Name:
Joseph Patrick, Jr. Kennedy
Rank:
Lieutenant
Serial Number:
O-116667
Unit:
United States Navy
Date of Death:
1944-08-12
State:
Massachusetts
Cemetery:
Cambridge American Cemetery, United Kingdom
Plot:
Tablets of the Missing
Row:
Grave:
Decoration:
Navy Cross, Distinguished Flying Cross, Air Medal, Purple Heart
Comments:
The older brother of President John F. Kennedy, Lt Joseph P. Kennedy took off in a modified B-17 as part of Operation Aphrodite's first crew. The operation used radio controlled bombers full of explosives armed and set on target by humans to attack reinforced V-2 bunkers. Kennedy's plane exploded shortly after being armed and before he and his co-pilot could bail out. The ensuing explosion caused the destruction of 59 buildings in a small coastal town but no casualties.
He has a cenotaph located in Arlington National Cemetery, Arlington, Arlington County, Virginia, USA.