based at Tulagi Island in the Solomons. Traveling to the Pacific on USS Rochambeau, Kennedy arrived at Tulagi on 14 April and took command of PT-109 on 23 April. On 30 May, several PT boats, including PT-109, were ordered to the Russell Islands in preparation for the invasion of New Georgia.

After the capture of Rendova Island, the PT boat operations were moved to a "bush" berth there on 16 June. From that base PT boats conducted nightly operations, both to disturb the heavy Japanese barge traffic that was resupplying the Japanese garrisons in New Georgia, and to patrol the Ferguson and Blackett Straits in order to sight and to give warning when the Japanese Tokyo Express warships came into the straits to assault U.S. forces in the New Georgia–Rendova area.

On 1 August, an attack by 18 Japanese bombers struck the base, wrecking PT-117 and sinking PT-164. Two torpedoes were blown off PT-164 and ran erratically around the bay until they ran ashore on the beach without exploding. Despite the loss of two boats and two crewmen, Kennedy's PT-109 and 14 other boats were sent north on a mission through Ferguson Passage to Blackett Strait, after intelligence reports had indicated that five enemy destroyers were scheduled to run that night from Bougainville Island through Blackett Strait to Vila, on the southern tip of Kolombangara Island. In the PT attack that followed, 15 boats loaded with 60 torpedoes counted only a few observed explosions. However, of the thirty torpedoes fired by PT boats from the four divisions not a single hit was scored. Many of the torpedoes exploded prematurely or ran at the wrong depth. The boats were ordered to return when their torpedoes were expended, but the boats with radar shot their torpedoes first. When they left, remaining boats, such as PT-109, were left without radar, and were not notified that other boats had already engaged the enemy.

PT-109, with PT-162 and PT-169, were ordered to continue patrolling the area in case the enemy ships returned. Around 02:00, on a moonless night, Kennedy's boat was idling on one engine to avoid detection of her wake by Japanese aircraft when the crew realized they were in the path of the Japanese destroyer Amagiri, which was returning to Rabaul from Vila, Kolombangara after offloading supplies and 900 soldiers. Amagiri was traveling at a relatively high speed of between 23 knots (43 km/h) and 40 kt (75 km/h) in order to reach harbor by dawn, when Allied air patrols were likely to appear.

The crew had less than 10 seconds to get the engines up to speed, and were run down by the destroyer on 2 August 1943 in the Blackett Strait between Kolombangara and Arundel in the Solomon Islands near 8°06′44″S 156°54′20″E / 8.112140°S 156.905488°E / -8.112140; 156.905488 (ramming of PT-109).

Conflicting statements have been made as to whether the destroyer captain had spotted and steered towards the boat; some reports suggest the Amagiri's captain never realized what happened until after the fact; although the author, Donovan, having interviewed the men on the destroyer concluded that it was not an accident. Damage to a propeller slowed the Japanese destroyer's trip to her own home base.

The captain of the Amagiri was Lt. Cmdr. Kohei Hanami. Also aboard was his senior officer, Capt. Katsumori Yamashiro (commander, 11th Destroyer Flotilla), and on a following ship was Capt. Tameichi Hara (Flotilla commander, Destroyer Div. #7), who claimed he noticed the resulting explosive fire after the PT 109 had been rammed, cut in half, and left burning.

PT-109 was cut in two. Seamen Andrew Jackson Kirksey and Harold W. Marney were killed, and two other members of the crew were badly injured. For such a catastrophic collision, explosion, and fire, it was a low loss rate compared to other boats that were hit by shell fire. PT-109 was gravely damaged, with watertight compartments keeping only the forward hull afloat in a sea of flames.

PT-169 launched two torpedoes that missed the destroyer and PT-162's torpedoes failed to fire at all. Both boats then turned away from the scene of the action and returned to base without checking for survivors.