Joseph Patrick Kennedy Jr. (July 25, 1915 – August 12, 1944) was the eldest of the nine children born to Joseph P. Kennedy Sr. and Rose Fitzgerald Kennedy. A US Navy lieutenant, he was killed in action during World War II while serving as a land-based patrol bomber pilot, and posthumously awarded the Navy Cross. His father had aspirations for him to become US president. He was a delegate to the

1940 Democratic National Convention The 1940 Democratic National Convention was held at the Chicago Stadium in Chicago, Illinois from July 15 to July 18, 1940. The convention resulted in the nomination of President Franklin D. Roosevelt for an unprecedented third term. Secretary o ...

and planned to run for a seat in the US House of Representatives after his military service as the first stepping stone on the path to the White House. His death while participating in a top-secret mission in 1944 caused his father to transfer his aspirations to his next-oldest son, John F. Kennedy, who followed the path first planned for his brother by advancing from the House to the US Senate and then to the presidency.

Early life and education

Kennedy was born on July 25, 1915, in Hull, Massachusetts. He first attended the Dexter School in

Brookline, Massachusetts Brookline is a town in Norfolk County, Massachusetts, Norfolk County, Massachusetts, in the United States, and part of the Greater Boston, Boston metropolitan area. Brookline borders six of Boston's neighborhoods: Brighton, Boston, Brighton, A ...

, with his brother John. In 1933, he graduated from the

Choate School Choate Rosemary Hall (often known as Choate; ) is a private, co-educational, college-preparatory boarding school in Wallingford, Connecticut, United States. Choate is currently ranked as the second best boarding school and third best private high ...

in Wallingford, Connecticut. He then entered Harvard College, Cambridge, Massachusetts, from which he graduated in 1938 with a Bachelor of Arts degree in government. Kennedy participated in

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kicking a ball to score a goal. Unqualified, the word ''football'' normally means the form of football that is the most popular where the word is used. Sports commonly c ...

, rugby, and crew and served on the student council. He then spent a year studying under the tutelage of Harold Laski at the London School of Economics before he enrolled at

Harvard Law School Harvard Law School (Harvard Law or HLS) is the law school of Harvard University, a private research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Founded in 1817, it is the oldest continuously operating law school in the United States. Each class ...

Political ambitions and views

From a very young age, Kennedy was groomed by his father and predicted to be the first Roman Catholic US president. When he was born, his grandfather John F. Fitzgerald, the mayor of Boston, told the news: "This child is the future president of the nation." He often boasted that he would be president even without help from his father. He was a Massachusetts delegate to the

Democratic National Convention The Democratic National Convention (DNC) is a series of presidential nominating conventions held every four years since 1832 by the United States Democratic Party. They have been administered by the Democratic National Committee since the 1852 ...

in 1940. He planned to run for the U.S. House from Massachusetts's 11th congressional district in 1946. 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 Hitler's sterilization policy as "a great thing" that "will do away with many of the disgusting specimens of men." Kennedy explained, "Hitler is building a spirit in his men that could be envied in any country."

U.S. Navy

Kennedy left before his final year of law school at Harvard to enlist in the US Naval Reserve on June 24, 1941. He entered flight training to be a

naval aviator Naval aviation is the application of military air power by navies, whether from warships that embark aircraft, or land bases. Naval aviation is typically projected to a position nearer the target by way of an aircraft carrier. Carrier-based a ...

, received his wings, and was commissioned an ensign on May 5, 1942. He was assigned to Patrol Squadron 203 and then Bombing Squadron 110. In September 1943, he was sent to Britain and became a member of Bomber Squadron 110, Special Air Unit ONE, in 1944. He piloted land-based PB4Y Liberator patrol bombers on

anti-submarine An anti-submarine weapon (ASW) is any one of a number of devices that are intended to act against a submarine and its crew, to destroy (sink) the vessel or reduce its capability as a weapon of war. In its simplest sense, an anti-submarine weapo ...

details during two tours of duty in the winter of 1943–1944. Kennedy was appointed a lieutenant on July 1, 1944. He had completed 25 combat missions and was eligible to return home. He instead volunteered for an Operation Aphrodite mission.

Operations ''Aphrodite'' and ''Anvil''

Operation Aphrodite made use of uncrewed, explosive-laden Army Air Corps

Boeing B-17 Flying Fortress The Boeing B-17 Flying Fortress is a four-engined heavy bomber developed in the 1930s for the United States Army Air Corps (USAAC). Relatively fast and high-flying for a bomber of its era, the B-17 was used primarily in the European Theater ...

and Navy

Consolidated PB4Y-1 Liberator The Consolidated B-24 Liberator is an American heavy bomber, designed by Consolidated Aircraft of San Diego, California. It was known within the company as the Model 32, and some initial production aircraft were laid down as export models ...

bombers that were deliberately crashed into their targets under

radio control Radio control (often abbreviated to RC) is the use of control signals transmitted by radio to remotely control a device. Examples of simple radio control systems are garage door openers and keyless entry systems for vehicles, in which a small ...

. These "drone" aircraft could not take off safely on their own and so a crew of two would take off and fly to 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 The Fortress of Mimoyecques () is the modern name for a Second World War underground military complex built by the forces of Nazi Germany between 1943 and 1944. It was intended to house a battery of V-3 cannons aimed at London, away. Originally c ...

, an underground military complex under construction in northern France. The U.S. Navy also participated in Operation Aphrodite, with its portion referred to as Operation Anvil. Kennedy had been appointed a lieutenant on July 1. After the US Army Air Corps operation missions were drawn up on July 23, Lieutenants Wilford John Willy and Kennedy were designated as the Navy's first Anvil flight crew. 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.

''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

Lockheed Ventura The Lockheed Ventura is a twin-engine medium bomber and patrol bomber of World War II. The Ventura first entered combat in Europe as a bomber with the RAF in late 1942. Designated PV-1 by the United States Navy (US Navy), it entered combat in 1 ...

mother planes and a Boeing B-17 navigation plane took off from RAF Fersfield, Norfolk, England at 1800 on Saturday, August 12, 1944. Then the BQ-8 aircraft, loaded with of Torpex explosive, took off to be used against the U-boat pens at Heligoland in the North Sea. Following them in a USAAF

F-8 Mosquito The de Havilland DH.98 Mosquito is a British twin-engined, shoulder-winged, multirole combat aircraft, introduced during the World War II, Second World War. Unusual in that its frame was constructed mostly of wood, it was nicknamed the "Wooden ...

to film the mission were pilot Lt. Robert A. Tunnel and combat cameraman Lt. David J. McCarthy, who filmed the event from the perspex nose of the aircraft. As planned, Kennedy and Willy remained aboard as the BQ-8 completed its first remote-controlled turn at near the North Sea coast. Kennedy and Willy removed the safety pin, arming the explosive package, and Kennedy radioed the agreed code ''Spade Flush'', his last known words. Two minutes later and well before the planned crew bailout, near RAF Manston, the Torpex explosive detonated prematurely and destroyed the Liberator, killing Kennedy and Willy instantly. Wreckage landed near the village of Blythburgh in Suffolk, England, causing widespread damage and small fires, but there were no injuries on the ground. According to one report, a total of 59 buildings were damaged in a nearby coastal town. 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 Mosquito, which made an immediate emergency landing at

RAF Halesworth Royal Air Force Halesworth or more simply RAF Halesworth is a former Royal Air Force station located north east of the town of Halesworth, Suffolk, England and west of Southwold. United States Army Air Forces use Halesworth was built in 19 ...

, belonged to the

325th Reconnaissance Wing 3 (three) is a number, numeral and digit. It is the natural number following 2 and preceding 4, and is the smallest odd prime number and the only prime preceding a square number. It has religious or cultural significance in many societie ...

, a unit under the command of the son of President

Franklin Roosevelt Franklin Delano Roosevelt (; ; January 30, 1882April 12, 1945), often referred to by his initials FDR, was an American politician and attorney who served as the 32nd president of the United States from 1933 until his death in 1945. As the ...

, then Colonel Elliott Roosevelt, who years later claimed to have been aboard that trailing aircraft, and his version of the event has gained wide currency. However, Air Force records cannot substantiate it. Instead, an after-action account by the 8th Combat Camera Unit (CCU) noted: The 8th CCU film of the event, as far as is known, has not been found. The 20th Fighter Group out of Kings Cliffe, Northamptonshire, was tasked with providing escort to the Aphrodite mission. Escort consisted of P-51s out of the 55th and 79th Fighter Squadrons, each squadron providing two aircraft. VIII FC, Field Order 509 stated "20 GP (P-51's, 4 A/C) will proceed to Fersfield and land coordinating with operations where to provide close escort support to one B-34 special Operation." 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."

Accident investigation

Drone operations were paused for a month while equipment was re-evaluated and modified, 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 or that 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. Later reports that Kennedy's final mission was kept top secret until many years later are negated by a detailed public account of the operation and Kennedy's death released in 1945.

Recognition and commemoration

Kennedy and Willy were both posthumously awarded the Navy Cross, the Air Medal, and the

Purple Heart Medal The Purple Heart (PH) is a United States military decoration awarded in the name of the President to those wounded or killed while serving, on or after 5 April 1917, with the U.S. military. With its forerunner, the Badge of Military Merit, w ...

. 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. 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 The Fortress of Mimoyecques () is the modern name for a Second World War underground military complex built by the forces of Nazi Germany between 1943 and 1944. It was intended to house a battery of V-3 cannons aimed at London, away. Originally c ...

, France. Joseph P. Kennedy Jr. (grave).jpg, Cenotaph at Arlington National Cemetery JosephKennedy.jpg, Memorial inside the

, France

Military awards

Kennedy's military decorations and awards include the following:

Joseph P. Kennedy Jr.'s Navy Cross citation reads:

Legacy

In 1946, the Navy named a

destroyer In naval terminology, a destroyer is a fast, manoeuvrable, long-endurance warship intended to escort larger vessels in a fleet, convoy or battle group and defend them against powerful short range attackers. They were originally developed in ...

after him, the aboard which his younger brother, the future US Senator Robert F. Kennedy, briefly served. Among the highlights of its service are the blockade of Cuba during the

Cuban Missile Crisis The Cuban Missile Crisis, also known as the October Crisis (of 1962) ( es, Crisis de Octubre) in Cuba, the Caribbean Crisis () in Russia, or the Missile Scare, was a 35-day (16 October – 20 November 1962) confrontation between the United S ...

in 1962 and the afloat recovery teams for ''

Gemini 6 Gemini 6A (officially Gemini VI-A) With Gemini IV, NASA changed to Roman numerals for Gemini mission designations. was a 1965 crewed United States spaceflight in NASA's Gemini program. The mission, flown by Wally Schirra and Thomas P. Stafford, ...

'' and '' Gemini 7'', both 1965 crewed spaceflights in NASA's

Gemini program Project Gemini () was NASA's second human spaceflight program. Conducted between projects Mercury and Apollo, Gemini started in 1961 and concluded in 1966. The Gemini spacecraft carried a two-astronaut crew. Ten Gemini crews and 16 individual ...

. It was decommissioned in 1973 and is now a floating museum in Battleship Cove,

Fall River Fall River is a city in Bristol County, Massachusetts, United States. The City of Fall River's population was 94,000 at the 2020 United States Census, making it the tenth-largest city in the state. Located along the eastern shore of Mount H ...

, Massachusetts. In 1947, the Kennedys established the

Joseph P. Kennedy Jr. Foundation The Joseph P. Kennedy Jr. Foundation (JPKF) is a non-profit foundation founded by Ambassador Joseph P. Kennedy Sr. in 1946 in memory of his son Joseph P. Kennedy Jr. The foundation was led by his youngest brother, U.S. Senator Edward M. Kennedy, ...

and funded the construction of the Joseph P. Kennedy Jr. Memorial Hall at

Boston College Boston College (BC) is a private Jesuit research university in Chestnut Hill, Massachusetts. Founded in 1863, the university has more than 9,300 full-time undergraduates and nearly 5,000 graduate students. Although Boston College is classifie ...

, which is now a part of Campion Hall and home to the college's Lynch School of Education. The foundation was led by his youngest brother, US Senator Edward Kennedy until his death, in August 2009. In 1957, the

Lieutenant Joseph Patrick Kennedy Junior Memorial Skating Rink The Lieutenant Joseph Patrick Kennedy Junior Memorial Skating Rink was an ice skating rink in the town of Barnstable, Massachusetts, United States. It was named after the late Joseph P. Kennedy Jr., who was killed when his B-24 Liberator exploded ...

was opened in

Hyannis, Massachusetts Hyannis is the largest of the seven villages in the town of Barnstable, Massachusetts, in the United States. It is the commercial and transportation hub of Cape Cod and was designated an urban area at the 1990 census. Because of this, many refer t ...

, with funds from the Joseph P. Kennedy Jr. Foundation. In 1969, Hank Searls wrote a biography of Joseph Jr., ''The Lost Prince: Young Joe, the Forgotten Kennedy''. A television movie based on Searls' book won a primetime Emmy in 1977. Peter Strauss played Kennedy as an adult and Lance Kerwin played him as a teenager in the film.

References

External links

JFK Letter on the Death of Brother Joe Kennedy Jr.
Shapell Manuscript Foundation

BlythburghWeb.co.uk; accessed September 26, 2017
Joseph Kennedy Jr., Untold History on History Hit TV
{{DEFAULTSORT:Kennedy, Joseph P. Jr. 1915 births 1944 deaths People from Brookline, Massachusetts People from Hull, Massachusetts Alumni of the London School of Economics United States Navy personnel killed in World War II Harvard Law School alumni

Joseph P Joseph is a common male given name, derived from the Hebrew Yosef (יוֹסֵף). "Joseph" is used, along with "Josef", mostly in English, French and partially German languages. This spelling is also found as a variant in the languages of the mo ...

Military personnel from Massachusetts Recipients of the Distinguished Flying Cross (United States) Recipients of the Navy Cross (United States) United States Navy officers United States Navy pilots of World War II Recipients of the Air Medal Aviators killed in aviation accidents or incidents in England Aviators from Massachusetts Victims of aviation accidents or incidents in 1944 United States Navy reservists