In August 1943, John F. Kennedy was serving as commander of a PT boat, a small patrol craft. Kennedy's PT-109 was cruising slowly and quietly on a dark night a few miles from a group of islands in the South Pacific Ocean. A fog was settling in. PT-109 was among fifteen PT boats scattered around the area on the lookout for Japanese boats rumored to be moving forces to prepare an attack. After midnight, other PT boats were returning to base. PT- 109 went for one last patrol before turning back as well.

Suddenly, from out of a mist, PT- 109 was rammed by a Japanese destroyer. The PT boat was split in half, spilling all twelve men aboard. Gas tanks exploded into fire, and the men struggled for safety from the flames and the wake of the destroyer.

After the destroyer passed, Kennedy discovered that two...