17. Kennedy was ordered on a mission with insufficient fuel to complete it
Because Kennedy’s gasoline tanks were less than half full, he requested time to refuel before he departed. He was told there wasn’t time. Two other boats were assigned to escort PT 59. Kennedy departed on the mission with the full knowledge he may have to abandon his boat if it could not be taken in tow under fire. PT 59 picked up two officers as guides, including Marine Lt. Col. Victor Krulak, commander of Operation Blissful. The boats then proceeded to the mouth of the Warrior River, where during a rainy night, Kennedy used his boat as a shield as Marines were evacuated via landing craft from the island.
PT 59 picked up ten Marines of its own, several of them wounded. One died of his wounds in Kennedy’s bunk that night. The PT boats then moved down the coast of Choiseul toward a Marine outpost at Voza, where they had picked up their guides earlier. The boats then turned back to their base. At 3.00 AM, November 2, 1943, Kennedy’s engines died, their fuel supply exhausted. He called for one of the escorting boats to tow him and requested air cover, since both boats would be vulnerable. Six Australian fighters were sent to provide cover, and all six were shot down. PT 59 and its escorts arrived safely at Lambu Lambu and were quickly refueled.
