AN AMBUSH GOES AWRY
In Blackett Strait, south of Kolombangara in the Solomon Islands, the starless, moonless night of August 1-2, 1943, was profoundly dark, inky blackness. USS PT-109 stood at her station, one of fifteen PT boats that had set out to engage, damage, and maybe even turn back the well-known "Tokyo Express," a name given to the Japanese navy's supply convoy to soldiers fighting the advance of U.S. forces in the islands farther south. When the patrol actually did come in contact with the Tokyo Express—three Japanese destroyers acting as transports with a fourth serving as escort—the encounter did not go well. Thirty torpedoes were fired without damaging the Japanese ships. No U.S. vessels suffered hits or casualties. Boats that had used up their complement of torpedoes were ordered home. The few that still had torpedoes remained in the strait for another try. What then transpired may well be the most famous small-craft engagement in U.S. naval history.
PT-109 was one of the boats left behind. The boat’s commander, LTJG John Fitzgerald Kennedy, future U.S. President, rendezvoused his boat with two others. The three boats spread out to make a picket line across the strait. At about 2:30 in the morning, a shape loomed out of the black darkness three hundred yards off PT-109's starboard bow. Kennedy and his crew first believed it was another PT boat. When it became apparent that it was one of the Japanese destroyers, Kennedy attempted to turn to starboard to bring his torpedoes to bear but there was not enough time. The Japanese destroyer, later identified as the AMAGIRI, had begun a 400 mile run for Rabaul when a lookout spotted something small dead ahead. Correctly believing the unidentified boat to be an American PT boat the AMAGIRI’s commanding officer ordered the helmsman to speed directly toward the object. PT-109 was struck just forward of the forward starboard torpedo tube, ripping away the starboard aft side of the boat. Most of the crew were knocked into the water. The one man below decks miraculously escaped, although he was badly burned by exploding fuel.
Fear that PT-109 would go up in flames drove Kennedy to order the men who still remained on the wreck to abandon ship. When the fire began to subside, Kennedy sent his men back to what was left of the boat. Floating on and around the hulk, the crew took stock and discovered that two crewmembers had disappeared in the collision, very likely killed at impact. All the men were exhausted, a few were hurt and several had been sickened by the fuel fumes. There was no sign of other boats or ships in the area and the men were afraid to fire their flare gun for fear of attracting the attention of the Japanese who were on islands on all sides. Although the wreckage was still afloat, it was taking on water and it capsized on the morning of August 2. After a discussion of options, the men abandoned the remains of PT-109 and started swimming for an islet nearby.
Motor Machinist Mate Second Class Harold William Marney was one of the two missing PT-109 crewmembers killed in the collision. Records show he attended the former Trade High School in Springfield, Massachusetts, where he studied auto mechanics. He joined the Navy at age 17 during November 1941 and family members reported he was supposed to train in the Navy as an aircraft mechanic but asked for a transfer. He was assigned to PT-109 in late July 1943, at age 19 was the youngest crewmember on board and at the time of the collusion was reportedly at his battle station manning a machine gun. Despite LTJG Kennedy’s meteoric rise in politics to the nation’s highest office, he never forgot the experience, later wrote a book about his naval career and rising to be President of the United States. At a later date, when asked to explain how he had come to be a hero, Kennedy replied laconically, "It was involuntary. They sank my boat." AMAGIRI is surely the only ship to have ever sunk a vessel skippered by a future American President.
Following World War II, Kennedy kept in touch over the years with Marney’s family members and had personal contact with Marney’s mother even after he became President. Perhaps the first contact with the family was a letter written to Marney’s mother by then LTJG Kennedy in late 1943:
“This letter is to offer my deepest sympathy to you for the loss of your son. I realize that there is nothing that I can say can make your sorrow less; particularly as I know him; and I know what a great loss he must be to you and your family. Your son rode the PT 109 with me on the night of August 1–2 when a Japanese destroyer, travelling at a high speed cut us in two, as we turned into him for a shot. Harold had come aboard my boat a week before to serve as engineer. He fitted in quickly, and was very well-liked by both the officers and the men. He knew his job and he did it efficiently, and with great cheerfulness—an invaluable quality out here. I am truly sorry that I cannot offer you hope that he survived that night. You do have the consolation of knowing that your son died in the service of his country. He left a fine reputation, and those of us who knew him think of him with respect and affection. Again, Mrs. Marney, may I extend to you my deepest sympathy.”
On August 3, 2013, the 70th anniversary of MOMM2 Marney’s death, a memorial was dedicated in his honor at the Massachusetts Veterans’ Memorial Cemetery in Agawam, Massachusetts. The memorial headstone sits upon a knoll designated as the “In Memory Section For Service Members Who Were Never Recovered.” The memorial dedication service was attended by members of Marney’s family, and a large group of veterans and supporters.
Submitted by CDR Roy A. Mosteller, USNR (Ret)
