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    John F. Kennedy and PT-109
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    John F. Kennedy and PT-109
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    John F. Kennedy and PT-109
    Audiobook3 hours

    John F. Kennedy and PT-109

    Written by Richard Tregaskis

    Narrated by Sean Runnette

    4/5

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    About this audiobook

    The true experiences of President Kennedy in World War II, as he commanded a PT-boat in the Solomon Islands and rescued his men after their craft was rammed by a Japanese destroyer.

    ©1962 Richard Tregaskis (P)2016 Dreamscape Media, LLC

    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherDreamscape Media Audio
    Release dateNov 8, 2016
    ISBN9781520048543
    Author

    Richard Tregaskis

    Richard Tregaskis (1916–1973) was a journalist and award-winning author best known for Guadalcanal Diary (1943), his bestselling chronicle of the US Marine Corps invasion of the Solomon Islands during World War II. Born in Elizabeth, New Jersey, Tregaskis graduated from Harvard University and reported for the Boston American before joining the International News Service. Assigned to cover the Pacific Fleet operations after Pearl Harbor, he was one of only two reporters to land with the Marines on Guadalcanal Island. His dramatic account of the campaign was adapted into a popular film and became required reading for all Marine Corps officer candidates. Invasion Diary (1944) vividly recounts the Allied invasions of Sicily and Italy and Tregaskis’s brush with death when a chunk of German shrapnel pierced his skull. Vietnam Diary (1963) documents the increased involvement of U.S. troops in the conflict between North and South Vietnam and was awarded the Overseas Press Club’s George Polk Award. Tregaskis’s other honors include the Purple Heart and the International News Service Medal of Honor for Heroic Devotion to Duty. He traveled the world many times over, and wrote about subjects as varied as the first space ship (X-15 Diary, 1961), John F. Kennedy’s heroism during World War II (John F. Kennedy and PT-109, 1962), and the great Hawaiian king Kamehameha I (Warrior King, 1973). On August 15, 1973, Tregaskis suffered a fatal heart attack while swimming near his home in Hawaii. After a traditional Hawaiian funeral, his ashes were scattered in the waters off Waikiki Beach.  

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    Reviews for John F. Kennedy and PT-109

    4/5

    6 ratings3 reviews

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    • 3/5
      Good account of JFK's war experience.
    • 3/5
      Interesting book that I first read as a kid, though given its focus a more accurate title would have been "PT boats and Kennedy's service on them."
    • 3/5
      From history classes and documentaries I was definitely familiar with John F. Kennedy and in a cursory way familiar with his naval career, especially as it related to action with PT-109. Until reading this book, however, I was unaware of the full story of not only Kennedy’s service, but of the PT boat program as a whole.Richard Tregaskis is perhaps best known for his gripping account Guadalcanal Diary, but I had been unaware that he also wrote several more WWII histories, this one in particular. First published in 1962 during the Kennedy administration, John F. Kennedy and PT-109 serves to highlight the military career and heroism of who was then the sitting President of the United States. Tregaskis seems to have written it through that lens, as there is very little that does not paint JFK in the most glowing light, and honestly, I can see why. The calm and poise he seemed to show throughout the harrowing days after the sinking of PT-109 and his efforts to save himself and his crew are second to none.As for Tregaskis’ account, it is very methodical to say the least. He does an excellent job painting the scene, not only of a young Lt. Kennedy’s military career up to that fateful day in 1943, but how he came to be in the Pacific Theater and on a PT boat specifically. We are walked through step by step the young officer’s entry to naval service while at the same time learning about the development and implementation of the little PT boats that served so heroically in the war. Tregaskis had taken very little liberty with the facts surrounding events and this makes John F. Kennedy and PT-109 a good piece of source material for research on this subject.My only real knocks on this text is that first, because of the methodical nature of the prose I was not as gripped in the story or held in suspense as much as I would have liked to be. I had trouble imagining myself serving there alongside Kennedy and really experiencing the danger and horror and fear that must have swept over each crew member (whether they would have admitted it or not) after their boat was lost. This could also be in part because I knew how it would all turn out in the end! My second fault was the lack of maps, diagrams, and pictures about Kennedy and his PT boat and crew. I am not sure if this is a feature of just my copy, or is the final publication will have these items. As a visual learner, I would have enjoyed reading much more if I was able to see and experience these within the text or as an insert, rather than looking elsewhere. Overall these are not enough to dissuade me from recommending John F. Kennedy and PT-109 to anyone interested in the subject matter and I would consider this as a possible addition to my high school library collection.