Saturday, July 31, 1943

July 31, 1943 (Saturday)

During the day, JFK and his crew worked to fasten the thirty-seven millimeter anti-tank gun that Kennedy had decided on his own initiative to attach to the front of his boat. To make room for the gun, the regulation life raft had to be removed, a decision that was to have disastrous and infamous consequences within 48 hours.

Like many other nights, JFK and his crew on the PT 109 patrolled the waters of the Pacific but were unable to locate and engage the enemy.

[3, p. 553-4]