| Kennedys
& the Cove
While a 390-foot destroyer is a strong reminder of the
connection between the Cove and one of America’s most distinguished families,
there are many other links, too. Read on for a retrospective of this museum’s
multitudinous “Kennedy connections.” President
John F. Kennedy
PT
617: President John F. Kennedy gained national fame as the heroic skipper
of Elco-built PT 109. Battleship Cove preserves the world’s only exhibited
Elco boat, PT 617, in cooperation with the boat’s owner, PT
Boats, Inc.
PT 796: Also in cooperation with PT
boats, Inc., Battleship Cove exhibits PT 796, a National Historic Landmark that
was towed through JFK’s inaugural parade (above).
PT
109: The Cove exhibits a number of PT 109 artifacts, including PT 109’s
original commissioning pennant and a 109 life jacket remnant that washed ashore
in the Solomons after the boat was sunk by a Japanese destroyer.
USS
Massachusetts: As a young congressman, JFK was guest of honor at one
of the early BB59 crewmembers’ reunions,
an annual event that will be celebrated for a record 60th consecutive time in
2005.
USS Joseph P. Kennedy, Jr.: Named
for the eldest Kennedy son and christened by his sister Jean, DD-850 was the only
ship to stop and board a Soviet-chartered vessel during the 1962
Cuban Missile Crisis. Kennedy reprised this role on the silver screen
in 2000, when she was towed to Newport to play herself and the USS John R.
Pierce in the Kevin Costner blockbuster Thirteen Days (at left). Coincidentally,
JFK’s advisor Kenny O’Donnell, whom Costner plays in the film, served
as guest speaker for a special event on board USS Massachusetts in the
1960s.
America’s Cup: During the 1962 Cup Races
in Newport, the President and his wife watched from DD850,
whose torpedo tubes were removed to accommodate the Presidential entourage. Later,
in 1967, Mrs. Kennedy would return to DD850 to watch the races with her children. Senator
Robert F. Kennedy
Robert Kennedy served as a radarman on board DD-850,
the only ship on which he ever served in uniform. As Attorney General, RFK played
a crucial advisory role to his brother during the tumultuous 1962
Crisis. Senator
Edward M. Kennedy
A US Army veteran, Edward Kennedy was a committed and
influential supporter of the plan to bring Big Mamie
to Fall River in the mid-1960s and has remained a strong
advocate ever since. Congressman
Patrick Kennedy
The son of Senator Edward
Kennedy, this RI congressman is an Associate Member of Battleship Cove. John
F. Kennedy Llibrary & Museum
The Cove and the JFK Library partnered
in 2002 to promote the 40th anniversary of the Missile
Crisis, and in April 2005, the Cove will host its Uncommon Valor gala at this
renowned Boston attraction. |
