PT 109: An American Epic of War, Survival, and the Destiny of John F. Kennedy

by William Doyle

Physically, Kennedy was a wreck by November 1943. His back was paining him, and he would soon be diagnosed with both malaria and colitis, or inflammatory bowel disease. He was severely underweight. On November 18, Lieutenant Al Cluster relieved Kennedy of command of PT 59 and sent him to the hospital at Tulagi. Bidding an emotional farewell to his sailors, Kennedy shook each of their hands and told them, “If there is ever anything I can do for you, ask me. You will always know where you can get in touch with me.” At Tulagi, X-rays were given and “chronic disc disease of the lower back” was added to his medical record, as well as the diagnosis of an ulcer. (A year later he would be given a medical discharge from the Navy for physical disability and placed on the retirement list, which was finally made official on March 1, 1945. The reason for his discharge was colitis.) In late December, 1943 it was clear Kennedy would not recover, and Cluster officially detached him from duty with his PT squadron: JFK’s war was over.