PT 109

PT 109 PDF Author: William Doyle
Publisher: HarperCollins
ISBN: 0062346601
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 292

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Book Description
The extraordinary World War II story of shipwreck and survival that paved John F. Kennedy's path to power – hailed as a “breathtaking account” by James Patterson, “masterfully written” by historian Douglas Brinkley, and “the finest book” ever written on the subject by Lt. Commander William Liebenow, the man who rescued JFK and the PT 109 crew in August 1943. In the early morning darkness of August 2, 1943, during a chaotic nighttime skirmish amid the Solomon Islands, the Japanese destroyer Amagiri barreled through thick fog and struck the U.S. Navy's motor torpedo boat PT 109, splitting the craft nearly in half and killing two American sailors instantly. The sea erupted in flames as the 109's skipper, John F. Kennedy, and the ten surviving crewmen under his command desperately clung to the sinking wreckage; 1,200 feet of ink-black, shark-infested water loomed beneath. "All hands lost," came the reports back to the Americans' base: no rescue was coming for the men of PT 109. Their desperate ordeal was just beginning—so too was one of the most remarkable tales of World War II, one whose astonishing afterlife would culminate two decades later in the White House. Drawing on original interviews with the last living links to the events, previously untapped Japanese wartime archives, and a wealth of archival documents from the Kennedy Library, including a lost first-hand account by JFK himself, bestselling author William Doyle has crafted a thrilling and definitive account of the sinking of PT 109 and its shipwrecked crew's heroics. Equally fascinating is the story's second act, in which Doyle explores in new detail how this extraordinary episode shaped Kennedy's character and fate, proving instrumental to achieving his presidential ambitions: "Without PT 109, there never would have been a President John F. Kennedy," declared JFK aide David Powers. Featuring castaways on a deserted island, a spy network of Solomon Island natives, an Australian coast watcher hidden on the side of a volcano, an S.O.S. note carved into a coconut, and a daring rescue attempt led by Kennedy's fellow American PT boats, PT 109 is an unforgettable American epic of war and destiny.

PT 109

PT 109 PDF Author: William Doyle
Publisher: HarperCollins
ISBN: 0062346601
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 292

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Book Description
The extraordinary World War II story of shipwreck and survival that paved John F. Kennedy's path to power – hailed as a “breathtaking account” by James Patterson, “masterfully written” by historian Douglas Brinkley, and “the finest book” ever written on the subject by Lt. Commander William Liebenow, the man who rescued JFK and the PT 109 crew in August 1943. In the early morning darkness of August 2, 1943, during a chaotic nighttime skirmish amid the Solomon Islands, the Japanese destroyer Amagiri barreled through thick fog and struck the U.S. Navy's motor torpedo boat PT 109, splitting the craft nearly in half and killing two American sailors instantly. The sea erupted in flames as the 109's skipper, John F. Kennedy, and the ten surviving crewmen under his command desperately clung to the sinking wreckage; 1,200 feet of ink-black, shark-infested water loomed beneath. "All hands lost," came the reports back to the Americans' base: no rescue was coming for the men of PT 109. Their desperate ordeal was just beginning—so too was one of the most remarkable tales of World War II, one whose astonishing afterlife would culminate two decades later in the White House. Drawing on original interviews with the last living links to the events, previously untapped Japanese wartime archives, and a wealth of archival documents from the Kennedy Library, including a lost first-hand account by JFK himself, bestselling author William Doyle has crafted a thrilling and definitive account of the sinking of PT 109 and its shipwrecked crew's heroics. Equally fascinating is the story's second act, in which Doyle explores in new detail how this extraordinary episode shaped Kennedy's character and fate, proving instrumental to achieving his presidential ambitions: "Without PT 109, there never would have been a President John F. Kennedy," declared JFK aide David Powers. Featuring castaways on a deserted island, a spy network of Solomon Island natives, an Australian coast watcher hidden on the side of a volcano, an S.O.S. note carved into a coconut, and a daring rescue attempt led by Kennedy's fellow American PT boats, PT 109 is an unforgettable American epic of war and destiny.

PT 109: John F. Kennedy in World War II

PT 109: John F. Kennedy in World War II PDF Author: Robert J. Donovan
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category :
Languages : en
Pages : 164

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Book Description


Into the Dark Water

Into the Dark Water PDF Author: John J. Domagalski
Publisher: Casemate Publishers
ISBN: 1612002358
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 429

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Book Description
The complete World War II record of one of the most celebrated warships in American history—made famous by her final commanding officer, John F. Kennedy. Fleshing out the little-known chronicle of this patrol torpedo boat under two officers during the swirling battles around Guadalcanal, “John Domagalski brings PT-109 and her crew back to life once again and, in doing so, honors all who served in the patrol torpedo service” (Military Review). In these mainly nocturnal fights, when the Japanese navy was at its apex, America’s small, fast-boat flotillas darted in among the enemy fleet, like a “barroom brawl with the lights turned out.” Bryant Larson and Rollin Westholm preceded Kennedy as commanders of PT-109, and their fights leading the ship and its brave crew hold second to none in the chronicles of US Navy daring. As the battles moved on across the Pacific, the PT-boat flotillas gained confidence, even as the Japanese, too, learned lessons on how to destroy them. Under its third and final commander, Kennedy, PT-109 met its fate as a Japanese destroyer suddenly emerged from a dark mist and rammed it in half. Two crewmen were killed immediately, but Kennedy, formerly on the swim team at Harvard, was able to shepherd his wounded and others to refuge. His unsurpassed gallantry cannot resist retelling, yet the courage of the book’s previous commanders have not until now seen the light of day. This book provides the complete record of PT-109 in the Pacific, as well as a valuable glimpse of how the American Navy’s daring and initiative found its full playing field in World War II.

US Patrol Torpedo Boats

US Patrol Torpedo Boats PDF Author: Gordon L. Rottman
Publisher: Bloomsbury Publishing
ISBN: 1780962088
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 114

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Book Description
ALSO AVAILABLE AS AN E-BOOK. Motor torpedo boat development began in the early 1900s, and the vessels first saw service during World War I. However, it was not until the late 1930s that the US Navy commenced the development of the Patrol Torpedo or PT boat. The PT boat was designed for attacking larger warships with torpedoes using its 'stealth' ability, high-speed and small size to launch and survive these attacks – although they were employed in a wide variety of other missions, including rescuing General MacArthur and his entourage from the Philippines. This book examines the design and development of these unique craft, very few of which survive today, and goes on to examine their role and combat deployment in World War II.

Hunters in the Shallows

Hunters in the Shallows PDF Author: Curtis L. Nelson
Publisher: Potomac Books
ISBN: 9781574881677
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 258

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Book Description
Hunters in the Shallows is the first book to examine the development and role of the small torpedo boat in U.S. naval history, from William Cushing's heroic attack on the Confederate ram Albemarle in 1864, to PT operations in World War II. Moreover, it offers the first critical analysis of the PT's operational value. Culled from primary sources, this myth-buster covers the inside story of the scandalous 1939 Elco deal, offers new insight into the roles of Franklin D. Roosevelt and Douglas MacArthur in PT development, dares a shocking reappraisal of MacArthur's dramatic escape from Corregidor by PT boat in 1942, and reassesses the sinking of John F. Kennedy's PT-109. It also contains numerous photos and illustrations tracing American small torpedo boat development from the Civil War through World War II. Sure to be controversial, Hunters in the Shallows is a must read for naval professionals, military historians, and PT boat buffs alike.

PT Boats

PT Boats PDF Author: David Doyle
Publisher: Schiffer Military History
ISBN: 9780764356667
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 0

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Book Description
Patrol Torpedo--or PT boats--captured the public's imagination during WWII due to the daring exploits of their crews. Built not of plywood, as many believe, but rather of mahogany planks, and powered by a trio of Packard marine engines, these vessels operated in every theater, often facing opponents many times their size. The use of PT boats to evacuate General Douglas MacArthur and his family from the Philippines, a story dramatized in the movie They Were Expendable, put the PT boats and their crews in the public forefront, as did John F. Kennedy's loss of PT-109 and the subsequent rescue of him and his crew. This book looks at all the PT boat configurations used by the US Navy during WWII through rare archival photos, augmented by images of the few remaining vessels of the type. Part of the Legends of Warfare series.

Killing Kennedy

Killing Kennedy PDF Author: Bill O'Reilly
Publisher: Henry Holt and Company
ISBN: 0805096671
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 338

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Book Description
A riveting historical narrative of the shocking events surrounding the assassination of John F. Kennedy, and the follow-up to mega-bestselling author Bill O'Reilly's Killing Lincoln. The basis for the 2013 television movie of the same name starring Rob Lowe as JFK. More than a million readers have thrilled to Bill O'Reilly's Killing Lincoln, the page-turning work of nonfiction about the shocking assassination that changed the course of American history. Now the iconic anchor of The O'Reilly Factor recounts in gripping detail the brutal murder of John Fitzgerald Kennedy—and how a sequence of gunshots on a Dallas afternoon not only killed a beloved president but also sent the nation into the cataclysmic division of the Vietnam War and its culture-changing aftermath. In January 1961, as the Cold War escalates, John F. Kennedy struggles to contain the growth of Communism while he learns the hardships, solitude, and temptations of what it means to be president of the United States. Along the way he acquires a number of formidable enemies, among them Soviet leader Nikita Khrushchev, Cuban dictator Fidel Castro, and Allen Dulles, director of the Central Intelligence Agency. In addition, powerful elements of organized crime have begun to talk about targeting the president and his brother, Attorney General Robert Kennedy. In the midst of a 1963 campaign trip to Texas, Kennedy is gunned down by an erratic young drifter named Lee Harvey Oswald. The former Marine Corps sharpshooter escapes the scene, only to be caught and shot dead while in police custody. The events leading up to the most notorious crime of the twentieth century are almost as shocking as the assassination itself. Killing Kennedy chronicles both the heroism and deceit of Camelot, bringing history to life in ways that will profoundly move the reader.

Under a Blood Red Sun

Under a Blood Red Sun PDF Author: John J. Domagalski
Publisher: Casemate
ISBN: 1612004091
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 523

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Book Description
The author of Into the Dark Water “balances scholarly research with accessible storytelling” to tell the heroic WWII account of Torpedo Boat Squadron 3 (Midwest Book Review). During the opening days of World War II in the Pacific, a small group of American sailors in the Philippines were propelled into the forefront of the fighting against the navy and air power of Imperial Japan. They were manned with six small, wooden PT-boats and led by a courageous, larger-than-life character in Lt. John D. Bulkeley. As America’s defense of the Philippines crumbled under the weight of a massive Japanese assault, the courageous activities of Bulkeley’s Torpedo Boat Squadron 3 made headlines across the United States—often as the only good news coming from the bleak Pacific front. The unit achieved everlasting fame by evacuating Gen. Douglas MacArthur from the front. Then, the squadron continued to fight on until all six of its torpedo boats were lost under fire. The fate of the doomed American defenders was sealed when the Japanese won the battle for the islands in the spring of 1942. The exploits of the unit were immortalized in the blockbuster 1945 movie They Were Expendable, starring John Wayne and Robert Montgomery, but since then, the saga of Bulkeley and his men has slipped into history. Under a Blood Red Sun revives the story of the Philippine PT-boats through the intertwined accounts of Bulkeley and his subordinate officers and men. It is a story of the courage and sacrifice of men thousands of miles from their homeland, representing American gallantry and fighting prowess, giving the Japanese a taste of what was to come their way.

Holy Bible (NIV)

Holy Bible (NIV) PDF Author: Various Authors,
Publisher: Zondervan
ISBN: 0310294142
Category : Bibles
Languages : en
Pages : 6637

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Book Description
The NIV is the world's best-selling modern translation, with over 150 million copies in print since its first full publication in 1978. This highly accurate and smooth-reading version of the Bible in modern English has the largest library of printed and electronic support material of any modern translation.

World War II Warships

World War II Warships PDF Author: John Batchelor
Publisher: Courier Corporation
ISBN: 0486451631
Category : Juvenile Nonfiction
Languages : en
Pages : 36

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Book Description
This fleet of 28 accurately detailed ships includes the ill-fated PT-109, commanded by a young John F. Kennedy, a German U-boat, and the USS Missouri, the battleship on which the Japanese surrendered.