Description:

Kennedy John



Extremely Rare John F. Kennedy War-Dated Free Franked Envelope from Miami PT Shakedown Unit, along with Original PT-109 Pin

 

A free franked envelope signed with rank by future 35th U.S. President John F. Kennedy (1917-1963) as "Lt. J.F. Kennedy" in the upper left corner. The partly printed "Navy Department / Official Business" envelope was further hand-inscribed by Kennedy as "P.T. - Shakedown / S.C.T.C. / Miami - Fl." in the return address section. Kennedy also addressed the envelope to recipient Richard Flood of Newport, Rhode Island. Postmarked from Miami, Florida on May 12, 1944. Professionally repaired letter-opening at top. Expected light wear, else very good to near fine. 8.875" x 3.875". Accompanied by a photocopy of the original ALS dated May 1944 that Kennedy enclosed within this envelope. Also including an original PT-109 commemorative pin.

 

This envelope dates from a brief, 3-month-long period between March-May 1944 when Kennedy was stationed with the PT Shakedown Unit and Submarine Chasing Training Center in Miami, Florida. This was some seven months after Kennedy had survived the sinking of the PT-109 that he commanded in the South Pacific. Kennedy was waiting to have back surgery for injuries sustained during the shipwreck when he was transferred to Miami on March 8, 1944 to serve as an anti-submarine instructor.

 

Miami's PT Shakedown Unit, established in April 1943, was overseen by Lt. Commander Alan R. Montgomery. The 3-week intensive training course offered there prepared naval officers to successfully track and target enemy submarines. Its sister station was in Melville, Rhode Island. The PT Shakedown Unit was considered an "adjunct" of the Submarine Chasing Training Center, established earlier in 1942, and commanded by Eugene F. McDaniel. School instructors all had personal combat experience, and Kennedy's stint as a PT boat captain certainly qualified him for the role.

 

JFK's letter to "Dick-Dick" originally contained with this envelope reads in part: "Things here go the same as ever. Once you've got your feet up on the table…the day is done."

 

Kennedy's commander in Miami, Clark Faulkner, recalled his subordinate in the following terms:  "Jack came down to the shakedown unit to work for me. He was officially on 'limited duty' as far as the PTs were concerned… He was seldom on the base and he didn’t go out on the boats on training missions. To be honest about it, I don’t recall anybody around the base very much. Miami was not a serious time for any of us. We were having a ball…Jack was a very friendly, very affable, but shy kind of guy."

 

John F. Kennedy had become commander of the PT-109 in April 1943. Commander Kennedy and his 12-person crew patrolled the waters off the Solomon Islands in the 80' long motor torpedo boat heavily armed with machine guns, cannon, and anti-tank guns.

 

In the early morning hours of August 2, 1943, the Japanese destroyer Amagiri rammed the PT-109, cutting it in half and killing two crew members, near the Japanese-held island of Kolombangara. PT-109 survivors hid on nearby Plum Pudding Island, Olasana Island, and Naru Island in the Blackett Strait to scavenge for supplies and reconnoiter rescue over the next several days. The dangers were numerous: Japanese vessels, crocodiles, and sharks infested the South Sea waters.

 

Kennedy and the 10 survivors were eventually rescued on August 8, 1943 after a remarkable sequence of events that culminated in a S.O.S. message carved into a coconut shell. Kennedy was awarded the Navy and Marine Corps Medal and the Purple Heart in recognition of his bravery in June 1944. He was recuperating in the Naval Hospital in Chelsea, Massachusetts just a month after leaving the Miami training school when he received his medals.

 

Our excellent and early example of a PT-109 commemorative pin appears to be of gold-plated brass. 1.875". Kennedy's heroic leadership as Commander of the ill-fated PT-109 proved useful during his later political career. Kennedy frequently alluded to his war record during his 1947 Congressional race, 1953 Senate race, and 1960 presidential race. PT-109 pin-back buttons, booklets, paperweights, tie clips, and floating bath toys were just some of Kennedy's promotional propaganda. The tie clips and lapel pins, which could be made of brass, bronze, sterling silver, gold plate, and solid gold, depict a silhouette of the torpedo boat.

 

Richard R. Flood (1914-1969) was a close friend of JFK's older brother Joseph P. Kennedy, Jr. when they were both students at Harvard University. Flood graduated from Harvard a year behind Joe Jr. and a year ahead of JFK, socializing frequently with the Kennedys in Boston and Cape Cod. Flood worked on JFK's 1946 congressional and 1952 Senate campaigns. "Dick-Dick," as JFK called him, visited his old schoolmate at the White House in October 1963; Kennedy was assassinated a month later.

 



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