I served in the Asiatic-Pacific area, Admiralty Islands, Manus Island at Commander Naval Air Base. Boot camp was at Farragut, ID, then the Admirality Islands for the duration of the war (2 years). He witnessed the ammunition ship, Mount Hood, blow up in the harbor very near, while on Manus Island. Our Entertainment was listening to Radio Talk show host Tokyo Rose. She'd play popular songs, but also peddle propaganda such as quotes from Dear John letters or asking what your girlfriend was doing back home - 'running around with the 4-Fers?' Manus Island is on the equator. They always had hot cokes and water to drink. Once a shipment of ice cream came in. The natives were so close behind the camp They saw the navy men standing in line for the ice cream and they came and got in line for some, too.

Earl E. Kempke's induction to the U.S. Army was on June 2, 1944 in Fort Leavenworth, Kansas. His basic training was at Fort Leonard Wood located in the Missouri Ozarks. He departed by ship on November 13, 1944 for the European-African-Middle Eastern Theater of Operations (EAMETO) November 26, 1944. Earl told of initially being sent to Italy before assignment to a fighting group. Earl E. Kempke joined Company B, 68th Armored Infantry Battalion on 24 January 1945 per paragraph 2, Special Order 17, Headquarter, 14th Armored Division, dated 23 January 1945. He came from the Second Replacement Depot, which at the time was located at Thaon, France. Pvt. Kempke was one of 53 enlisted Soldiers sent to the Company as replacements for the casualties it had suffered during the fighting in and around Rittershoffen and Hatten 9-20 January 1945. Company B had withdrawn from Rittershoffen around 2130 on 20 January 1945, and moved to Waldolwisheim where it arrived shortly after midnight. In Waldolwisheim, it consolidated and on 23 January moved to Batzendorf, where it received the group of replacements on 24 January. The new Soldiers did not have a lot of time to get used to their new unit. 25 January, the Company less one platoon, moved out to conduct an attack 200 yards northeast of Ohlungen. This action cost the Company one soldier missing in action and 3 wounded. Around 1500 on 26 January Company B left Ohlungen to return to Batzendorf, where it stayed until 1 February. On that day, the Company moved out to Bischwiller to prepare for future operations and conduct patrols. Company B, along with tanks from the 25th Tank Battalion conducted an attack on Oberhoffen on 6 February in which most of the town was secured. Although not mentioned by name in the Morning Reports, it can be safely assumed that Earl participated in the battle for Oberhoffen, The Company returned to Bischweiler and sometimes on February 7, moved back to Batzendorf until 18 February. According to the Morning Reports, the Company engaged in organizational duties during its time at Batzendorf. On 19 February, the Company moved to Ringeldorf, where it stayed until 27 February, receiving more replacements, welcomed back previously wounded comrades, and sent groups of Soldiers to temporary duty at the VI Corps Rest Center at Nancy for 5 days. Additionally, it also conducted a number of Patrol, during one of which it sustained two seriously wounded and one missing in action on 24 February in the vicinity of Uberach. 28 February saw the Company on the move again, this time to Saessolsheim where they arrived at 0500. 3 March must have been a proud day for Earl. That day, he was appointed Private First Class, along with 103 of his fellow Soldiers in the Company. 3 days later, the Company packed up and at 1845 left Saessolsheim for Ettendorf where they arrived at 2030. For the next 7 days, it would perform guard duties; one group of 30 Enlisted Soldiers and 1 Officer, would be attached for rations only to Company B, 125th Armored Engineer Battalion and guard for Combat Command B at Ringendorf, while the remainder of the Company were on guard and outpost duties around Ringeldorf. On 9 March, Earl received his Combat Infantryman Badge, meaning aside from the prestige associated with the CIB, he would also receive additional pay. The copy of Company Orders is very hard to read, and it would appear they do not specify for what action PFC Kempke received his CIB, but it was probably for the actions in Oberhoffen. On 10 March the Company assembled in Ettendorf and at 1800 took off on a dismounted march to Ringeldorf. 5 days later, it would move again. This time to Grassendorf, a mere 15 min road march from Ringeldorf. The Morning Reports only list usual organizational duties for the days from 16-17 March. On 18 March, the Company moved again. A 50+ km roadmarch took them to Salmbach, just short of the German Border and no enemy contact was reported. The next day, 19 March 1945, the Company moved again. This time into Germany. A 2.5 hours road march took them to Schweighofen, again with no enemy contact. On 20 March, the 14th Armored Division began its push to finally breach the Siegfried line. The 68th AIB started the attack at 0600 and by 0625 had reached the eastern side of Kapsweyer. Company B moved from Schweighofen to Kapsweyer and was the first to test the defenses of Steinfeld. The first attack by 3rd Platoon and tanks from Company B, 25th Tank Battalion was beaten back. Their attack on the road from Kapsweyer to Steinfeld and the field to the right, received intense machine gun fire, along with mortars and artillery fire. The Platoon was forced to pull back to the houses on the outskirts of Kapsweyer. In the afternoon, the Company’s 1st and 2nd Platoon, attempted an attack after a 17 minute artillery barrage with smoke to hide the attack from the enemy. Unfortunately, the wind shifted and the attacking platoons were caught out in the open, suffering heavy casualties. PFC Earl Kempke told that his platoon was pulled from the front to guard German soldiers in a farmhouse. While guarding the German soldiers from the doorway of the farmhouse, he was listening to the shelling directed toward the battle beyond, when the sound of one shell didn't sound quite right. Something instinctively told him to get out of the doorway. That is where the shell landed, resulting in the shrapnel wounds and hospitalization. The Morning Report for 20 March lists him as lightly wounded in action in the vicinity of Kapsweyer. Earl was evacuated to the 112th Evacuation Hospital. It is here that his fighting days with Company B, 68th Armored Infantry Battalion come to an end. Earl rejoined the Company on 24 May in Aschau am Inn from the 17th Reinforcement Depot. On 27 June 1945, Earl received 5 additional points for participation in the Central European Campaign. One week later, Earl received a new set of orders, assigning him to the 45th Infantry Division. Earl received a week's leave in England before returning to the United States with the 45th Infantry Division by ship. Earl's departure from England with the 45th Infantry Division began on or about Sept. 7, 1945. His ship arrived in New York on Sept. 14, 1945. Earl told of the joy of seeing the Statue of Liberty from the ship as they entered New York harbor. Earl was then assigned as a guard ferrying German prisoners from central US back to the East Coast for return to their homeland. Earl was discharged from the U.S. Army at Camp Shelby, Mississippi on June 9, 1946 with a rank of Corporal.

Joseph Kennedy was the eldest son of Joseph and Rose Kennedy. After completed High School, he attended Harvard and graduated in 1938, after a year of training at London School of Economics,  Kennedy enter Harvard Law College. He and his father were determined he would become President one day and he was being groomed for it through out his life. Kennedy was a delegate to the Democratic National Convention in 1940. Joe planned to run for Massachusetts's 11th congressional district in 1946.

Kennedy left before his final year of law school to begin officer training and flight training in the U.S. Navy. He earned his wings as a Naval Aviator in May 1942 and was sent to Britain in September 1943. He piloted land-based PB4Y Liberator patrol bombers on anti-submarine details during two tours of duty in the winter of 1943–1944. Kennedy had completed 25 combat missions and was eligible to return home. He instead volunteered for an Operation Aphrodite mission. Operation Aphrodite made use of unmanned, explosive-laden Boeing B-17 Flying Fortress and B-24 Liberator bombers, that were deliberately crashed into their targets under radio control. These aircraft could not take off safely on their own, so a crew of two would take off and fly to 2,000 feet (610 m) before activating the remote control system, arming the detonators and parachuting from the aircraft. After U.S. Army Air Forces operation missions were drawn up on July 23, 1944, Kennedy and Lieutenant Wilford John Willy were designated as the first Navy flight crew. Willy had "pulled rank" over Ensign James Simpson (who was Kennedy's regular co-pilot) to be on the mission. They flew a BQ-8 "robot" aircraft (a converted B-24 Liberator) for the U.S. Navy's first Aphrodite mission. Two Lockheed Ventura mother planes and a Boeing B-17 navigation plane took off from RAF Fersfield at 1800 on 12 August 1944. Then the BQ-8 aircraft, loaded with 21,170 lb (9,600 kg) of Torpex, took off. It was to be used against the Fortress of Mimoyecques and its V-3 cannons in northern France. Following behind them in a USAAF F-8 Mosquito to film the mission were pilot Lt. Robert A. Tunnel and combat camera man Lt. David J. McCarthy, who filmed the event . As planned, Kennedy and Willy remained aboard as the BQ-8 completed its first remote-controlled turn at 2,000 feet near the North Sea coast. Kennedy and Willy removed the safety pin arming the explosive package and Kennedy radioed the agreed code Spade Flush, his last words. Two minutes later (and well before the planned crew bailout, near RAF Manston), the Torpex explosive detonated prematurely and destroyed the Liberator, killing Kennedy and Willy instantly. Wreckage landed near the village of Blythburgh in Suffolk.

Courtesy of Military-History.Fantom.com.

Young John F. Kennedy’s future was one of privilege and opportunity with his graduation from Harvard University in 1940. He had previously attended the London School of Economics and was entering graduate school at Stanford University in California when he paused, with all of America to intently listen to President Roosevelt’s galvanizing declaration following the surprise attack on Pearl Harbor ending with “a date which will live in infamy”. Young Kennedy’s nation was now at war. Older brother Joe joined the Navy and was training to be a pilot. John whom friends and family called Jack, wanted in on the action too. The problem was Jack had a bad back and it was doubtful the Navy would take him. The family patriarch Joseph Kennedy relied on a few well-placed connections to help his second eldest son. The elder Kennedy was the U.S. ambassador to Great Britain and good friends with Captain Alan Kirk who was the Director of Naval Intelligence. This was the break young Jack needed to get his foot in the door and he was soon assigned as an ensign in the Naval Reserves serving in intelligence. His initial duties with the Navy were modest at best shuffling between office bound assignments stateside. Ensign Kennedy’s next big break came when he was able to attend Officers Training School in the late summer of 1942. This set him up for his big chance he had so longed for where he could contribute and command as an officer. It was a calling based on his skills and passions from a life of growing up on Cape Cod among the sleek and fast luxurious wooden hulled motorboats effortlessly skimming across the waves on weekends. A Patrol Torpedo (PT) Boat skipper had arrived ready for duty. Ensign John F. “Jack” Kennedy was finally was at the helm of his own boat with the salt air spray in his face and the ocean chop bouncing him and his crew across the waves aboard the roaring PT 101. The 101 was a 78-foot Higgins boat which was one of two variants the Navy was fielding along with the slightly larger Elco PTs. His time aboard the 101 was only for training with the Navy’s Motor Torpedo Squadron Four located in Melville, Rhode Island and later for testing in the tropics in Panama, but it gave the young officer the thrill of commanding a roaring wooden hulled boat across the sea but this time with a compliment of torpedoes and heavy machine guns. The PT boats were the US Navy’s concept for quick attacks and for close in shore support. Combat Command and the PT-109 Lt. (jg) John F. Kennedy aboard the PT-109 in the South Pacific, 1943 Lt. (jg) John F. Kennedy aboard the PT-109 in the South Pacific, 1943 John F. Kennedy Presidential Library and Museum Promoted to Lieutenant Junior Grade (JG) Kennedy entered combat with an assignment to Motor Torpedo Boat Squadron Two based in the Solomon Islands in the South Pacific in 1943. It was there he boarded “his” PT boat. Finally he had his first combat command. It was the PT-109. She was an Elco type. The bigger of the two variants by about 10 feet complete with a formable array of torpedoes, heavy machine guns and depth charges. No time to waste for the young Kennedy as he skippered the 109 with several other PT Boats away from the Solomons towards the Russel Islands as the US Navy prepared for the invasion of New Georgia. Soon Kennedy and his crew of eleven sailors were conducting nightly attacks on Japanese barge traffic frantically attempting to resupply their isolated garrisons in New Georgia. The US Navy used the lightning speed of the PT boat to attack with quick surprise launching torpedoes and strafing the enemy craft with 50 caliber heavy machine gun rounds. The boat’s speed allowed for a quick exit before counter attacks could be a serious threat. The crew of the 109 also found themselves on patrol in and around the remote islands serving as lookouts for the larger more formidable Japanese destroyers and cruisers that may attempt to attack US warships or US Marines on beach heads in the New Georgia-Rendova area. The only real weapon the PT boat had when facing off with the venerable much larger and heavier destroyers was speed, the quick release of torpedoes and a rapid exit before the large guns of the destroyer could attempt to fix their targets. The PT boats and their crews would easily succumb to a single blast from a destroyer’s heavy guns. It was speed or nothing. Collision with a Japanese Destroyer Higgins type PT-796 similar in appearance to the Elco type PT-109 Higgins type PT-796 similar in appearance to the Elco type PT-109 United States Navy The 109 joined fifteen PT boats on patrol on a dark night in early August 1943 to intercept Japanese warships in the straits. Fellow PT skipper Ensign George Ross with his boat out of commission joined Kennedy aboard the 109. The group engaged several Japanese destroyers firing their complement of torpedoes and withdrawing, but due to the unreliability of American torpedoes in the early stages of the war the attack did not affect much damage. Kennedy and crew on the 109 stayed in reserve with a few other boats to protect against counterattack by lingering as the attacking boats withdrew. Kennedy kept his speed to a crawl hoping to keep the wake and noise to a minimum in order to avoid detection. At 2 a.m. Kennedy noted a vague silhouette of vessel approaching in the darkness. His first thought was another friendly PT boat slowly approaching. Soon he realized it was the massive Japanese destroyer Amagiri traveling at 40 knots. Kennedy attempt to steer his boat into a firing position but before he could react, the massive destroyer slammed broadside into the much smaller wooden boat cutting the PT 109 in two in ten seconds. Ironically the Japanese destroyer didn’t even realize that they had struck an enemy vessel and kept motoring forward soon out of earshot. The tremendous impact had thrown Kennedy into the cockpit where he landed on his bad back. As the chaos and short lived ensuring flames doused by the destroyer’s wake subsided, Kennedy and 4 of his sailors clung to some wreckage of the 109. He called out into the darkness and could hear 5 other members of his crew somewhere in the darkness of the now quiet sea. Sadly two of his sailors were killed upon impact with the destroyer. Kennedy, a champion swimmer from his time at Harvard made his way to his forlorn crew pulling them all to the relative safety of the floating wreck of the 109. Confident that his crew was safe and secure, Lieutenant JG John Kennedy and his friend Ensign George Ross knew they had one more exhausting swim to make. They set out for yet a third trek this time to the tiny Island of Nauru several miles away faintly seen on the horizon where they were confident they would find local friendly natives. The locals of Naru must have been stunned when they witnessed the two American men wade ashore. The natives were trusting towards Americans after witnessing poor treatment at the hands of the Japanese. They were willing to help. Kennedy couldn’t risk attempting to canoe with the natives for fear of being seen by a Japanese patrol boat or plane. He instead cut a message on a coconut that read "NAURO ISL…COMMANDER…NATIVE KNOWS POS'IT…HE CAN PILOT…11 ALIVE…NEED SMALL BOAT…KENNEDY". He then handed the coconut to one of the natives and said, "Rendova, Rendova!," The next morning the natives returned with food and supplies. Kennedy discovered along with the provisions a letter from the coast watcher commander of the New Zealand camp. The letter directed for Kennedy to return with the natives whereby the New Zealand forces would unite him with U.S. forces. Not long after their rendezvous, Kennedy’s feeling of elation must have been immense as he watched the PT-157 rumble over to greet him. Shortly after picking up Kennedy, his crew of 10 sailors saw the 157 roaring towards their little island. After six long days, their skipper came through and they were going home.  After a few months of healing up in the rear but still wanting to stay in the fight, Lieutenant JG Kennedy requested another PT boat. In October 1943 he took command of PT-59. Kennedy, possibly doubtful of the Mark 8 and Mark 14 torpedoes’ abysmal performance decided to discard her torpedo tubes and convert her into purely a gunboat. He had two 40-millimeter anti-aircraft guns installed along with an additional array heavy machine guns. Reflecting on his battle experiences Kennedy did ballistics tests on heavy armor plating he had mounted along with his gun positions to ensure his crew’s survivability. Kennedy’s venerable PT boat proved its valor when the 59’s crew sprinted towards Choiseul Island. Fifty US Marine of the 1st Marine Parachute Regiment were clinging to a beach head with an overwhelming Japanese force on the verge of over running them and pushing them into the sea. Kennedy and his crew roared in with guns blazing long enough to provide suppressing fire as the Marines made their way to the 59. The Navy crew loaded all Marines aboard, including several wounded. Kennedy had a severely wounded Marine taken to his bunk. Small arms rounds were hitting the wooden boat and bouncing off the armor plates Kennedy had installed. Kennedy gunned her engines and roared away from Choiseul. To his dismay the wounded man taken to his bunk had expired due to his wounds. He carried the rest of the grateful Marines to safety. 

Kennedy later had the coconut shell encased in wood and plastic and used it as a paperweight on his desk in the Oval Office. John F. Kennedy was promoted to Lieutenant and continued as the skipper of the PT-59 but by 1944 the injuries sustained with the collision with the Japanese destroyer sent him stateside to receive treatment and physical therapy at Castle Hot Springs, a military hospital in Arizona. Sadly older brother Joe was killed in action piloting a British Mosquito night fighter in a top secret operation. John was honorably discharged in 1945. He would later undergo back surgery as a young U.S. Senator 8 years later. For his service in World War II, John F. Kennedy received the Navy and Marine Corps Medal (the highest non-combat decoration awarded for heroism) and the Purple Heart. He also kept and had preserved the coconut shell with his inscrption: "NAURO ISL…COMMANDER…NATIVE KNOWS POS'IT…HE CAN PILOT…11 ALIVE…NEED SMALL BOAT…KENNEDY"

Kennedy became the 35th President of the United States.

Courtesy of nps.gov

Donald "Don" Kennedy was born in 1919 to Ernest and Arminta Kennedy. The family lived in Dentonia, KS, where Donald spent most of his childhood. Donald served during World War II in the Army. He returned and Married Dorothy Sanderson on May 18, 1947. The couple had four children. The family moved to Iowa in 1953. Courtesy of findagrave.com

George Harris Kennedy, Jr. was born on February 18, 1925 in New York City, to Helen (Kieselbach), a ballet dancer, and George Harris Kennedy, an orchestra leader and musician. Following high school graduation, Kennedy enlisted in the United States Army in 1943 with the hope to become a fighter pilot in the Army Air Corps. Instead, he wound up in the infantry, served under General George S. Patton and distinguished himself with valor. He won two Bronze Stars and four rows of combat and service ribbons. A World War II veteran,

Kennedy went on to become a performer. At one stage in his career, he cornered the market at playing tough, no-nonsense characters who were either quite crooked or possessed hearts of gold. Kennedy notched up an impressive 200+ appearances in both television and films, and was well respected within the Hollywood community. He started out on television Westerns in the late 1950s and early 1960s (Have Gun - Will Travel (1957), Rawhide (1959), Maverick (1957), Colt .45 (1957), among others) before scoring minor roles in films including Lonely Are the Brave (1962), The Sons of Katie Elder (1965) and The Flight of the Phoenix (1965). The late 1960s was a very busy period for Kennedy, and he was strongly in favor with casting agents, appearing in Hurry Sundown (1967), The Dirty Dozen (1967) and scoring an Oscar win as Best Supporting Actor for his performance in Cool Hand Luke (1967). The disaster film boom of the 1970s was also kind to Kennedy and his talents were in demand for Airport (1970) and the three subsequent sequels, as a grizzled police officer in Earthquake (1974), plus the buddy/road film Thunderbolt and Lightfoot (1974) as vicious bank robber Red Leary. Courtesy of https://www.imdb.com - George Kennedy Biography

John Fitzgerald Kennedy was born May 29, 1917 in Brookline, MA, to Joseph Patrick Kennedy and Rose Fitzgerald Kennedy. Named for his maternal grandfather, John Francis Fitzgerald, but known as Jack, he was the second of nine children, 4 boys and 5 girls. In 1936 he followed his older brother Joe, Jr. to Harvard. Jack was commissioned an ensign in the Naval Reserve on Sep 25, 1941 and assigned to Washington, D.C. As a Lieutenant, he was sent to Motor Torpedo Boat Squadron Two at Guadalcanal. Assuming command of PT-109 on Apr 25, 1943, Lt. Kennedy had a crew of twelve men whose mission was to stop Japanese ships from delivering supplies to their soldiers. The evening of Aug 1, 1943, his crew left Rendova Harbor to patrol the waters looking for enemy ships to sink. Suddenly, they came upon a Japanese destroyer, the Amagiri (meaning Heavenly Mist) traveling at full speed and headed straight at them. Lt. Kennedy attempted to swerve out of the way, but the much larger ship rammed PT-109, splitting it in half and killing two of his men. The others managed to jump off as their boat went up in flames. Jack was slammed hard against the cockpit, injuring his back. One of his crew members, Patrick McMahon, had terrible burns on his face and hands and wanted to give up. In the darkness, Jack found McMahon and hauled him back to where the others were clinging to a piece of the boat. At sunrise, Jack led his men toward a small island 3 miles away. Despite his own injuries, he towed McMahon ashore by clenching a strap from McMahon's life jacket between his teeth. Six days later, two native islanders found them and went for help, delivering a message Jack had carved into a piece of coconut shell. For his heroism, courage and leadership, he was awarded the Navy and Marine Corps Medal. He was then given command of PT-59 until Jan 1944, when he was sent as an instructor to the Naval Training Center in Miami, FL. After a spinal operation, he was retired from the Navy Mar 1, 1945. Jack considered becoming a teacher or writer, but his father convinced him to enter politics; he served 6 years in Congress and 8 years in the Senate. Jack was sworn in as the 35th President on Jan 20, 1961 and then assassinated on Nov 22, 1963. Other medals: Purple Heart, American Defense Service, American Campaign, Asiatic-Pacific Campaign (with 3 bronze stars), World War II Victory. Publications: Why England Slept, 1940; Profiles in Courage (Pulitzer Prize for biography), 1957. Married Jacqueline Lee Bouvier on Sep 12, 1953.

Max was one of four brothers, fighting in four different theaters of war at the same time. They all came home.