Joseph P. Kennedy Jr.
Joseph P. Kennedy Jr. | |
---|---|
Born | Joseph Patrick Kennedy Jr. July 25, 1915 Hull, Massachusetts, U.S. |
Died | August 12, 1944 Over Blythburgh, East Suffolk, England | (aged 29)
Cause of death | Naval airplane explosion during Operation Aphrodite |
Resting place | Remains never recovered |
Education | Harvard University (BA) London School of Economics |
Occupation | Naval aviator |
Political party | Democratic |
Parents | |
Relatives | See Kennedy family |
Military career | |
Memorial – Wall of the Missing | |
Allegiance | United States |
Service/ | United States Navy |
Years of service | 1941–1944 |
Rank | Lieutenant |
Unit | Patrol Squadron 203 Bombing Squadron 110, Special Air Unit 1 |
Battles/wars | World War II |
Awards | Navy Cross Distinguished Flying Cross Purple Heart Air Medal |
Signature | |
Joseph Patrick Kennedy Jr. (July 25, 1915 – August 12, 1944) was a
His father had aspirations for him to become
Early life and education
Kennedy was born on July 25, 1915, in
Political ambitions and views
From a very young age, Kennedy was groomed by his father and predicted to be the first
He was a Massachusetts
Kennedy had expressed approval of Adolf Hitler before the war began. His father sent him to visit Nazi Germany in 1934. He wrote to his father and praised the Nazi sterilization policy as "a great thing" that "will do away with many of the disgusting specimens of men."[6] Kennedy explained, "Hitler is building a spirit in his men that could be envied in any country."[7][8]
Kennedy left before his final year at Harvard Law School to enlist in the
Kennedy was appointed a lieutenant on July 1, 1944.[9] He had completed 25 combat missions and was eligible to return home. He instead volunteered for an Operation Aphrodite mission.[10]
Operations Aphrodite and Anvil
Operation Aphrodite was the use of Army Air Corps Boeing B-17 Flying Fortress and Navy Consolidated PB4Y-1 Liberator bombers that were converted into flying bombs and deliberately crashed into their targets under radio control from an accompanying bomber.[10] They were to be used for precision attacks on well-protected targets. These "drone" aircraft could not take off safely on their own and so a crew of two would take off and fly to 2,000 feet (610 m) altitude before they activated the remote control system, armed the detonators, and parachuted from the aircraft. After trials, the first mission took place on August 4, 1944, against targets including the Fortress of Mimoyecques, an underground military complex under construction in northern France. There was little success[11]
The U.S. Navy also participated in Operation Aphrodite, with its portion referred to as Operation Anvil.[12] Kennedy had been appointed a lieutenant on July 1.[9] After the U.S. Army Air Corps operation missions were drawn up on July 23, lieutenants Wilford John Willy[13] and Kennedy were designated as the Navy's first Anvil flight crew.[14] Willy, who was the executive officer of Special Air Unit 1, had also volunteered for the mission and pulled rank over Ensign James Simpson, who was Kennedy's regular co-pilot.[11][15]
Anvil accident and death
On August 12, Kennedy and his co-pilot Willy flew a BQ-8 "robot" aircraft (a converted B-24 Liberator) for the Navy's first Aphrodite mission. Initially, two
Following them in a
Attempted first Aphrodite attack Twelve August with robot taking off from Fersfield at One Eight Zero Five Hours. Robot exploded in the air at approximately two thousand feet eight miles southeast of
Carl Andrew Spaatz from General Jimmy Doolittle, August 1944[17]
According to USAAF records, the trailing Mosquito "was flying 300 feet above and about 300 yards to the rear of the robot. Engineer photographer on this ship was injured, and the ship was damaged slightly by the explosion."
...the Baby just exploded in mid-air as we neared it and I was knocked halfway back to the cockpit. A few pieces of the Baby came through the
plexiglass nose and I got hit in the head and caught a lot of fragments in my right arm. I crawled back to the cockpit and lowered the wheels so that Bob could make a quick emergency landing,...— Lieutenant McCarthy reporting from his hospital bed.[20]
The 8th CCU film of the event, as far as is known, has not been found.[21]
The
Lieutenant John E. Klink noted in his mission summary report: "Took off to excort BXXX, 1 B24, 1 B17, 2 B34s, and 3 photo Recons (2 Mosq. -1 P38). When specially loaded B24 was at approx. 2000 ft. NE of Ipswich it exploded and crashed near small lake. No one got out of the plane. Rest of ships OK in spite of terrific concussion from explosion. All returned to base." [sic][citation needed]
Accident investigation
Drone operations were paused for a month while equipment was re-evaluated and modified,[11] and there would be no further Navy missions. The Navy's informal board of review, discussing a number of theories, discounted the possibility of the crew making a mistake. It suspected jamming or a stray signal could have armed and detonated the explosives. An electronics officer, Earl Olsen, who believed the wiring harness had a design defect, had warned Kennedy of that possibility the day before the mission but was ignored.[17]
Later reports that Kennedy's final mission was kept top secret until many years later[22][page needed] are negated by a detailed public account of the operation and Kennedy's death released in 1945.[23]
Recognition and commemoration
Kennedy and Willy were both
The names of both men are listed on the Tablets of the Missing at the Cambridge American Cemetery and Memorial, a cemetery and chapel near the village of Madingley, Cambridgeshire, that commemorates Americans who died in World War II.[24][25]
A commemorative headstone cenotaph for Joseph P. Kennedy Jr. was later erected at Arlington National Cemetery. A further memorial to him stands inside the fortress of Mimoyecques, France.
-
Cenotaph at Arlington National Cemetery
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Memorial inside the fortress of Mimoyecques, France
Military awards
Kennedy's military decorations and awards include the following:
Navy Cross
|
Distinguished Flying Cross | ||
Purple Heart
|
Air Medal | American Defense Service Medal | |
American Campaign Medal w/star | European-African-Middle w/star
Eastern Campaign Medal |
World War II Victory Medal |
Joseph P. Kennedy Jr.'s Navy Cross citation reads:
The President of the United States of America takes pride in presenting the Navy Cross (Posthumously) to Lieutenant Joseph Patrick Kennedy, United States Navy, for extraordinary heroism in operations against the enemy while serving as Commander of a Navy Liberator Patrol Plane in Bombing Squadron ONE HUNDRED TEN (VB-110), Special Air Unit ONE (Europe), during a special air mission directed at Mimoyecques, France, on August 12, 1944. Well knowing the extreme dangers involved and totally unconcerned for his own safety, Lieutenant Kennedy unhesitatingly volunteered to conduct an exceptionally hazardous and special operational mission. Intrepid and daring in his tactics and with unwavering confidence in the vital importance of his task, he willingly risked his life in the supreme measure of service, and, by his great personal valor and fortitude in carrying out a perilous undertaking, sustained and enhanced the finest traditions of the United States Naval Service.[26]
Legacy
In 1946, the Navy named a
In 1947, the Kennedys established the
In 1969,
See also
- Kennedy curse
- Kennedy family
- Kennedy family tree
- Young Joe, the Forgotten Kennedy, a 1977 TV movie
References
- ^ a b c d e MacIntyre, Ben (August 2, 2014). "How Joseph Kennedy's death changed US history". The Australian. Surry Hills, New South Wales, Australia.
- ^ "Joseph Kennedy Jr". History.com. August 21, 2018. Retrieved February 17, 2024.
- ^ "Joseph Patrick Kennedy Jr. : A Dream Unfulfilled". National Park Service. Retrieved February 17, 2024.
- ^ "Joseph P. Kennedy Jr". John F. Kennedy Presidential Library & Museum. Retrieved February 17, 2024.
- ISBN 9781620231555.
- ^ Gordon, Meryl (October 6, 2015). "'Rosemary: The Hidden Kennedy Daughter,' by Kate Clifford Larson". The New York Times. Retrieved October 13, 2015.
- ^ Honig, Sarah (February 28, 2015). "Another Tack:Movie Musings". The Jerusalem Post. Retrieved October 13, 2015.
- ^ Beauchamp, Cari (December 2004). "Two Sons, One Destiny". Vanity Fair. Retrieved October 13, 2015.
- ^ a b
OCLC 2746832.
- ^ ISBN 0-385-01168-7.
- ISBN 978-1-6106-0744-5.
- ^ "Wilford John Willy". Hall of Valor Project. Retrieved September 12, 2018.
- ^ Monroe, Alexander G. (November–December 1984). "Drone Bombers of WW II". Naval Aviation News. Washington, DC: US Navy Air Systems Command. pp. 13–14.
- ^ "US Navy and US Marine Corps Bureau Numbers, Third Series (30147 to 839998)". Joseph F. Baugher. Archived from the original on September 8, 2009. Retrieved April 10, 2007.
- ^
ISBN 978-0-615-66892-5.
- ^ a b
ISBN 978-0-385-50165-1.
- ^ Telegram to AWW, cipher, Top Secret, August 17, 1944, Project Aphrodite box, Air Force Historical Research Agency.
- ^
ISBN 0-345-27395-8.
- ^ 8th AAF CCU unit history for August 1944, 25-GP-HI (Recon), AFHRA
- ^ NARA College Park MD 20 FG Mission Reports.
- ^
ISBN 978-0-7434-8670-5.
- ^ New York Times, August 15 and 17 , 1944 (announcement of Kennedy's death) and "KENNEDY JR. DIED IN AIR EXPLOSION; Former Ambassador's Son and Lieut. Willy Were on Secret Bombing Mission Later Drone Flights Succeeded Plans for Fliers to Jump". The New York Times. October 25, 1945. p. 9.
- ^ Fold3 entry for Wilford J Willy
- ^ American Battle Monuments Commission
- ^ "Valor awards for Joseph Patrick Kennedy". Valor.militarytimes.com. Retrieved October 2, 2017.
- ^ "Young Joe, the Forgotten Kennedy". IMDb. September 18, 1977. Retrieved October 2, 2017.
External links
- JFK Letter on the Death of Brother Joe Kennedy Jr.[permanent dead link] Shapell Manuscript Foundation
- Eye Witness of Plane Crash, BlythburghWeb.co.uk; accessed September 26, 2017
- Joseph Kennedy Jr., Untold History on History Hit TV Archived April 16, 2020, at the Wayback Machine