07-18-08, 11:31 AM
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#11 (permalink)
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| Educator
Join Date: Dec 2007 Last Online: Yesterday 07:59 PM Location: A town in a country, on a planet
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Lean: Slightly Conservative Gender:  | Re: Obama’s Senate Experience: 143 Days
Quote:
Originally Posted by shuamort  And how has McCain led through a time of crisis? Also, how did Lincoln and JFK lead in a time of crisis PRIOR to their presidency? | JFK: The History Place - JFK The War Hero Quote:
Jack's PT 109 was at first a dirty, bug infested boat in need of repairs. Jack and his crew cleaned and painted the boat while mechanics fixed the engines and hull. PT 109 then went on night training patrols. Returning from patrols, Jack and the others often raced their boats back into the dock. On one occasion, Jack couldn't stop PT 109, crashed into the dock and earned a temporary new nickname, "Crash" Kennedy.
Mid-July 1943, PT 109 was ordered into combat - the mission, to disrupt night-time Japanese supply convoys of ships known as the "Tokyo Express."
Monday, August 2, 1943 - On night patrol PT 109 was rammed by a Japanese destroyer, killing two of the 13 crewmen. Jack rescued a nearly drowned crewman with bad burns, dragging him out of the water onto the floating hulk. In the process, Jack swallowed a lot of sea water and gasoline and would suffer life long stomach problems.
12 hours later they abandoned the wreckage of PT 109 and swam for a nearby island using a makeshift raft built from pieces of the boat. Jack swam while towing the burned crewman for four hours. That night Jack Kennedy swam out with a lantern and a pistol hoping to flag any patrolling PT boats, but was unsuccessful.
They moved to a larger island nearby, with Jack once again towing the injured crewman. Jack made two more attempts to flag PT boats without success. The men lived on coconut milk and rainwater until they eventually made contact with friendly natives. Jack carved a rescue message into a coconut husk which made its way back to the Navy and the crew of PT 109 was rescued by PT boats.
A few weeks later, the story of PT 109 and Jack Kennedy made the front page of the New York Times and Boston Papers. Later, flattering accounts appeared in The New Yorker magazine and Reader's Digest.
Jack spent a total of nine months in the South Pacific. After PT 109, he commanded a gunboat, the 59, but saw little combat. He returned to the states, then underwent surgery for his back problems.
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Lincoln: He helped to form the Repuplican party while the country was spliting itself apart. This one isn't part of a crisis but, when the repulicans won a senate seat it was supposed to go to him but he let it go to Lyman Trumbull. This allowed to keep the party balanced.
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