Joseph P. Kennedy Jr. | |
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Joseph P. Kennedy Jr., U.S.Navy (c. 1942)
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Born |
Joseph Patrick Kennedy Jr. July 25, 1915 Hull, Massachusetts, U.S. |
Died | August 12, 1944 Over Blythburgh, East Suffolk, United Kingdom (remains never recovered) |
(aged 29)
Cause of death | Naval airplane explosion during Operation Aphrodite |
Education |
Harvard College London School of Economics Harvard Law School |
Occupation | U.S. Naval Aviator |
Political party | Democratic |
Parent(s) | |
Relatives | See Kennedy family |
Military career | |
Memorial – Wall of the Missing | Cambridge American Cemetery and Memorial Cambridge, England |
Allegiance | United States |
Service/branch | United States Navy |
Years of service | 1941–1944 |
Rank | Lieutenant |
Unit | Patrol Squadron 203 Bombing Squadron 110, Special Air Unit 1 |
Battles/wars | World War II |
Awards | Navy Cross, Distinguished Flying Cross, Purple Heart Medal, Air Medal |
Joseph Patrick "Joe" Kennedy Jr. (July 25, 1915 – August 12, 1944) was a United States Navy lieutenant. He was killed in action while serving as a land-based patrol bomber pilot in World War II and was posthumously awarded the Navy Cross. He was the eldest of nine children born to Joseph P. Kennedy Sr. (1888–1969) and Rose Fitzgerald (1890–1995).
Joe Sr. had plans for Joe Jr. to become President. However, Joe Jr. was killed while participating in a top-secret mission in 1944, and the high expectations of the father then fell upon Joe Jr.'s younger brother John, who was later elected President.
Kennedy was born in Hull, Massachusetts. He first attended the Dexter School in Brookline, Massachusetts, with his brother, John. He graduated from The Choate School (now Choate Rosemary Hall) in 1933 in Wallingford, Connecticut. He then entered Harvard College in Cambridge, Massachusetts, graduating in 1938. Kennedy participated in football, rugby, and crew, and he served on the student council. Kennedy then spent a year studying under the tutelage of Harold Laski at the London School of Economics before enrolling in Harvard Law School.