Lt. Joseph Patrick "Joe" Kennedy, Jr. (July 25, 1915 – August 12, 1944)
Early Life
Lt. Joseph Patrick "Joe" Kennedy, Jr. was born on July 25, 1915 in Brookline, MA to Joseph P. Kennedy, Sr. and Rose Fitzgerald. The eldest of nine children, Lt. Kennedy's father wanted the best for him which caused his younger brother, Jack, to be envious of him. Lt. Kennedy first attended the Dexter School in Brookline, Massachusetts, with his brother, John. Joseph graduated from The Choate School (now Choate Rosemary Hall) in 1933 in Wallingford, Connecticut. He then entered Harvard College in Cambridge, Massachusetts, graduating in 1938. Kennedy participated in football, rugby, and crew, and he served on the student council. Before he went away to war, he became engaged to Athalia Ponsell, a model and actress.Lt. Kennedy then spent a year studying under the tutelage of Harold Laski at the London School of Economics before enrolling in Harvard Law School.
Career
From a very young age Lt. Kennedy was groomed by his father and predicted to be the nation's first Roman Catholic-Irish President of the United States. When he was born his grandfather John F. Fitzgerald, then Mayor of Boston, told the news, "This child is the future President of the nation". He often boasted that he would be president even without help from his father. He was a delegate to the Democratic National Convention in 1940. Lt. Kennedy planned to run for Massachusetts's 11th congressional district in 1946. He and his father had began laying the groundwork for the campaign when he was killed.
Military Service
At the outbreak of World War II Lt. Kennedy left college 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 a mission during Operation Aphrodite. 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 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, Lt. Kennedy and Lt. Wilford John Willy were designated as the first Navy flight crew. 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 1800hrs on 12 August 1944. Then the BQ-8 aircraft, loaded with 21,170 lb of Torpex, took off. It was to be used against the Fortress of Mimoyecques and its V-3 cannons in northern France.
Following behind Lt. Kennedy and Lt. Willy 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 from the perspex nose. As planned, Lt. Kennedy and Lt. Willy remained aboard as the BQ-8 completed its first remote-controlled turn at 2,000 feet near the North Sea coast. Lt. Kennedy and Lt. Willy removed the safety pin arming the explosive package. Lt. Kennedy radioed the agreed code Spade Flush, which would end up being the last words the world would ever hear him say. 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 on August 12, 1944. Wreckage landed near the village of Blythburgh in Suffolk, England, causing widespread damage and small fires, but no injuries on the ground. According to one report, a total of 59 buildings were damaged in a nearby coastal town.
Awards and Decorations
Navy Cross
Distinguished Flying Cross
Air Medal
Purple Heart
American Defense Service Medal
American Campaign Medal with one bronze service star
European-African-Middle Eastern Campaign Medal with one bronze service star
World War II Victory Medal
Legacy
In 1946 the Navy named a destroyer for Kennedy, the USS Joseph P. Kennedy, Jr., aboard which his younger brother (future U.S. Senator), Robert F. Kennedy, briefly served. Among the highlights of its service are the blockade of Cuba during the Cuban Missile Crisis in 1962 and the afloat recovery teams for Gemini 6 and Gemini 7, both 1965 manned spaceflight in NASA's Gemini program. It is now a floating museum in Battleship Cove, Fall River, Massachusetts.
In 1947 the Kennedys established the Joseph P. Kennedy, Jr. Foundation and funded the construction of the Joseph P. Kennedy, Jr. Memorial Hall at Boston College, now a part of Campion Hall and home to the college's Lynch School of Education. The foundation was led by his youngest brother, U.S. Senator Ted Kennedy, until his death in August 2009. In 1957, the Lieutenant Joseph Patrick Kennedy Junior Memorial Skating Rink was opened in Hyannis, Massachusetts, with funds from the Joseph P. Kennedy, Jr. Foundation.
In 1969 Hank Searls wrote a biography of Joe Jr., entitled The Lost Prince: Young Joe, the Forgotten Kennedy.
Lt. Kennedy was survived by his parents Joseph Patrick Kennedy, Sr. and Rose Elizabeth Fitzgerald, siblings John Fitzgerald Kennedy (brother), Rose Marie Kennedy (sister), Kathleen Agnes Kennedy (sister), Eunice Mary Kennedy (sister), Patricia Helen Kennedy (sister), Robert Francis Kennedy (brother), Jean Ann Kennedy (sister), Edward Moore Kennedy (brother). Today Lt. Kennedy has many nieces, nephews, and cousins that continue his legacy.