Solving the Mystery of What Became of J.F.K.'s Other Patrol Boat

[Omaha Steve]

A boat believed to be the PT-59, a Navy vessel Kennedy commanded after the PT-109 was sunk, has been mired in the muck off Manhattan for decades.



Redmond Burke was the last owner of a boat that he believes was captained by John F. Kennedy and is now being excavated in Manhattan’s Inwood neighborhood.Credit...Hiroko Masuike/The New York Times


By Corey Kilgannon
June 9, 2020

For decades, countless motorists and boaters have passed North Cove, a small recess along the Manhattan side of the Harlem River, unaware that a piece of presidential history may well have been embedded in the muddy bottom.

That historical remnant may have finally come to light. Late last month, watched by a group of onlookers who were among the few to know of the boat’s presence, a crane began pulling up pieces of what is believed to be the PT-59, a Navy vessel commanded by John F. Kennedy in his mid-20s during World War II.

“This is history,” said one of the spectators, Bob Walters, 73, who spent much of his childhood on the river.

The PT-59 was part of a naval record that helped propel Kennedy toward the White House.


The PT-59 in the Solomon Islands during World War II.Credit...Photoquest, via Getty Images

FULL story: https://www.nytimes.com/2020/06/09/nyregion/pt-59-jfk-wwII-boat-harlem-river.html?action=click&algo=als_engaged2_desk_filter&block=editors_picks_recirc&fellback=false&imp_id=700580309&impression_id=239694&index=1&pgtype=Article®ion=ccolumn&action=click&module=editorContent&pgtype=Article®ion=CompanionColumn&contentCollection=Trending