It was the number assigned to JFK's PT boat that was cut in half by a Japanese destroyer on August 2, 1943
[DOC] [TLE] John F Kennedy's father exploited the PT 109 incident to make his ... [PAR] Oct 6, 2015 ... Joseph P. Kennedy hyped his son's PT 109 story making him out to ... cut through 
the PT 109 diagonally during the attack on JFK and his ... Bulkeley consented 
and in February 1943, John Kennedy was assigned to a ...