Joseph P. Kennedy Jr.

Political ambitions and views

From a very young age, Kennedy was groomed by his father and predicted to be the first Roman Catholic president of the United States. When he was born, his grandfather John F. Fitzgerald, then 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 delegate to the Democratic National Convention in 1940. Kennedy planned to run for the U.S. House from Massachusetts's 11th congressional district in 1946.

Kennedy expressed approval of Adolf Hitler before his conquest of Europe began. His father sent him to visit Nazi Germany in 1934. He wrote to his father, praising Hitler's sterilization policy as "a great thing" that "will do away with many of the disgusting specimens of men." ^[2] He explained that "Hitler is building a spirit in his men that could be envied in any country."^[3][4]

Operations Anvil and Aphrodite

Operation Aphrodite (U.S. Army Air Corps) & Operation Anvil (U.S. Navy) made use of unmanned, explosive-laden Army Air Corps Boeing B-17 Flying Fortress and Navy Consolidated PB4Y-1 Liberator bombers that were deliberately crashed into their targets under radio control.^[6] These aircraft could not take off safely on their own, so a crew of two would take off and fly to 2,000 feet (610 m) before activating the remote control system, arming the detonators, and parachuting from the aircraft.

Kennedy was appointed a Lieutenant on July 1, 1944.^[5] After the U.S. Army Air Corps operation missions were drawn up on July 23, 1944, Lieutenants Wilford John Willy^[7] and Kennedy were designated as the first Navy flight crew. Willy, who was the executive officer of Special Air Unit ONE, had also volunteered for the mission and "pulled rank" over Ensign James Simpson, who was Kennedy's regular co-pilot. Kennedy and Willy (co-pilot) flew a BQ-8 "robot" aircraft (drone; a converted B-24 Liberator) for the U.S. Navy's first Aphrodite mission. Two Lockheed Ventura mother planes and a Boeing B-17 navigation plane took off from RAF Fersfield at 1800 on August 12, 1944. Then the BQ-8 aircraft, loaded with 21,170 lb (9,600 kg) of Torpex, took off. It was to be used against the U-boat pens at Heligoland in the North Sea.^[8][9]

Last photograph of Joseph P. Kennedy Jr. on day of flight, August 12, 1944.

Commemorative headstone of Joseph P. Kennedy Jr. at Arlington National Cemetery.

Following them in a USAAF F-8 Mosquito to film the mission were pilot Lt. Robert A. Tunnel and combat camera man Lt. David J. McCarthy, who filmed the event from the perspex nose of the aircraft.^[10] As planned, Kennedy and Willy remained aboard as the BQ-8 completed its first remote-controlled turn at 2,000 ft (610 m) 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.

Attempted first Aphrodite attack Twelve August with robot taking off from Fersfield at One Eight Zero Five Hours. Robot exploded in the air at approximately two thousand feet eight miles southeast of Halesworth at One Eight Two Zero hours. Wilford J. Willy Sr Grade Lieutenant and Joseph P. Kennedy Sr Grade Lieutenant, both USNR, were killed. Commander Smith, in command of this unit, is making full report TO US Naval Operations. A more detailed report will be forwarded to you when interrogation is completed

— Top Secret telegram to General Carl Andrew Spaatz from General Jimmy Doolittle, August 1944^[11]

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."^[12] The Mosquito, which made an immediate emergency landing at RAF Halesworth, belonged to the 325th Reconnaissance Wing, a unit under the command of the son of President Franklin D. Roosevelt, then Colonel Elliott Roosevelt. Years later, Roosevelt claimed to have been aboard this trailing aircraft, and his version of the event has gained wide currency.^[13] However, Air Force records cannot substantiate this. Instead, an after-action account by the 8th Combat Camera Unit (CCU) noted that:

Memorial for Joseph Kennedy Jr. inside the fortress of Mimoyecques (France)

".....'the Baby just exploded in mid-air as we neared it and I was knocked halfway back to the cockpit. A few pieces of the Baby came through the plexiglass nose and I got hit in the head and caught a lot of fragments in my right arm. I crawled back to the cockpit and lowered the wheels so that Bob could make a quick emergency landing,' Lt. McCarthy reported from his hospital bed."^[14]

The 8th CCU film of the event, has, so far as is known, not been found.

^[15] The 20th Fighter Group out of King’s Cliffe was tasked with providing escort to the Aphrodite mission. Escort consisted of P-51s out of the 55th and 79th Fighter Squadrons, each squadron provided 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."

Lt John E. Klink reported in this 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 of the plane. Rest of ships OK in spite of terrific concussion from explosion. All returned to base.” [Sic]

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 this possibility the day before the mission, but he was ignored.^[11] Kennedy and Willy were both posthumously awarded the Navy Cross, the Air Medal, and the Purple Heart Medal.

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 in Cambridgeshire, Britain, that commemorates American servicemen who died in World War II.^[16][17] Later reports that Kennedy's final mission were kept top secret until many years later^[1] are negated by a detailed public account of the operation and Kennedy's death released in 1945.^[18]

Navy Cross citation

The President of the United States of America takes pride in presenting the Navy Cross (Posthumously) to Lieutenant Joseph Patrick Kennedy, United States Navy, for extraordinary heroism in operations against the enemy while serving as Commander of a Navy Liberator Patrol Plane in Bombing Squadron ONE HUNDRED TEN (VB-110), Special Air Unit ONE (Europe), during a special air mission directed at Mimoyecques, France, on August 12, 1944. Well knowing the extreme dangers involved and totally unconcerned for his own safety, Lieutenant Kennedy unhesitatingly volunteered to conduct an exceptionally hazardous and special operational mission. Intrepid and daring in his tactics and with unwavering confidence in the vital importance of his task, he willingly risked his life in the supreme measure of service, and, by his great personal valor and fortitude in carrying out a perilous undertaking, sustained and enhanced the finest traditions of the United States Naval Service.^[19]