Joseph Patrick Kennedy Jr. (July 25, 1915 - August 12, 1944) was the eldest son of Joseph and Rose Kennedy. He was a bomber pilot during World War II. He was killed in an accident in England while departing for a bombing mission.
Kennedy's brother John F. Kennedy is not mentioned in the series, but is depicted on the cover of Down to Earth (wherein Joe Jr. runs for VP), suggesting that the artist confused the two.
Major Joseph P. Kennedy, Jr. was a son of BostonDemocratic Party operative Joseph P. Kennedy.[4] Despite sharing his father's political views, he did not share his father's political ambitions.[5]
During the Second Great War, Kennedy commanded a squadron of Wright-27 fighters in the United States Army Air Corps during Operation Blackbeard in 1941. He was initially stationed in Defiance, Ohio while there he was a tent-mate of Jonathan Moss. Moss was unnerved by Kennedy's harsh views on treatment of people in U.S. Occupied territory. Moss suspected that Kennedy only made major due to his father's considerable political pull, but he proved himself a great pilot, shooting down three Confederate planes before he himself was also shot down and injured.[6]
