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Joseph P. Kennedy, Jr.
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Joseph P. Kennedy, Jr. (July 25, 1915 – August 12, 1944) was the oldest of the nine children born to Joseph P. Kennedy, Sr. and his wife, Rose Fitzgerald Kennedy. Older brother of future President John F. Kennedy, he was expected to bear the family's political hopes.
Contents
- 1 Early life
- 2 World War II service
- 3 After death, legacy
- 4 References
- 5 See also
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Early life
Joseph, Jr. graduated from the prestigious Choate Rosemary Hall in Connecticut in 1933 (his brother John F. Kennedy also attended) and entered Harvard University in 1934 and graduated in 1938 (political historian Theodore White was a classmate). There he played football, rugby, and Crew, and served on the student council. He spent a year studying under the tutelage of Harold Laski at the London School of Economics, before enrolling in Harvard Law School In 1940, he made his first step in what would have been his political life, as a delegate to the Democratic National Convention.
World War II service
He left Harvard Law before his final year to enlist in the
United States Navy as an aviator. He earned his wings in May 1942 and was sent to
England in September 1943. He piloted the
PB4Y Liberator on
anti-submarine and other missions on two tours of duty throughout the winter of 1943-44.
Operation Aphrodite
Although Kennedy had completed his 25 combat missions and was eligible to return home, he volunteered for a special mission in July 1944 under the auspices of Operation Aphrodite. He piloted a modified version of the PBY4-1 (a Naval B-24 Liberator); the top-secret mission was intended to counter the German Vergeltungswaffe ("vengeance weapon") attacks on England - specifically, the newly developed V-3 cannon, which unbeknownst to the Allies had been rendered inoperable in a prior raid. The plane was to be loaded with 21,170 pounds (9600 kg) of Torpex, flown across the English Channel, where the pilot and co-pilot would parachute out, and then crash into the hardened bunker containing the V-3 which was located near Mimoyecques, France.
The final leg of the flight was to be guided remotely by an escort fighter through radio-control. The cause of the accidental detonation of the payload is unknown, but the Torpex detonated over England before the plane reached the
English Channel, and both Kennedy and his crewmate, Lt. Wilford J. Willy, were killed instantly:
ATTEMPTED FIRST APHRODITE ATTACK TWELVE AUGUST WITH ROBOT TAKING OFF FROM FERSFIELD AT ONE EIGHT ZERO FIVE HOURS PD ROBOT EXPLODED IN THE AIR AT APPROXIMATELY TWO THOUSAND FEET EIGHT MILES SOUTHEAST OF HALESWORTH AT ONE EIGHT TWO ZERO HOURS PD WILFORD J. WILLY CMA SR GRADE LIEUTENANT AND JOSEPH P. KENNEDY SR GRADE LIEUTENANT CMA BOTH USNR CMA WERE KILLED PD COMMANDER SMITH CMA IN COMMAND OF THIS UINT CMA IS MAKING FULL REPORT TO US NAVAL OPERATIONS PD A MORE DETAILED REPORT WILL BE FORWARDED TO YOU WHEN INTERROGATION IS COMPLETED[1]
Kennedy's body was never recovered, and he was posthumously awarded the
Navy Cross; the
Distinguished Flying Cross and the
Air Medal. Lt. Willy was also posthumously awarded the
Navy Cross; both men's names are listed on the Tablets of the Missing at Cambridge, American Cemetery,
Cambridge,
England.
After death, legacy
In 1946, the Navy named a destroyer for him, the USS Joseph P. Kennedy, Jr. (DD-850), aboard which his younger brother Robert F. Kennedy briefly served. Among the highlights of its service are the blockade of Cuba during the Cuban Missile Crisis and the afloat recovery teams for Gemini 6 and Gemini 7. It is now a floating museum in Battleship Cove, Fall River, Massachusetts.
