1944 — Kennedy’s Older Brother Dies
Although JFK had spent a lot of time under his father’s influence being groomed for political office one day, his older brother, Joseph Kennedy Jr., was the one that Joseph Kennedy Snr. saw as the one who would make it all the way to the White House one day. He had been planning on a future run for the Massachusetts 11th District seat, but sadly he would never make it.
On August 12, 1944, Kennedy Jr. and his co-pilot Lieutenants Wilford John Willy flew a BQ-8 “robot” aircraft (a converted B-24 Liberator) packed with explosives and intended to be remotely piloted into German gun positions in northern France. The two men had to get the plane into the air before they were set to bail out. Unfortunately, the aircraft exploded prematurely, instantly killing both men. Both men were posthumously awarded the Navy Cross, the Air Medal, and the Purple Heart Medal.
