Poignant moment Caroline Kennedy hugs the children of the men who saved JFK’s life in WWII

The U.S. ambassador to Australia, Caroline Kennedy, has shared a touching moment with the children of two Solomon Islanders who had saved the life of her father and U.S. President John F. Kennedy during World War II.

Ms Kennedy traveled to the islands’ capital city Honiara last week as part of an American diplomatic visit to commemorate the 80th anniversary of the Battle of Guadalcanal.

The series of brutal clashes between allied and Japanese forces in the South Pacific in 1942-1943 marked a significant turning point in the war, and John F. Kennedy was one of thousands of U.S. naval officers involved in the conflict.

In August 1943, a small patrol torpedo boat (PT-109) commanded by Kennedy was rammed by a Japanese destroyer and the entire crew were shipwrecked. 

Despite serious injuries, Kennedy managed to drag his surviving crewmates ashore on a nearby Japanese-controlled island and was spared near certain death when, after a week of evading capture, the group were happened upon by Solomon Islanders Eroni Kumana and Biuku Gasa.

Kumana and Gasa, who were members of an allied military intelligence outfit known as the Coastwatchers, took possession of a coconut on which Kennedy had etched a short message detailing their predicament and duly delivered the message to allied command, leading to the miraculous rescue of all surviving members of the PT-109 crew. 

Yesterday, Caroline met John Koloni, the son of Kumana, and Nelma Ane, the daughter of Gasa, at a ceremony more than 79 years on from the day her father was saved.

The late president’s daughter warmly embraced the pair before presenting them with a replica of the coconut shell which Kennedy had shrewdly used to convey his crew’s plight.

Caroline Kennedy, the United States ambassador to Australia, meets with John Koloni and Nelma Ane at a ceremony marking the 80th anniversary of the battle of Guadalcanal

The crew of Patrol Torpedo boat PT-109, including U.S. Navy Lt. John F. Kennedy (R), are seen off Guadalcanal, in this handout image taken in July 1943

Despite serious injuries sustained in the shipwreck, Kennedy (pictured during his days as a Lieutenant in the U.S. Navy) managed to drag his surviving crewmates ashore on a nearby Japanese-controlled island and was spared near certain death by a pair of Solomon Islanders

Kennedy reportedly told Koloni and Ane she was ‘so grateful’ to meet them at the heart-warming ceremony, according to New Zealand’s 1News, and added that she would like to bring her own kids to the island in the future to ‘continue the relationship’.

She added: ‘Countless Americans and allied families have Solomon Islanders to thank for their survival,’ amid the commemoration proceedings. 

Koloni responded: ‘I’m honoured and proud of my dad, and I’m happy to receive on behalf of him. I wish he was here to receive this medal,’ according to Stuff. 

But the heroic actions of Kumana and Gasa, instrumental in the rescue of Kennedy and 10 other U.S. naval officers, were largely forgotten in the years after the war.

The pair received no commendation for their involvement in saving Kennedy’s life and protecting his crew from Japanese forces, and were even prevented from attending his presidential inauguration.

Kennedy became the 35th President of the United States in January 1961 and had invited his saviours to witness the event, but officials on the Solomon Islands, which at the time was under British rule as a British Protectorate, barred them from attending and instead sent a pair of white representatives.

Solomon Islands Prime Minister Manasseh Sogavare did not attend the Battle of Guadalcanal commemoration, to the dismay of U.S. Deputy Secretary of State Wendy Sherman, who was present alongside Kennedy at the ceremony.

The Solomon Star News said Sogavare was due to give a speech on Sunday at the memorial service which was also attended by ministers and officials from Japan, Australia and New Zealand, but he did not appear.

Sherman told a news conference Sogavare was on the printed programme for the ceremony, and when she met him later in the day she told him she was sorry he didn’t attend.

‘The real sorrow here is that I think he missed a real opportunity to commemorate how strong these bonds were 80 years ago that allowed for freedom here in Solomon Islands,’ she told reporters, according to a transcript released on Monday.

John F Kennedy is pictured delivering a speech in 1960, three years prior to his assassination

John F. Kennedy is pictured relaxing with his wife Jacqueline and daughter Caroline prior to becoming President of the United States

This handout photograph taken on August 8, 2022 and released by US Department of State shows US Deputy Secretary of State Wendy Sherman laying wreath as she attends a Solomon Islands Government-hosted memorial at Bloody Ridge in Guadalcanal on Solomon Islands (Caroline Kennedy is also pictured)

This picture taken on August 7, 2022, shows US Deputy Secretary of State Wendy Sherman posing for pictures with the Solomon Islands Prime Minister Manasseh Sogavare (R) after a ceremony to mark the 80th Anniversary of the Battle of Guadalcanal at Skyline Ridge in Honiara, Solomon Islands

Sherman added that her meeting with Sogavare later on Sunday was wide ranging and ‘very bold’, and that she had raised U.S. concerns over his government’s security pact with China amid a recent escalation of tensions following U.S. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s visit to Taiwan. 

Honiara and Beijing have denied the pact will allow a military base.

In a television interview on Monday, Sherman said Sogavare had repeated his assurances there would be no Chinese base, but the U.S. and other Pacific nations would ‘all watch very carefully to see what happens here’.

‘It is the Pacific Island Forum, other countries who care very much that there not be a Chinese military base because that would create a threat potentially to all of the Pacific islands,’ she told ABC’s 7:30 Report program.

Sogavare ‘will have to answer to his own citizens about why he made the choice that he did’ to not attend the Guadalcanal ceremony, she added.

Sherman joined Kennedy in praising the role of Solomon Islanders in working with the United States during World War Two.

Solomon Islands ministers had represented the government at the World War Two ceremonies, a statement from Sogavare’s office said.