3. PT 109 was in bad shape when Kennedy took command
Kennedy was assigned to command PT 109 on April 23, 1943. The boat had been in combat for several months, and was barely seaworthy. Its engines needed overhauls and its hull was fouled. The boat’s radar and radio were inoperable, and its torpedo tubes had exhibited the undesirable tendencies which plagued all PTs at the time. Kennedy was also assigned a crew that had not served together as a unit before, though some of the men had served together on other boats. Spare parts were scarce, and many were scavenged from other boats. The Navy art of bargaining with other crews for parts – known as cumshaw – was used to get the boat ready for duty.
At the end of May, Kennedy was ordered to move to the Russell Islands in preparation for the invasion of New Georgia, part of the island-hopping campaign as the Allies secured the Solomons. Following the capture of Rendova, the PT boats were moved to a primitive base on the island’s tip. Rations were for the most part canned. The crews were exposed to tropical diseases, including dengue fever and malaria, which Kennedy contracted during his time on the island. Rats, mosquitos, and cockroaches tormented the crews. So did Japanese bombers, who recognized the damage done to supply lines by the PT boats on their nightly raids. In one raid in July, Japanese bombers sank one PT boat and destroyed another.