The Solomon Islanders who saved JFK in WWII
Z Force “the coastwatchers” and “Divine Providence”
Excerpt:
In an interview in 2002 with the National Geographic, Kumana himself recalled the moment he met the survivors: "Some of them cried and some of them came and shook our hands. When Kennedy saw us… he ran and embraced us."
Kumana and Gasa worked with the Coastwatchers, a network of agents based across the Pacific islands during WWII, tasked with keeping an eye on the enemy and reporting back to Allied forces.
Kennedy knew he somehow needed to get a message back to base if a rescue was to be organised, so he wrote a message on a coconut:
NAURO ISL COMMANDER
NATIVE KNOWS POSIT
HE CAN PILOT
11 ALIVE NEED SMALL BOAT
KENNEDY
Kumana and Gasa, took the coconut, got into their small, dugout canoe and at great risk to themselves took to the sea. Their destination was another island, 35 miles (55km) away, where an allied Australian Coastwatcher was stationed - but to get there they had to paddle through waters patrolled by Japanese ships.
The Japanese were notorious for using the locals as "target practice" says Danny Kennedy - and if they had been caught with such a message it could have been a death sentence. But Kumana and Gasa passed on the message successfully and a rescue mission was launched for the injured, exhausted and hungry US sailors, who many assumed were already dead.
The events of that week in August 1943 were to have a profound impact on the life of Kennedy - he was a hailed a hero for his efforts in saving the lives of his crew and was awarded a Navy and Marine Corps Medal and a Purple Heart. His actions in the war are seen as central to his success in the 1960 presidential election.
"It was a crucial moment in his life," says Tom Putnam, director of the John F Kennedy Presidential Library and Museum.
After becoming President, JFK wrote responding to Kumana’s letter in 1961. “Like you I am eternally grateful to the act of Divine Providence that brought me and companions to you and your friends who volunteering affected our rescue during a time of war.”
https://www.bbc.com/news/magazine-28644830