World War II vet Ray Starkey after learning President John F. Kennedy was assassinated. He served under the command of the future U.S. president in Pacific theater of the war.
By Arthur R. Vinsel, Contributing Writer
With a future U.S. president at the helm, the PT-109 was patched-up wreck in hair trigger battle readiness. The 80-foot mahogany plywood crates were laden with four torpedoes, four 50 caliber machine guns, a 20 mm cannon, 3,000 gallons of high octane aviation fuel, and a handful of sailors hanging on for dear life.
Lt. j.g. John F. Kennedy’s boat epitomized the spirit of World War II. The PT-109 and its men became the later focal point of some of my most memorable newspaper stories, including the story of the 1963 assassination of John F. Kennedy.