1945 NY Daily News WW II Newspaper With 1st Report DEATH Of JOSEPH P KENNEDY, JR
Item History & Price
| Reference Number: Avaluer:95033 |
1945 NY Daily News WW II newspaper JOSEPH P KENNEDY, JR's DEATH in a secret military mission during WW II is publicaly revealed for the first time - inv # 9E-242Please visit our EBAY STORE for THOUSANDS of HISTORICAL NEWSPAPERS on sale or at auction.SEE PHOTO----- COMPLETE, ORIGINAL NEWSPAPER, the New York Daily News dated Oct 25, 1945. This newspaper contains an inside page headline, photo, and news of th...e DEATH of LIEUTENANT JOSEPH P KENNEDY, JR in a secret WW II military mission.Hard to find NY Daily News with the "DEATH of JOSEPH P KENNEDY"Joseph Patrick Kennedy Jr. (July 25, 1915 – August 12, 1944) was a United States Navy lieutenant. He was killed in action during World War II while serving as a land-based patrol bomber pilot, 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 Kennedy (1890–1995). He was the only Kennedy son who never sought political office, though he had planned to.Joe Sr. had aspirations 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.From a very young age, Kennedy was groomed by his father and predicted to be the first Roman Catholic president of the United States. When he was born, his grandfather John F. Fitzgerald, then Mayor of Boston, told the news, "This child is the future President of the nation." He often boasted that he would be president even without help from his father. He was a delegate to the Democratic National Convention in 1940. Kennedy planned to run for the U.S. House from Massachusetts's 11th congressional district in 1946.Kennedy left before his final year of law school at Harvard to enlist in the U.S. Naval Reserve on June 24, 1941. He entered flight training to be a Naval Aviator, and after training, he received his wings and was commissioned an ensign on May 5, 1942.[5] He was assigned to Patrol Squadron 203 and then Bombing Squadron 110. In September 1943, he was sent to Britain and became a member of Bomber Squadron 110, Special Air Unit ONE, in 1944. He piloted land-based PB4Y Liberator patrol bombers on anti-submarine details during two tours of duty in the winter of 1943–1944. Kennedy had completed 25 combat missions and was eligible to return home. He instead volunteered for an Operation Aphrodite mission.Operation Aphrodite (U.S. Army Air Corps) & Operation Anvil (U.S. Navy) made use of unmanned, explosive-laden Army Air Corps Boeing B-17 Flying Fortress and Navy Consolidated PB4Y-1 Liberator bombers that were deliberately crashed into their targets under radio control. These aircraft could not take off safely on their own, so a crew of two would take off and fly to 2, 000 feet before activating the remote control system, arming the detonators, and parachuting from the aircraft.Kennedy was appointed a Lieutenant on July 1, 1944. After the U.S. Army Air Corps operation missions were drawn up on July 23, 1944, Lieutenants Wilford John Willy and Kennedy were designated as the first Navy flight crew. Willy, who was the executive officer of Special Air Unit ONE, had also volunteered for the mission and "pulled rank" over Ensign James Simpson, who was Kennedy's regular co-pilot. Kennedy and Willy (co-pilot) flew a BQ-8 "robot" aircraft (drone; a converted B-24 Liberator) for the U.S. Navy's first Aphrodite mission. Two Lockheed Ventura mother planes and a Boeing B-17 navigation plane took off from RAF Fersfield at 1800 on August 12, 1944. Then the BQ-8 aircraft, loaded with 21, 170 lb of Torpex, took off. It was to be used against the U-boat pens at Heligoland in the North Sea.Following them in a USAAF F-8 Mosquito to film the mission were pilot Lt. Robert A. Tunnel and combat camera man Lt. David J. McCarthy, who filmed the event from the perspex nose of the aircraft. As planned, Kennedy and Willy remained aboard as the BQ-8 completed its first remote-controlled turn at 2, 000 ft near the North Sea coast. Kennedy and Willy removed the safety pin, arming the explosive package, and Kennedy radioed the agreed code Spade Flush, his last known words. Two minutes later (and well before the planned crew bailout, near RAF Manston), the Torpex explosive detonated prematurely and destroyed the Liberator, killing Kennedy and Willy instantly. Wreckage landed near the village of Blythburgh in Suffolk, England, causing widespread damage and small fires, but there were no injuries on the ground. According to one report, a total of 59 buildings were damaged in a nearby coastal town.Attempted first Aphrodite attack Twelve August with robot taking off from Fersfield at One Eight Zero Five Hours. Robot exploded in the air at approximately two thousand feet eight miles southeast of Halesworth at One Eight Two Zero hours. Wilford J. Willy Sr Grade Lieutenant and Joseph P. Kennedy Sr Grade Lieutenant, both USNR, were killed. Commander Smith, in command of this unit, is making full report TO US Naval Operations. A more detailed report will be forwarded to you when interrogation is completed.According to USAAF records, the trailing Mosquito "was flying 300 feet above and about 300 yards to the rear of the robot. Engineer photographer on this ship was injured, and the ship was damaged slightly by the explosion." The Mosquito, which made an immediate emergency landing at RAF Halesworth, belonged to the 325th Reconnaissance Wing, a unit under the command of the son of President Franklin D. Roosevelt, then Colonel Elliott Roosevelt. Years later, Roosevelt claimed to have been aboard this trailing aircraft, and his version of the event has gained wide currency. However, Air Force records cannot substantiate this. Instead, an after-action account by the 8th Combat Camera Unit (CCU) noted that:".....'the Baby just exploded in mid-air as we neared it and I was knocked halfway back to the cockpit. A few pieces of the Baby came through the plexiglass nose and I got hit in the head and caught a lot of fragments in my right arm. I crawled back to the cockpit and lowered the wheels so that Bob could make a quick emergency landing, ' Lt. McCarthy reported from his hospital bed."The 8th CCU film of the event, has, so far as is known, not been found.The Navy's informal board of review, discussing a number of theories, discounted the possibility of the crew making a mistake or that suspected jamming or a stray signal could have armed and detonated the explosives. An electronics officer, Earl Olsen, who believed the wiring harness had a design defect, had warned Kennedy of this possibility the day before the mission, but he was ignored. Kennedy and Willy were both posthumously awarded the Navy Cross, the Air Medal, and the Purple Heart Medal.The names of both men are listed on the Tablets of the Missing at the Cambridge American Cemetery and Memorial, a cemetery and chapel near the village of Madingley in Cambridgeshire, Britain, that commemorates American servicemen who died in World War II. Later reports that Kennedy's final mission were kept top secret until many years later are negated by a detailed public account of the operation and Kennedy's death released in 1945.Very good condition. This listing includes the complete entire original newspaper, NOT just a clipping or a page of it. STEPHEN A. GOLDMAN HISTORICAL NEWSPAPERS stands behind all of the items that we sell with a no questions asked, money back guarantee. Every item we sell is an original newspaper printed on the date indicated at the beginning of its description. U.S. buyers pay priority mail postage which includes waterproof plastic and a heavy cardboard flat to protect your purchase from damage in the mail. International postage is quoted when we are informed as to where the package is to be sent. We do combine postage (to reduce postage costs) for multiple purchases sent in the same package. We accept payment by PAYPAL as well as by CREDIT CARD (Visa and Master Card). We list thousands of rare newspapers with dates from 1570 through 2004 on Ebay each week. This is truly SIX CENTURIES OF HISTORY that YOU CAN OWN! Stephen A. Goldman Historical Newspapers has been in the business of buying and selling historical newspapers for over 45 years. Dr. Goldman is a consultant to the Freedom Forum Newseum and a member of the American Antiquarian Society. You can buy with confidence from us, knowing that we stand behind all of our historical items with a 100% money back guarantee. Let our 45+ years of experience work for YOU ! We have hundreds of thousands of historical newspapers (and their very early precursors) for sale.
