Motor Torpedo Boat 109

John F. Kennedy serving on the PT Boat 109

Replica of PT Boat 109 displayed in the U.S. after he became President

John F. Kennedy was awarded the Navy & Marine Corps Medal for bravery in World War 2 when the P.T. Boat he was commanding was sliced in two by a Japanese Destroyer and the crew where marooned on an island for 4 days. They were finally rescued when he wrote a message on a coconut and natives took it to a Naval Base on a nearby island.