Book – Saving Lieutenant Kennedy

Author: Brett Mason
Publisher: NewSouth Publishing
Reviewer: Brian Morgan
255 pages

The Heroic Story of the Australian who helped rescue JFK

One could review this book in one sentence, namely, “One of the most interesting, entertaining and well written historical stories of WW2”. I will resist that temptation although the summary is intended to bring you greater awareness of the various topics that are covered in it.

First, and most obvious, is the background to JFK’s service in the PT109 (patrol torpedo boat) and how it was rammed by a Japanese destroyer throwing the crew into the sea.

Second is the coast watcher, Reg Evans, who met Kennedy on the shore of a tiny island and assisted the future President, skipper of the boat, and his crew, sending messages that they were still alive and describing how they could be rescued with minimal danger to the rescuers from the rampant Japanese in the area.

The third is the service provided to the allies by the Coast Watchers (over 100 stations) whose principal task was to gather intelligence mainly by observation of the Japanese and how they lived in isolation, in constant fear of being discovered by the Japanese, or of being betrayed by a local inhabitant,  but who managed to send radio messages of inestimable value to the authorities in many cases enabling the allies to turn a prospective defeat into victory.

The fourth, then, is how the lives of Evans, his native helpers and Kennedy came together again in later life.

The fifth is the revelation of the personality of Kennedy, who, after his boat had been rammed, kept his crew together and demonstrated great leadership, both up until their rescue and in his subsequent career, both in politics and otherwise.

There are references throughout the book to Douglas MacArthur, his time in Australia, comparisons between Australian soldiers’ military income and the far more substantial income of the American soldiers, how soldiers on leave, particularly in Brisbane, let off steam, often enough against their opposite numbers and how, whilst on leave, the two sets of soldiers were far from friendly to one another.

The sixth, and to my mind, the most interesting facet of this book is the comparison between the very outgoing Kennedy and the quiet achiever, Evans, who, for many years, allowed stories of the rescue to attribute Kennedy with being saved by a New Zealander with a totally different name (who did not actually exist, in any event).

The author demonstrates that many who have written of the Coast Watchers, in the context of Kennedy, have given little recognition to Evans even after his identity had become well known.

However, Kennedy had not forgotten him and welcomed him to the White House. On a later occasion, Kevu, one of the Melanesian locals involved in the rescue, also attended the White House, having been sponsored to the United States by a television station. It appears that Kennedy was not aware of this visit until he saw him being interviewed on television and invited him to visit the next day. Kevu’s visit caused Menzies to be kept waiting!

There are what to me are new historical incidents littered throughout this book but I will not spoil your fun by reciting any of them.

We see the type of person that Evans was, perhaps, explaining how he survived in enemy occupied territory, and continued his coast watching duties. Finally, this book demonstrates, at least to me, the strong engaging personality of Kennedy and casts light on why he was such a popular President.

 I do want to finish this review by complimenting the author. His book is entertaining, enlightening, captivating ( I stayed up late to finish it) and I think, finally, gives proper recognition to the Coast Watchers of the Solomon and the other Pacific islands of the vital and dangerous but highly important role they played in the defeat of the Japanese.