209: Pacific War 1943: Operation Cartwheel, Tarawa, & Eleanor Roosevelt's Pacific Tour
July 27, 2026
AI Summary
5 min readA Navy Lieutenant, a First Lady, and a Bloody Atoll: The Pacific War in 1943
At 2:30 AM on August 2, 1943, Lieutenant John F. Kennedy and his 13-man crew aboard PT-109 were patrolling the dark waters off Kolombangara Island in the Solomon Islands. Their task force had been sent to intercept Japanese destroyers running the "Tokyo Express" supply route, but poor communication had left Kennedy's boat isolated after the radar-equipped group leaders had withdrawn without informing the others. Suddenly, a Japanese destroyer emerged from the darkness just 200 yards ahead, barreling toward the tiny patrol boat at 40 knots. The Amagiri tore through PT-109 like "a knife through butter," cutting the vessel in two and igniting gasoline across the water. Kennedy, a former Harvard swimmer, spent the next hour towing a badly burned crewmate named Patrick McMahon through the ocean using a life jacket strap. Over the following week, the survivors would swim from island to island, subsist on coconuts, and eventually be rescued thanks to two Indigenous Solomon Islander scouts who carried Kennedy's message—scratched into a coconut husk—to an Australian coast watcher. The story would transform the wealthy Bostonian into a national hero and, years later, help propel him to the presidency.
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What you'll learn
- 1 Main Outline
- 2 (00:01) **Sponsor Introduction: Young Washington Film** - Greg Jackson promotes the new film "Young Washington" and his role as historical consultant
- 3 (03:15) **PT-109: John F. Kennedy's Nightmare** - The story opens with Lt. John "Jack" Kennedy commanding PT-109 on a moonless night, August 1, 1943, in the Solomon Islands
- 4 (04:47) **The Collision: Japanese Destroyer Slices PT-109** - At 2:30 AM, after communication failures leave PT-109 isolated, a Japanese destroyer appears and cuts the small boat in two
- 5 (06:10) **Jack Kennedy's Heroic Swim and Survival** - Kennedy swims 100 yards to rescue burned crewman Patrick McMahon, towing him back by a life jacket strap for an hour
- 6 (08:05) **Rescue: The Coconut Message** - After days of swimming between islands, Kennedy and his men encounter two Solomon Islander scouts, Biuku Gasa and Eroni Kumana, who work for the Allies
- 7 (11:34) **Geographical Context: The Pacific Theater in 1943** - Greg sets the stage for the episode's dual focus: Operation Cartwheel in the Southwest Pacific and the Battle of Tarawa in the Central Pacific
+ Full timestamped outline available in the app
Show Notes
“The ultimate defeat of Japan [will] be accomplished by blockade, bombing, and assault.”
This is the story of American island hopping—or should we say leapfrogging?—through Pacific waters.
By 1943, the Japanese are settled in for the long haul, no matter what it may cost. America sees some successes like new skip bombing techniques at the Battle of the Bismarck sea, but a change of strategy is needed for real gains. American leaders General Douglas MacArthur and Admiral William "Bull" Halsey launch Operation Cartwheel, a strategic campaign of amphibious landings designed to neutralize Japanese strongholds like Rabaul, Papua New Guinea without attacking head-on.
Meanwhile, even though the Solomon Islands are still an active war zone, First Lady Eleanor Roosevelt undertakes a morale-boosting tour, visiting every wounded soldier she possibly can. Just a few short months later, Americans win the brutal Battle of Tarawa at great cost, a decisive victory that exposes the devastating realities of island warfare to those back home. Is each tiny island in the Pacific worth this much death? Or can another path be found?
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