7. Kennedy and ten men survived the explosion and flames
In the darkness, Kennedy located the most severely injured of his crew, Machinist’s Mate First Class Patrick McMahon. The seaman was burned over 70% of his body. Kennedy brought him to the forward section of the boat, where he left him and set out searching for more of the crew. He found two more, who he escorted to the remains of his boat. By sunrise, August 2, eleven men were on the bow of the wrecked PT boat, which drifted southward in the current, toward the Japanese-held islands. It was also taking on water and by late morning it was clear the remains of the boat would soon sink. The men were ringed with islands occupied by the Japanese.
One which wasn’t identified on American charts as Plum Pudding Island. The island was too small to be of any significance, and no Japanese troops occupied it, so Kennedy directed his crew to swim for the island. Kennedy had injured his back in the explosion of his boat, but he towed the injured McMahon, taking the latter’s lifebelt strap between his teeth while he swam the three and a half-mile distance. Several of the men pushed a timber on which the anti-tank gun had been mounted, using it to carry their shoes and the remaining battle lantern. The journey through the water took about four hours, with the men reaching the shore of Plum Pudding Island in the late afternoon.