Bridge Carney is a master model builder. After he built a model of the PT-157, Aces and Eights, he began to wonder "Who rescued the 109?" the famous boat skippered by John F. Kennedy.
 

His search led him to find two survivors of the 157, Skipper "Bud" Liebenow and Torpedoman Wofford West who provided eye witness accounts of PT boat life and the fateful rescue of the future President. Those conversations led Mr. Carney to write his second book on the subject, First Up: Chronicles of the PT-157.
 

In a recent presentation at the Port Hueneme Historical Society Museum, Mr. Carney related the story. "There’s more information available today than at any time since World War II," he said.
 

After the disaster at Pearl Harbor, the Navy was desperate to "Put something in front of the enemy to create havoc," Mr. Carney said. The "plywood navy" of "small boats with deadly devices" was hastily constructed to meet this need.
 

The 157 was built by Elco (The Electric Launch Company) in Bayonne, N.J. and shipped through the Panama Canal where it took up duty in the Soloman Islands where Lt. Liebenow’s crew came to be regarded as one of the best in the business.  
 

Manned by volunteers, PT boats were designed to be stealthy night fighters. Although capable of running at 40 mph, the preferred tactic was to slowly approach the target, fire the torpedoes and quietly back away leaving the enemy wondering where the attack came from.  Unfortunately, the torpedoes were based on a WW I design and often missed their target.
 

The heavily muffled Packard engines produced a low rumble. Mr. Carney told of one of the first encounters with what the enemy would call "Devil Boats". A squad of PT boats was closing in on a Japanese warship. Hearing a low rumble, the Japanese believed they were facing bombers, not boats, and began firing into the sky well above the attacking PT boats who were able hit and run without being seen.
 

Both the 157 and 109 were assigned to patrol a narrow straight in the Soloman Islands. There was a great deal of enemy traffic. In fact, one night the 157 was nearly rammed by a Japanese destroyer, only being saved when the bow wave of the much larger ship pushed them aside. The name of the ship was the Amigiri.
 

Noting the similarity between this event and JFK’s encounter, Mr. Carney mused, "Who would have more empathy for Kennedy" than a man who had nearly met the same fate?
 

The story of Kennedy’s PT-109 is well known. His squadron had encountered a number of Japanese ships, but none of the torpedoes had found their mark. On a dark night with limited visibility, PT-109 encountered a Japanese destroyer. Kennedy ordered the deck gun to fire, but before the order could be carried out, the Amigri emerged from the mist at top speed and sliced the 109 in two.
 

PT boats ran on gasoline, not diesel. Any breach of the fuel tank would lead to an explosive fire. One of Kennedy’s crew was killed instantly, others suffered burns.
 

Other boats reported seeing a fireball and assumed that the 109 had gone down with all hands. However the bow of the wooden boat stayed afloat for twelve more hours. Kennedy and his crew clung to the wreckage until it, too, began to sink.
 

The Japanese occupied most of the nearby islands. The decision was made to swim for an uninhabited speck called Plum Pudding Island, which was about 3.5 miles away. Kennedy led the swim pulling the lifejacket strap of a badly injured man in his teeth.
 

"This was the moment he found his guts," Mr. Carney said.
 

Although on dry land, the crew was still in a precarious situation. With no radio contact, they were forunate to attract the attention of a local fisherman. Kennedy carved a message on a cocoanut shell and hoped that the fisherman would deliver it to the American base.
 

The fisherman was true to his word, but the command was skeptical. Believing that no one had survived the 109, they were concerned that this might be a Japanese trap.  It was Lt. Liebenow who took the 157 out to rescue the future President.
 

Mr. Carney explained that he "had to do a lot of research. There were lots of guys who claimed to be on the 157. They were not."
 

Lt. Liebenow went on to join the Office of Strategic Services (OSS) in the European Theater. One of his secret missions was to land on the coast of France and collect sand samples to determine which beaches could support landing craft in preparation for D-Day. He received the Silver and Bronze Stars for his service in the Navy.
 

Lt. Kennedy went on to become President of the United States. He once remarked, "If everyone who said they were on the boat voted for me I’d win in a landslide."
 

After the War, the Navy had no further use for the "Mosquito Fleet" and determined it was not worth it to ship the PT boats back to the US. They were all burned.
 

"It’s a very sad epitaph," said Mr. Carney.
 

Today, perhaps a dozen PT boats remain.

—Ed.