Two letters written by JFK to the widow of a crewmember aboard the PT-109 torpedo boat he captained during the second world war have sold for $233,000.
The lot realised an increase of 676.6% on a $30,000 estimate at Christie's New York on December 4.
 The torpedo boat Kennedy captained during the war was sunk in 1943 |
Kennedy writes: "You may already have heard what happened to us that night off New Georgia.
"We were sheared by a fast-moving Japanese destroyer as we turned into them for a torpedo shot. Some of us were left on the boat, others thrown into the water. It took several hours for all of us to get together, and when we finally had, two men were missing. One of them was Jack.
"We could find no trace and no one reported seeing him. I'm truly sorry that I cannot offer you hope that he survived that night.
"You do have the consolation of knowing that your husband died in the service of his country. He left a fine reputation with all, and those of us who knew him think of him with respect and affection."
Earliest this year another set of letters from Kennedy to the family of a deceased crewman achieved $200,000 at RR Auction.
We have this stunning original poster from Kennedy's 1960 presidential campaign available.
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