Kennedy’s Poor Health Poor health plagued Kennedy throughout his life In 1937 doctors prescribed steroids for his chronic abdominal pain caused by colitis The medication led Kennedy to develop osteoporosis a weakening of the bones in Jack’s lower back He began experiencing back pain in 1940 and had his first back surgery in 1944 but the pain continued Kennedy also had Addison’s disease which affects the adrenal glands Some of its effects are weight loss weakness and low blood pressure Kennedy tried to combat his many medical issues with medication including painkillers for his back testosterone to help him gain weight and a sleep aid During his presidency he took up to twelve medications each day One doctor Hans Kraus told the president that the painkiller injections in his back could do more harm than good Kraus warned You are going to end up in a wheelchair You won’t be able to walk Yet the terrible pain spurred Kennedy to continue using pain medication to visit his family and to tour other European nations The experiences sparked his interest in government and history He also kept up on current events especially European politics While his father was an ambassador Kennedy learned about the political unrest in Europe that would soon lead to World War II 1939 1945 For his senior thesis Kennedy explained his thoughts on how Britain had not been ready to fight Germany in the war His thesis was published as the book Why England Slept in 1940 the same year he graduated from Harvard It went on to become a best seller 12
Fighting in World War II In 1941 shortly after Kennedy graduated from college the United States entered World War II fighting against Germany and Japan Jack and his older brother both joined the US Navy While Joe flew fighter planes in Europe Jack commanded PT-109 a patrol torpedo PT boat in the South Pacific On the night of August 2 1943 while on patrol Kennedy and his twelve-man crew happened upon a Japanese destroyer ship that rammed into and tore through their PT boat The attack killed two crewmen sent some overboard and injured others including Kennedy who hurt his already-injured back Kennedy found an injured crewman in the water and got him to a floating chunk of the destroyed boat Along with other survivors they Kennedy far right and the crewmen of PT-109 were attacked by a Japanese ship while on patrol in August 1943 Following the incident the surviving crew were stranded on a nearby island for nearly a week 13
clung to the wreckage until the next morning and then swam to a nearby island Six days later two islanders found the Americans and went for help US soldiers on other PTs rescued Kennedy and his surviving crew the next day Kennedy received the Navy and Marine Corps Medal for his handling of the dangerous situation and became a war hero But the war also brought personal tragedy to Kennedy’s life A year after his experience on PT-109 Joe was killed during a mission His brother’s death changed Kennedy’s ideas about his future Entering Politics When the war ended in 1945 Kennedy needed to decide on a career At one time he had thought about pursuing teaching or writing Joe on the other hand had aspired to become a politician a plan his father had strongly encouraged The elder Kennedy had served as a member of government groups and as an ambassador The Kennedy patriarch had even considered running for president of the United States in the 1940 election However his isolationist views during the war and President Franklin D Roosevelt’s decision to run for another term which he was likely to win ended the elder Kennedy’s aspirations for the presidency Instead Kennedy had groomed his eldest son for a political career After Joe’s death his father focused his political ambitions on Jack Partly to honor his deceased brother the younger Kennedy decided to pursue politics A personal interest in political matters also inspired Kennedy’s political aspirations Kennedy once stated that he could have gone to law school after returning from the war and gone on to become a lawyer But about working in law Kennedy said Can you tell me that that compares in interest with being a member of Congress and trying to write 14
a labor bill or trying to make a speech on foreign policy I just think that there’s no comparison In 1946 Kennedy won his first election running as a Democrat for a seat in the US House of Representatives He was reelected twice and served as a representative for six years In 1952 he won a seat in the US Senate Soon afterward on September 12 1953 he married Jacqueline Lee Bouvier who was known simply as Jackie It was a lavish wedding in Newport Rhode Island Twelve years younger than her husband Jackie came from a wealthy New England family and worked as a writer and photographer for the Washington Times-Herald The young pretty socialite and the new politician made an attractive couple Four years later daughter Caroline was born Becoming a husband and a father did not slow Kennedy down in his career He was popular enough that Democratic Party leaders almost chose him as their vice presidential candidate in 1956 Kennedy sits below a campaign poster in September 1946 He ran for a seat in the US House of Representatives 15
