Only five years later, in August 1943, Kennedy's swimming was to make him a war hero. Under his command, the Motor Torpedo Boat PT-109 was run down by a Japanese destroyer in the Pacific. The boat's 11 survivors swam for four hours to reach the deserted Plum Pudding Island, a mere 90 meters (about 295 feet) in diameter and lacking all food or water. Kennedy then swam a further 4 kilometers (about 2.5 miles) in search of help and food, guiding the surviving men to another island where they survived for six days on coconuts and water.

After Kennedy was elected president, the incident and PT-109 became celebrated in many forms, including books, films, television, models, toys and most improbably of all, in song. In 1962, Jimmy Dean's "PT-109" reached No. 8 on the American pop charts.



