4 inches
mort Cohen collection
PT boats were organized into
squadrons. called
"Rons
dozen boats each, and they operated in all
three theaters of war.
Squadrons had
uniquelv designed emblems (manv
DIO vided gratis by the Disnev Studios) that
were proudly painted on the boats
, subul-structure. Most Rons had these insignia
made into decals as well as embroidered
patches (Figure 4), the latter to be worn
intormallv on light-weight tackets. Withmn
a given squadron, individual boats bore
numbers (glance at figures 12 & 14). that
were often consecutive
The heroics of dividual PT boats
have been celebrated in numerous books
and memoirs.
but two particularlv stand
out: P1-4. which extricated Gen. Douglas
MacArthur trom Corregidor (* The Rock" )
in March 1942 prior to the surrender of the
Philippines: and Fl-IUy - John r
Kennedv's boat that was rammed and sunk
50« B RON Houre 4 A rare samne of
of the =4 known original squadron patches
factured
Figure S.
John I
Ruckelev receives the
Medal of honor
from
Preci.
dent Roosevelt at the White House on August 4. 1942. (Courtesv of Historic
by a Japanese destroyer in August 1943.
both were featured in best-selling booKs
and popular movies at the time. but there is
thev can teach us todav about PT
ing Pearl Harbor, and the tragic fate of those
ultimately trapped there. From Squadron 3
alone, three officers and fifteen men per-
ished betore the war's end.
boat operations
Expendable, a book by W.L
White (Harcourt Brace & Co
NY) and latel
Japanese POW camps.
Actor
Robert Montgomery,
himself
qualified PT boat commander
who
a 1945 movie starring John Wayne and Rob.
ert Montgomery, provides an honest, heart-
breaking account of M.T.B. Squadron
which was based in the Philippines at the
at the Motor Torpedo Boat
Squadrons
Training Center (MTBSTC) in Melville
Rhode Island, plays Lt. John D. Buckeley
in the film version. Buckelev was awarded
of the war Puhlished in 1942 it
the Medal of Honor (Fioure 5) for his in.
spirational command of M..B. Squadron
account
