Name/Title
Original 1942 Type I Photo John Fitzgerald Kennedy 8x10 PSA DNAEntry/Object ID
HM005Description
PRELUDE to GREATNESS!
One of the earliest images of John Fitzgerald Kennedy is captured in this EXTREMELY RARE, Vintage 1942 ORIGINAL Photograph.
Young JFK is shown as a commander in the
U.S. Navy during WWII where he would make his mark and emerge as a war hero.
Kennedy's boat, PT-109 was attacked and rammed by the Japanese during a night patrol.
The young leader gathered his surviving crew members together in the water around the wreckage, to vote on whether to "fight or surrender". Kennedy stated, "There's nothing in the book about a situation like this. A lot of you men have families and some of you have children. What do you want to do? I have nothing to lose." Shunning surrender, the men swam towards a small island. Kennedy, with a partially injured back from the initial attack, towed a badly burned crewman to safety through enemy waters with a life jacket strap clenched between his teeth. Kennedy received the Navy and Marine Corps Medal. The rest as they say is history!
