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Textual folder
Kennedy Family Collection
KFC-077-001
This scrapbook, compiled by John F. “Jack” Kennedy, documents his time serving in the United States Navy during World War II from 1941 through 1944, including his assignment in the Solomon Islands and his command of the motor torpedo boat, PT-109, as well as time spent on leave with family and friends. The gold stamped title on the front cover reads, “J.F.K.” The scrapbook contains photographic prints, newspaper and magazine clippings, several pieces of correspondence, and other types of printed ephemera. Of note are clippings related to the rescue of the PT-109 crew near the Solomon Islands in the Western Pacific Ocean following its sinking by a Japanese destroyer; Jack’s receipt of the Navy and Marine Corps medal for his actions in the aftermath of the attack on PT-109; his brother Joseph P. Kennedy, Jr.’s military service and death while piloting a U.S. Navy aircraft over Blythburgh, East Suffolk, England; the marriage of his sister, Kathleen Kennedy, to William “Billy” Cavendish, Marquess of Hartington; and Billy Hartington’s death while serving in the British Army. Photographs show Jack in the Solomon Islands singly and with fellow U.S. Navy sailors, including George H. R. “Barney” Ross, James A. “Jim” Reed, Paul B. “Red” Fay, Allan “Al” Webb, Leon Emery Drawdy, Edman Edgar Mauer, Edmund T. Drewitch, John Edward Maguire, Charles Albert Harris, Maurice L. Kowal, Andrew Jackson Kirksey, and Leonard "Lenny" Thom. Also pictured is Jack in Hyannis Port, Massachusetts and Palm Beach, Florida, with family, including his mother, Rose Fitzgerald Kennedy; siblings, Joseph, Jr., Kathleen, Eunice Kennedy, Patricia Kennedy, Jean Kennedy, and Edward M. “Ted” Kennedy; cousin, Joseph Francis "Joey" Gargan, Jr.; and friends, Jim Reed, Julia Reed, Lenny Thom, Catherine “Kate” Thom, Barney Ross, Nancy Tenney, Red Fay, Bernie Lyons, Torbert Macdonald, and John "Zeke" Coleman, Jr. Others who are pictured are U.S. Navy commissioned officers who served in the South West Pacific theater, including Commander Henry Charles Farrow, Jr.; Lt. Commander Robert Bolling Kelly; Commodore Edward J. “Mike” Moran; and Admiral William Frederick Halsey, Jr. Of note are two typed letters detailing Jack’s military orders during World War II; clippings related to and photographs of Jack receiving the Navy and Marine Corps Medal from Captain Frederick L. Conklin at the Chelsea Naval Hospital in Chelsea, Massachusetts; a typed letter awarding him a Purple Heart medal for injuries he sustained during his command of PT-109; a typed letter awarding him the Navy and Marine Corps Medal; a printed compilation of news releases issued by the “So-Pac Press,” a publication of the U.S. Naval Command in the South Pacific; a printed list of wartime instructions that American service members could distribute to native peoples in case of an emergency landing on one of the Solomon Islands; and a postcard sent to Jack with a handwritten message from his brother, Robert F. “Bobby” Kennedy, postmarked from Palestine and featuring an image of Jerusalem. This scrapbook contains 66 photographic prints and postcards, 64 newspaper and periodical clippings (including several full periodical pages), four typed letters, and two other printed documents.
Photograph
White House Photographs
JFKWHP-KN-C28212
President John F. Kennedy (center) greets Congressional Medal of Honor recipients, at a military reception in their honor. Also pictured: Military Aide to the President, General Chester V. Clifton; Naval Aide to the President, Captain Tazewell Shepard; Associate Press Secretary, Andrew T. Hatcher; Attorney General Robert F. Kennedy; First Lady’s Social Secretary, Letitia Baldrige; Deputy Secretary of Defense, Roswell L. Gilpatric; Secretary of Defense, Robert S. McNamara; Secretary of the Navy, Fred Korth; White House Secret Service agents, Win Lawson and Sam Sulliman. Rose Garden, White House, Washington, D.C.
Photograph
White House Photographs
JFKWHP-KN-28418
View of the South Lawn of the White House, as President John F. Kennedy (far right, back to camera) and others watch the Old Guard Fife and Drum Corps, 1st Battalion, 3rd Infantry Regiment, perform during a military reception in honor of recipients of the Congressional Medal of Honor. Those pictured include: Naval Aide to the President, Captain Tazewell Shepard; Julia Ann Shepard, wife of Captain Shepard; Military Aide to the President, General Chester V. Clifton; Attorney General Robert F. Kennedy; Chief of Naval Operations, Admiral George W. Anderson, Jr.; Commandant of the Marine Corps, General David M. Shoup; Zola Shoup, wife of General Shoup; Deputy Secretary of Defense, Roswell L. Gilpatric; White House Secret Service agent, Ernie Olsson. The Washington Monument and Jefferson Memorial are visible in the distance. Washington, D.C.
Photograph
White House Photographs
JFKWHP-KN-28417
President John F. Kennedy (center right, mostly hidden) attends a military reception in honor of recipients of the Congressional Medal of Honor. Also pictured: Naval Aide to the President, Captain Tazewell Shepard; Julia Ann Shepard, wife of Captain Shepard; Military Aide to the President, General Chester V. Clifton; Attorney General Robert F. Kennedy; Commandant of the Marine Corps, General David M. Shoup; Zola Shoup, wife of General Shoup; Air Force Aide to the President, Brigadier General Godfrey T. McHugh; Secretary of the Navy, Fred Korth; Deputy Secretary of Defense, Roswell L. Gilpatric; First Lady’s Social Secretary, Letitia Baldrige. The Washington Monument and Jefferson Memorial are visible in the distance. South Lawn, White House, Washington, D.C.
Photograph
White House Photographs
JFKWHP-KN-28414
President John F. Kennedy and others attend a military reception in honor of recipients of the Congressional Medal of Honor. Left to right: unidentified woman; Margaret McNamara (wearing black coat), wife of Robert S. McNamara, Secretary of Defense; Secretary McNamara; Madelin T. Gilpatric, wife of Roswell L. Gilpatric, Deputy Secretary of Defense; Secretary of the Treasury, C. Douglas Dillon; Deputy Secretary Gilpatric; Commandant of the Marine Corps, General David M. Shoup (in back, partially hidden); President Kennedy; unidentified woman; Chief of Naval Operations, Admiral George W. Anderson, Jr. (mostly hidden); Attorney General Robert F. Kennedy; three unidentified persons; Military Aide to the President, General Chester V. Clifton; Naval Aide to the President, Captain Tazewell Shepard. South Portico, White House, Washington, D.C.
Photograph
White House Photographs
JFKWHP-KN-28413
President John F. Kennedy and others attend a military reception in honor of recipients of the Congressional Medal of Honor. Left to right: several unidentified persons; Margaret McNamara (wearing black coat), wife of Robert S. McNamara, Secretary of Defense; Secretary of the Navy, Fred Korth (in back); Secretary McNamara; unidentified man (in back); Madelin T. Gilpatric, wife of Roswell L. Gilpatric, Deputy Secretary of Defense; Phyllis Chess Ellsworth, wife of C. Douglas Dillon, Secretary of the Treasury; Deputy Secretary Gilpatric; Zola Shoup (in back), wife of General David M. Shoup, Commandant of the Marine Corps; President Kennedy; unidentified; Chief of Naval Operations, Admiral George W. Anderson, Jr. (in back); Attorney General Robert F. Kennedy; several unidentified persons; White House Secret Service agent, Ernie Olsson (in back); Military Aide to the President, General Chester V. Clifton; Naval Aide to the President, Captain Tazewell Shepard; unidentified. National Park Service (NPS) Photographer, Abbie Rowe, takes photographs from stairs in background. South Portico, White House, Washington, D.C.
Photograph
White House Photographs
JFKWHP-KN-28412
President John F. Kennedy and others attend a military reception in honor of recipients of the Congressional Medal of Honor. Left to right: several unidentified persons; Margaret McNamara (wearing black coat), wife of Robert S. McNamara, Secretary of Defense; Secretary McNamara; Secretary of the Navy, Fred Korth (behind McNamara); Madelin T. Gilpatric, wife of Roswell L. Gilpatric, Deputy Secretary of Defense; Phyllis Chess Ellsworth, wife of C. Douglas Dillon, Secretary of the Treasury; Air Force Aide to the President, Brigadier General Godfrey T. McHugh; Deputy Secretary Gilpatric; Secretary Dillon (behind Gilpatric); unidentified man in back; President Kennedy; Commandant of the Marine Corps, General David M. Shoup; unidentified; Chief of Naval Operations, Admiral George W. Anderson, Jr.; Attorney General Robert F. Kennedy; three unidentified persons; Military Aide to the President, General Chester V. Clifton; Julia Ann Shepard (in back), wife of Captain Tazewell Shepard, Naval Aide to the President; Captain Shepard; unidentified. National Park Service (NPS) Photographer, Abbie Rowe, stands on stairs in background. South Portico, White House, Washington, D.C.
Photograph
White House Photographs
JFKWHP-KN-28411
President John F. Kennedy and others attend a military reception in honor of recipients of the Congressional Medal of Honor. Left to right: several unidentified persons; Margaret McNamara (wearing black coat), wife of Robert S. McNamara, Secretary of Defense; Secretary McNamara; Secretary of the Navy, Fred Korth (behind McNamara); Madelin T. Gilpatric, wife of Roswell L. Gilpatric, Deputy Secretary of Defense; Phyllis Chess Ellsworth, wife of C. Douglas Dillon, Secretary of the Treasury; Air Force Aide to the President, Brigadier General Godfrey T. McHugh; Deputy Secretary Gilpatric; Secretary Dillon (behind Gilpatric); unidentified man in back; President Kennedy; Commandant of the Marine Corps, General David M. Shoup; unidentified; Chief of Naval Operations, Admiral George W. Anderson, Jr.; Attorney General Robert F. Kennedy; three unidentified persons; Military Aide to the President, General Chester V. Clifton; Julia Ann Shepard (in back), wife of Captain Tazewell Shepard, Naval Aide to the President; Captain Shepard; unidentified. National Park Service (NPS) Photographer, Abbie Rowe, stands on stairs in background. South Portico, White House, Washington, D.C.