whitehall
Diamond Member
First of all nobody wants to second guess the heroism of WW2 Veterans or Veterans of any other conflict ....unless the heroism is the basis of a political career. Then it becomes a legitimate subject for dissection and discussion. After being busted out of a cushy job in Naval Intelligence for allegedly fraternizing with a female Nazi agent old Joe Kennedy pulled some strings and his son was reassigned to the PT Boats even though he suffered from a congenital painful back problem requiring constant medication. Apparently the young skipper ran a loose command. P.T. Boats were fast and maneuverable and built for quick hit and run attacks. While P.T. Boats suffered incredible casualties from daylight plane attack and gunfire JFK's boat was the only one to be run over by an enemy ship during the war while sitting idle in the shipping lanes in the middle of the night. The Navy wanted to Court Martial the young skipper for losing his boat until old Joe Kennedy pulled some more strings and hired a Hollywood script writer to romanticize the incident and publish it in some pop magazine and the Navy backed off.