![]() ![]() Nevertheless, he returned home to a naval inquiry on the sinking. Widely credited with the rescue of his crew, Kennedy received the US Navy and Marine Corps Medal for Valor and a Purple Heart for injuries he sustained. The crew hid on the island from the enemy for days until Kennedy managed to summon help. Towing a badly burned crewmate by a life-jacket strap clenched in his teeth, Kennedy led the crew's ten survivors on a three-mile swim to refuge on a tiny island. In August 1943, as the sailors were sleeping without posting a watch (in violation of naval regulations), a Japanese destroyer rammed his boat, PT 109. ![]() His efforts to join the US Navy were initially thwarted by his ill-health, but after his father invervened, he was eventually admitted and assigned to serve in the South Pacific, commanding a small motor-torpedo boat, or “PT boat.” Kennedy and his crew participated in the campaign to wrest thousands of islands from Japanese control. World War II Military ServiceĪfter Kennedy graduated from Harvard, the United States entered World War II. It was published and was well received by critics, becoming a bestseller under the title, Why England Slept. While in England with his father, he wrote his senior essay for Harvard University on England's lack of readiness for the Second World War. That year, Jack inherited $1 million dollars from his family, but his ambition remained strong. The new ambassador was unsympathetic to British preparedness policies and found a cool reception in London. Kennedy, John's father, to the key post of ambassador to the United Kingdom. In 1938, on the eve of the Second World War, President Franklin D. Afflicted with an almost constant stream of ailments, several of which went undiagnosed, Kennedy spent much of his time recuperating. Kennedy later claimed that his only experience of the Great Depression came from what he read in books while attending Harvard University.įor John, this privileged childhood was interrupted repeatedly by chronic bouts of illness. Though the ensuing Great Depression gripped the nation, “Jack” and his eight siblings enjoyed a privileged childhood of elite private schools, sailboats, servants, and summer homes. Kennedy, had made a fortune in the stock market, entertainment, and other business, managing to take his money out of the stock market just before the crash of 1929. His maternal grandfather had been mayor of Boston. Both parents hailed from wealthy Boston families with long political histories. Born soon after America's entry into the First World War, John Fitzgerald Kennedy was the nation's first president born in the 20th century. ![]()
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