PT-109 sinks off the Solomon Islands in the Pacific.

Two crewman are killed when the ship, commanded by Navy Lt. John F. Kennedy, is rammed by the Japanese destroyer Amagiri. Kennedy, dragging a wounded crewman, and the dozen other survivors swim for hours to an uninhabited island. Two local boatmen subsequently discover the party and carry a message, written on a coconut, to a nearby U.S. military base that leads to their rescue.