Joseph P. Kennedy Jr.

Joseph P. Kennedy Jr.
Joseph P. Kennedy Jr., U.S. Navy (c. 1942)
Born	Joseph Patrick Kennedy Jr. (1915-07-25)July 25, 1915 Hull, Massachusetts, U.S.
Died	August 12, 1944(1944-08-12) (aged 29) Over Blythburgh, East Suffolk, England
Cause of death	Naval airplane explosion during Operation Aphrodite
Resting place	Remains never recovered
Education	Harvard University (BA) London School of Economics
Occupation	Naval aviator
Political party	Democratic
Parents	Joseph P. Kennedy Sr. Rose Fitzgerald Kennedy
Relatives	See Kennedy family
Military career
Memorial – Wall of the Missing	Cambridge American Cemetery and Memorial Cambridge, England
Allegiance	United States
Service/branch	United States Navy
Years of service	1941–1944
Rank	Lieutenant
Unit	Patrol Squadron 203 Bombing Squadron 110, Special Air Unit 1
Battles/wars	World War II
Awards	Navy Cross Distinguished Flying Cross Purple Heart Air Medal
Signature

Joseph Patrick Kennedy Jr. (July 25, 1915 – August 12, 1944) was a lieutenant in the U.S. Navy. He was a member of the Kennedy family and the eldest of the nine children born to Joseph P. Kennedy Sr. and Rose Fitzgerald Kennedy. During World War II, Kennedy was killed in action while serving as a land-based patrol bomber pilot, and posthumously awarded the Navy Cross.

Kennedy's father had aspirations for him to become president of the United States. Kennedy was a delegate to the 1940 Democratic National Convention and planned to run for a seat in the U.S. House of Representatives after his military service as the first stepping stone on the path to the presidency.^[1] Kennedy's death while participating in a top-secret mission in 1944 caused his father to transfer his aspirations to his next-oldest son, John F. Kennedy,^[1] who followed the path first planned for his older brother by advancing from the House to the U.S. Senate and then to the presidency.^[1]